John Suavecito

I have made about 100 burns with my system and there is no sign of wear whatsoever. As many have mentioned, there are significant increases in production in particular species, including many mushrooms, after biocharring.  I think it is a good concept to bring up , but at the current time, it doesn't seem to bear out as a serious problem.

John S
PDX OR

These are great ideas! I have kicked it before, sometimes with success.  I'll have to look for a type of a metal tube somewhere, or some rebar.  Of course, I wouldn't want to grab the metal rebar or tube if it's been in the fire.  Gloves at least or a stick to move it.  I am going to have to try some of these ideas. Thanks,
John S
PDX OR

I have noticed that the main time that my biochar oven creates smoke is when it is internally clogged.  This can happen from settling of the logs/branches/sticks, so that no air is flowing through. I run a TLUD (top lit, up draft), so flow of some limited air through the bottom of the barrel up and through is required.  I often find that if I remove the chimney and move the branches so that air once again can flow, when I put the chimney back on, it will start burning. This is true even if it wasn't burning when I stopped it.  The chimney seems to make it burn better and more efficiently.  I think it's something about the difference in air pressure, temperature, or flow from the bottom of the barrel to the top of the chimney. Anyone with a better understanding of the physics is welcome to explain how.  

Sorry, I know this observation might not be helpful to those burning biochar in an open container by limiting the airflow by adding more branches on top.  It also might not be helpful to those doing the same thing in a trench or in a barrel, or those with the tilted barrel. The mechanisms are different with the different types of biochar burners.   I just wanted those who are using the TLUD to be able to go beyond this frustration point if they experienced it.  

John S
PDX OR

I bought the tree for the fruit, which I love.

However, I also eat the leaves.  I mostly chop them up and add them to beans, pasta, rice, etc.  They are often mixed with a wide variety of other green leafies.   Diverse diet, diverse gut microbiome, healthy person.

John S
PDX OR

Remember, when you leave out water, or any liquid for bees, which is a very good thing, always leave stones or a stick leading above the water in the container, so that bees that come in for a drink can crawl their way out and fly away.  I found many dead bees before I did that. It made me sad, and gave me less fruit.  I think that in nature without humans, the reservoirs of water are very tiny, like an up turned leaf. They can crawl out of that pretty easily, but not a 5 gallon bucket with vertical sides. Sometimes nature works great, until we screw it up.

JohN S
PDX OR

Paul Stamets of Mycology fame has observed bees eating the mycelium of his King Stropharia mushrooms.  He concluded that they were using it as medicine.  Penicillin is a form of fungi that we use as medicine.  As Rachel Carson would say, the balance of nature comes together to heal problems in the ecology.

John S
PDX OR

Some plants, like grapes, figs,  forsythia, currants,spirea and quince, are known to be easy to start from cuttings.  Others, like most hardwood fruit trees, are grafted, partly because the success rate is so much higher.

John S
PDX OR

I never try growing apples or pears from cuttings. I only graft them. They are among the easiest fruit trees to graft.  For one thing, the size of the tree will not be known. Many pear trees naturally grow to 60 feet tall. Most apples will also grow into very large trees that way. Then you have to wait 15 years for them to fruit. I'm already in my 60's, so that really doesn't make sense to me.  

John S
PDX OR

That's really useful information, May. How did you figure that out?
Thanks,
John S
PDX OR

Good point. I haven't offered yet.  The inoculant has nutrition, of course, but it's nutrition for plants, and even more importantly, for the microbes in the soil.   I guess I could try and offer some to her to see.

John S
PDX OR