Why use olive wood biochar?

Biochar (aka horticultural charcoal) has several potential benefits for your soil and your plants. It’s used to improve soil structure and build organic carbon which increases the soil’s ability to hold nutrients and water. A healthier soil to grow healthier plants means you spend less time watering and less money on fertiliser and pest control – it’s a gardener’s friend.

So what is biochar? Biochar is a fine charcoal that has been infused with microbes or nutrients before putting it in the soil. If you look at the biochar through a microscope, it’s full of thousands of holes, called micropores. The micropores are perfect for holding water and giving a home to healthy soil organisms.

The soil organisms live in biochar because it makes a stable organic carbon home that’s filled with food and water. This is done by adding the fine charcoal to compost which adds microbes and food. This is the most effective way to infuse the biochar.

Don’t have a compost pile? The biochar can be charged by soaking it other organic matter like worm castings, old animal manure, steeped with compost tea, worm juice or seaweed concentrate, or a fertiliser or any mineral your soil is lacking. You then add it to your garden for the existing soil microbes to use.  

Adding biochar to soil increases biological activity making the soil healthier. Improved soil biology leads to an improved root system which allows the plants to take in more nutrients. This makes them stronger and less prone to disease reducing the need for sprays or chemicals.

The charcoal is graded, larger pieces are in our premium olive wood cooking charcoal and the smaller pieces put through a pin crusher to make fine charcoal. This is then ready for you to infuse with microbes and/or nutrients to suit your soil’s needs.

Olive wood biochar is natural, chemical free and sustainable. Try it and you’ll see the difference in your garden.

REFERENCES:

Taylor P. (2010) The biochar revolution http://www.biocharbooks.com