John Suavecito

I dry out the bones, and then I throw them into the biochar when I burn it.  I've read that it improves the biochar somehow.
John S
PDX OR

I think this is a great idea.  Most of the concerns were valid, but I'd like to provide some perspective.  Crushing the biochar is work that you have to do anyway, and it makes it better biochar by having more surface area.  I do agree with covering it with wood chips, mulch or soil.    I also wouldn't put it right next to the house, I'd put it out a ways.  That way, your shoes are brushed off a little bit before you go in the house, even if you wear shoes inside.

I think it especially works well if you have completed most of the most crucial biochar areas of your garden area.  Rock won't do for you, half of what biochar will do.  It doesn't sequester carbon, it doesn't provide housing for microbes, and it certainly doesn't absorb water for dry spells when needed.  

I live in the Pacific Northwet, so it might work better in an area with a lot of moisture.  Alternatively, you could of course mix it with compost or soil first, before you add it to the paths.  It will really retain moisture then and be unlikely to dry up and blow away.  Most people inoculate their biochar in one way or another, as it has been advised by the "experts" for some time.

I am looking forward to seeing the results of your experiments, William! The way we learn things is by someone like you coming up with an idea and trying it. Sometimes then adjusting it, or inspiring someone else.

John S
PDX OR

The version of activation that I am able to do is different.  I have read that pouring cold water on it while it is really hot can puff it up and make more pores.  That's what I do to douse it when I have cooked out all of the oils and tannins.  It's a home version that I don't need a lab and a lot of fancy chemicals for.  

John S
PDX OR

I agree with Douglas.  Use a wide variety of convenient inexpensive nutrients. I have an orchard, so I use rotten fruit. I live by the sea, so I use seaweed.  I have composting worms, so I use worm compost.  I cultivate mushrooms, so I use old rotten wood.  Urine is great. So is compost tea.  I also use ag lime, which is super cheap, and some very cheap compost, which I can get a lot of, and one cup of whole wheat flour.  Only using ash isn't recommended.
John S
PDX OR

I've seen a lot of people making biochar in a trench.  They aren't very deep.  I haven't really seen deep pit biochar burning until now.  I have never heard of this problem listening to many people using the shallow trench method. My guess is that it doesn't happen a lot with the trench method, but I'm not completely sure.
John S
PDX OR

In a situation like this, I often try to be transparent.  I devise what I think is a reasonable algorithm for determining the distribution.  Then I allow input.  I accept all positive feedback that will improve the system and incorporate it.  SOmetimes I have to wait until the next cycle to change distribution. Some people will come up with ideas that aren't really practical and be very aggressive that their idea should be it.    Some people will bitch, but you can generally tell who is improving the system and who is emotionally needy or too aggressive.  If you generally continue to be reasonable and transparent, my experience is that people will accept the system and buy into it.  
John S
PDX OR

I agree with you that it is not a nitrogen fixer.  That is one function in an ecosystem.  I have read that its job is to decompact the soil. It does create a lot of biomass in heavy wet clay soils with poor drainage.  That process could improve the drainage in heavy poorly drained soils.  I just read that it also doesn't thrive in well drained soils.  Then it would make sense that its job is to create a lot of biomass in a wet, heavy clay soil with poor drainage, but I haven't read that recently, so I"m not sure that decompacting the soil is really its function in the ecosystem.  I am trying to find out the useful function that it could provide in my ecosystem, or if I should try to kill it.  

John S
PDX OR

I am interested in your perspective.

It's not about whether horsetails or buttercups have existed for millions of years, but about their niche in the ecosystem. Horsetails really do have deep roots, and really are able to extract minerals like silica and calcium from the soil with their roots. Elaine Ingham has shown that there really are no soils with a lack of ability to get to nutrition overall.  It's about how to get the biology to develop the nutrition.  Horsetails will go into very wet areas with low nutrition, and make the minerals and nutrition available, so that later, larger plants with wider root systems can use that soil.  Afterwards, the larger plants will crowd out the horsetail gradually.

There are many other pioneer plants which make nitrogen available from the air, or perform other ecosystem functions.  

My question is, will buttercups do the same thing?

John S
PDX OR

I have been allowing buttercups to grow in my yard, because they are a form of diversity.  I don't have a lot of other ranunculus.  I have read that buttercup's role is to go into compact, wet soils, build a bunch of organic matter below the surface, decompact the soil and improve drainage. Then it fails to dominate the area.  We have very wet soils in the winter and our natural soil is clay.  It can drown plants in the winter, so I thought buttercups would help.  When I explained that,  I was on another site and someone just said, "That's not true." I am not pretending to be the expert.  Should I actively kill it? Does anyone know more about it's role? I looked on this site and others and couldn't find the info.  
Thanks,
John S
PDX OR