I’m gonna put this here in the advanced techniques well cause there fire and hot stuff.
First thing you’ll need to make your own bio-charlie is one 2’ stainless steel ducting and two end caps. The thicker the gauge the better. (you’ll have to cut V’s out of one end and jam the end cap onto it). It’ll look something like this
Next you’re going to drill 5-6 holes along one side to allow outgassing and prevent it from popping due to internal pressure. I drill 6 holes at 1/8" running next to the seam of the ducting. After running for the first time I’d add a handle next to the holes and seam to help with placing and removing it. Also, add another smaller handle on the end cap that we didn’t jam on.
Then we add the rice hulls. Tap and rock the kiln then use your hand to compress it down so there’s as little air as possible. Always make sure it’s completely full when you make it or you run the risk of burning it up and get a container of ash.
Next start a fire and place the kiln in the fire so it can cook. I did mine in my burn barrel but the kiln will fit in a normal fireplace, so you can make char on those cold winter nights and not piss the wife off lol. Make sure to be safe and cover it as to not start a forest fire.
Now we have two options. Wait until the wood burns down to ember and remove the kiln to cool or just leave it and come back the next day. This is were the handles would come in handy.
Once it’s cooled down it’s time to powderize it to increase surface area. I used my $5 blender I use to powderize egg and oyster shells. I ended up yielding about a half gallon of biochar.
Next we add some goodies and stir till its nice and mixed. All of this list is optional with the exception of the kelp meal, basalt, and barley malt. I added:
8 tbsp kelp meal
8 tbsp basalt/ paramagnetic rock
4 tbsp malted barley powder
1 tbsp insect frass
2 tsp fish bone meal
1 tsp agmino
1 tsp kelplex
Next we add water. I used the left over ACT I used to spray my vegging plants and new clones and about 4-5 solo cups of earth worm extract. Mix it until it’s the consistency of thick mud.
Lastly cover it with a breathable cloth and let it sit for 3-4 weeks to be safe it’s mature and won’t rob nitrogen. Be sure to stir it very couple days to keep it aerobic.
I had thought about adding it to the worm feed too. You can also mix the char with a 1:1 of fish chum and a lil grokashi or EM1. Fungi go crazy over it. I’ll make another batch of char and add that process to this tutorial
Currently I feed them kelp, barley, and pinto beans meal with the occasional dash of insect frass ever 5-6 days. I sprinkle a nice covering layer, then lightly rake it just enough to keep the clumping low, then spray the whole thing with water so it’s all nice and wet. Pull the cardboard blanket back over, close the lid and it’s good to go.
Thanks for this post man! I´ve been using the charred rice hulls, but without the blending/mixing with water and ammendments? How messy/complicated is this step?
How much soil do you mix with this amount of char if you’re growing in containers?
Does letting it sit longer make it necessarily safer?
Is there a substitute instead of rice hulls?
At first it’s a little messy but as you add more water it gets less messy. I slowly added water and gently mixed to keep dust down. I do recommend wearing a face mask.
You want your biochar to be no more than 10% of your total soil mix, if you’re adding it to a fresh soil mix.
Letting it sit allows the biology to break down the carbon and fill the CEC points on it, so it doesn’t rob you soil of nitrogen. Fresh immature biochar will pull nitrogen fast than if you add uncomposted woodchips.
You can use pretty much any woody organic material to make biochar. I used rice hulls because rice hull char ends up being about 70% silica (plant available form) and pure carbon.
I get my rice hulls from the home brew store, along with my malted barley, citric acid (pH down), potassium bicarbonate (pH up), and air locks for fermented plant extracts.
Nice retort there.
Mine is a stainless steel flour canister I got from a dollar store($10). Twisted some “V’s” in the top of the can w/needlenose pliers for venting.
The lid caps over the side about 3/4’s of an inch but filled with wood shavings, branches, bones left over from dinner, I toss it on the coals in the woodstove at night. If the coals are hot enough black carbon awaits me in the morning.
I like your soup recipe, gonna give it a try!
Thanks.
