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Instead of listing all the benefits Biochar can potentially have on soil health and the life within, I will start with the one situation you would not bother with it all.
If your soil is teaming with microbial life, has an organic content upwards of 20%, a carbon content above 10%, an airy loam structure and no areas of compaction with good water holding and draining capabilities? Then you do not need to bother with Biochar. In all other cases, Biochar will be of benefit to your soil, if not now, then decades from now when it will still be there doing it’s thing.
One thing biochar is not, is a magical thinking cure all as some people claim. It’s cause and effects are supported by data and the scientific method. However, I am not a scientific person, so, following the principle of KISS (keep it stupidly simple) I like to think of Biochar as an eternal microbe hotel serving a 24 hour buffet for centuries at a time.
Biochar is a chemically neutral stable source of carbon with a super dooper porous structure, making it able to hold upwards of 5 times it’s weight in liquid. If this absorbed liquid is “charged” with nutrient rich minerals before or while it is added to the soil it will help feed and house both microbial and mycorrhizal life that is essential for building healthy soil and growing healthy plants.
The name Biochar now refers to a classification of charcoal made through the process of pyrolysis, burning any carbon based material in a low oxygen environment. There are many different methods for this process, but basically the higher the heat, the cleaner and quicker the burn, the better the end product will be and the least amount of harmful gasses will end up in the atmosphere. This charcoal is then crushed and ready to be “charged” with a variety of methods using whatever mineral and nutrient rich source you so desire.
NOTE: Biochar can be used without charging it, however it then charges itself from the nutrients in your soil, meaning it can actually take nutrients away from the plants you are trying to support in the first place. It will of course give them back later but if you are using it with your annuals then later is often not the desired timeline.
In my Biochar I am using only untreated wood, most of which comes from our property. I am currently experimenting with three different methods of Biochar production and constantly working on my Bio-inoculants. If you have any desire to try some for yourself or wish to discuss more about it, please feel free to click the contact button and get in touch.
This brief conversation could only happen due to the work of so many other people who's shoulders we stand upon, some of who are referenced by the following links.
https://www.richardperkins.co/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-search-of-soil/id1535285404