Liquid inoculation in the winter

I just burned biochar a week or two ago. Normally I don't burn it this time of year, because it's too cold, wet and dark.  The wood doesn't burn very well, and it creates too much smoke.  However, we just had a long, very dry spell, so I did. It went pretty well.

However, I've had some problems with inoculation.  I normally inoculate with a liquid mix. It's just so much faster.  I don't have chickens or a lot of land to lay it out on.  One problem is that the inoculant gets frozen.  Hard to pour it out when it is iced over.  Another problem is that when I'm done pushing the last of the biochar out back into the container with my hand, I can't rinse it off with frozen water.  Obviously, this is the part of the year in the Northern Hemisphere when it is most likely to freeze.  One adjustment I've considered making is to do my daily drench of the biochar in the afternoon when I come home from work, etc. instead of in the morning. It's just much more likely to have melted in the afternoon.  

I am mostly done with my own yard. I am taking it to my volunteer gig at a nearby school to biochar the orchard I put in.  

Please let me know if you have ideas or if you have figured out how to solve this issue.

Thanks,
John S
PDX OR

I'm new to biochar and probably just over the experience level of the kids at your school orchards. I do have a 20 gal dark green garbage can on my south wall that is full of biochar and the special liquid inoculant that I have concocted. Any floating char is weighed down with a smaller garbage can lid with a rope for pulling the lid out. I don't rinse the biochar with water; just mix the dripping stuff into the garden.
The liquid is not freezing on our mid-twenties Fahrenheit nights. This could be because I followed your suggestion to add fermentation liquid to my inoculant which probably has a little alcohol in it (rotting fruit from my fruit trees and unusable corn) thus lowering the freezing temperature slightly. But mostly, I attribute the no-freeze results to the very dark 20 gal garbage can. Even on a cold day, the dark container absorbs the heat of the New Mexico sunshine so by late in the day, the container body is actually quite warm to the touch. Like you John, I harvest the biochar at the end of the day with the heat radiating from the south wall.

Good ideas, Amy.  I remember living in Albuquerque briefly. When there was no wind, I could be out in the sunshine in my T shirt when it was below freezing, and I'd be ok.  Very different than here in the winter, where it is very humid, and therefore colder.

John S
PDX OR

It seems to me the heat from making  a  new batch of char could melt the frozen inoculant, which could then be used on the old batch.

Also, going forward you could quench the char with inoculant.
Lots of the microbial life would die, but the nutrition would survive and the microbes would rebound.

My winters are long. I'm afraid my methods are decidedly indelicate.

I bring in 5 gal./20L pails 7/8 full of dry char, with a close fitting lid, and use them as an indoor urinal in the winter. This takes pressure off my creaky septic system.

There is no smell. It takes a while (I do my best). When the char starts to float like a raft, it gets a stir. It will absorb a bit more. Then it goes onto the frozen gardens and fruit trees, and I start a new batch.

I cannot prove this is perfect inoculation. But it is perfectly practicable, and my trees and gardens seem quite alright with the results. If I waited for summer proper I would never get anywhere.

Many people have garages or tool sheds that won't quite freeze. My attached garage doesn't freeze.  Some will get quite cold, but not freeze.  This is a good way to think about things, Douglas.  

John S
PDX OR

John, a thought…

I like the dark colored garbage can in the sun as well as the not-quite-frozen garage.  Maybe you could add some heat to this system.

My thought was that you could fill up a few 5-gallon buckets w/lids with scalding hot water.  Then place those buckets by the garage can.  Then insulate w/a series of blankets or other form of insulation so the heat does not escape outside but only to the garage can.  

I have found that a 5-gallon bucket of hot water can hold a lot of heat even in very cold conditions, especially if properly insulated.

Eric

If you have a black top driveway that always melts snow when it’s sunny out, that might be a good place to put it. Maybe a makeshift cold frame to put over it in a sunny location. If you have a septic tank it’s usually warmer where the concrete lid is. If you want to use electricity there are those water heaters for chickens and livestock that only come on when the water starts to freeze, or a fish tank aerator.