Biochar Resources
This page goes along with my introduction to Biochar Presentation for use on small farms and homesteads and will be updated continuously with new information as it becomes available.
Discount code for Exit and Build for 25 dollars off the MSB is biochar expires May 31st, 2023.
Living Web Farms Full Workshops and Other Seminar Style/Workshop Presentations
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- BioChar Inoculation with Dan Hettinger – Two Video Series
- Biochar Workshop What, Why & How – Six Video Series
- Farm Scale Biochar with Bob Wells and Jon Nilsson – Eight Video Series
- Winter 2018 Webinar Series; Biochar Production and Marketing by Capital RCD
Other Videos
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- Hookway Retort in Action
- 8 Low Cost Ways to make Biochar
- Biochar with a Simple Drum Kiln
- 60 Degree Angle Drum Method – note this has obnoxious loud music
- Super Simple Compost Inoculation
- Making Biochar with a Hotel Tray and a Wood Stove – This is just effing awesome and simple and cheap and saves money.
Podcasts
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- My Full Introduction Workshop on Biochar for the Homestead
- My Podcast with Mike Whittman
- My Podcast with Gloria Flora
- Mike Whittman on Gardened
- The Biochar Podcast – This has about 7 episodes some are good some are all about the metrics and economics, KPIs, etc. The best ones are the ones on protected crops the the effects on soil one.
- The Biochar Talk – Only three episodes, the first one is a 10 minute intro. This was done by a grad student as part of her college work. The two interviews are pretty good.
Books
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- Gardening with Biochar – By Jeff Cox
- 1491 America Before Columbus – By Charles Mann (Only about 10% of this book is about terra preta)
- The Biochar Solution – By Albert Bates
- Terra Preta – By Ute Scheub
- Biochar for Home Gardeners – By Jeff Fry
Recommended Websites
Kiln Designs and Innovations
- The ‘Do-All’ Biochar Burner – Makes char and wood vinegar
Studies, White Papers, Etc.
* Note this page will be frequently updated you may want to book mark it.
Heads-up – the Blue Sky Biochar link takes one to the Best Biochar Kiln.
Thanks Mike, I have fixed it.
Thanks for the podcast today Jack, a lot useful information, well presented , much appreciated.
Would love to see a list of folks that do the work more local I can buy from in person
So this echo community retort captures the wood vinegar and then Returns the smoke for reburn.
If it were combined with the hookway, the gas could go back into the rocket stove and power the burn.
https://www.echocommunity.org/resources/5b95dd0d-493b-4de9-b0b9-919418dd9f26
Thanks Scott added that I guess I need to track down a lot of plans and designs for that section.
Jack, you mentioned feed efficiency improvements in livestock with biochar.
This abstract on carp suggests that the inoculation really can influence the feed conversion and weight gain.
Poultry waste inoculation saw a 256% increase in weight gain in carp fingerlings! But the charts show that other inoculations aren’t as effective. So folks need to either research studies or experiment to find what works for their animals.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319562X22003692
Thanks Jack, I enjoyed your recent episodes on biochar. It was very timely as I also listen to Peter McCormack and he had 2 episodes on our energy future and both of his guests demonized wood burning for contributing to carbon emissions. Maybe if they knew the data about biochar and rocket stoves/mass heaters it would be an eyeopener for them. It reminds me of Bitcoin getting lumped in with crypto by the media. I will check out these resources and start making my own biochar for my garden this year.
I have a picture of what I think is biochar and is there a way I can check it before I add it to my garden dirt??
Uh oh, just purchased and received the “best BioChar kiln” and their website is a dead link, I was trying to access their instructional video. Do you have a way to confirm if this is simply an anomaly or they are shut down? I can’t find a phone number for them on any of the included packaging.
I just pulled it right up. Did you get an order confirmation?
I can also access the site now, it must have been down for a day and I panicked ? Pardon my paranoia!
Just finished the book “Burn” by Albert Bates & Kathleen Draper – very comprehensive account of the emerging BioChar revolution on a global scale and the many practical uses for it, whether locally or commercially, but beware that I detected a climate change hysteria and/or vegan undertone (generally they are strange bedfellows) to the information, but still seems well-researched and recommended for your BioChar library. If nothing else, it expands your vocabulary and may fuel your obsession with creating and implementing BioChar into your homestead.