The following presentation was given by Sam Gregory at the 2013 WasteMINZ conference on 23 October 2013: “Application of biochar to a soil contaminated with organochlorines and arsenic (As) from a past agricultural practice known as sheep dipping was analysed … Continue reading
This biochar workshop delves deep into the many aspects of biochar production and application. Part 1 focuses on practical production techniques using ‘drum within drum’ retort. There may be some advantages for this over the TLUD system (ie, reduced supervision). … Continue reading
This should prove to be a valuable contribution to the accumulated knowledge on the benefits of combining biochar and compost (and incorporating references to our very own Clough et al on biochar and soil N dynamics) … ———- Forwarded message … Continue reading
This is the title of a masters thesis by Jake Northup from Iowa State University that has been getting kudos from the international biochar community… “… Many biochar-based substrates produced plants with shoot dry mass greater than or equal to … Continue reading
Thanks to Barry Batchelor for identifying this story on research under way by the South Australia No-Till Farmers Association. Note the much lower application rates that may better reflect the economics of biochar utilisation in broad acre applications. http://www.theland.com.au/news/agriculture/cropping/general-news/biochar-creates-options/2663817.aspx?storypage=0 … Continue reading
Barry Husk from www.blue-leaf.ca has posted to the biochar discussion groups as follows… “Just a quick note to give some preliminary results, 1st harvests, from our 2013 biochar field trials on small fruit: Blueberries Patriot Highbush variety 5 replicate plots … Continue reading
The Canadian Biochar Consortium have initiated a large-scale on-farm trial to determine the viability of different types of biochars for agriculture use. Another focus, less relevant to New Zealand under the present political climate, is the use of biochar as a tool … Continue reading
“Deep soils store up to five times more carbon than is commonly reported, a new study by Murdoch University and Cranfield University in the UK has found. Soil locks in greenhouse gases by storing carbon, making it a crucial player … Continue reading
The British Biochar Foundation have generously provided video recordings on all presentations from their recent conference in Oxford. The conference was broadcast live as well… lets hope this is a new trend for remote conference attendance. … Continue reading
The ABE site will have a lot of valuable research results. On the education page, I would like to see some interpretation of these results for gardeners and small farmers, as well as more conventional farmers, with practical help in … Continue reading