Description

Bio-char is a super charcoal made by heating any biomass without the presence of oxygen. Green Houston's Bio-char is manufactured at the highest standard from natural renewable pine wood sources.

Bio-char capillaries provide a tremendous amount of water holding capacity and are the perfect size for hosting soil bacteria ranging from 0.5 to 5.0 micron in size.  So, carbon granules can be viewed as mini micro factories and homes for microbes.

 

Benefits

• Improves soil water retention and water balancing i.e. increases the water holding capacity of sandy soils and reduces water logging in clay soils.
• Improves soil heath through the perfect habitat "home" for supporting microbes (soil microbes) and AMF (Mycorrhizal Fungi)
• Improves the availability of soil nutrients by storing nutrients during times of high concentration (i.e. when using liquid nutrients) and slow-releasing them later. Decreases nutrient run of.
• Increased cation exchange capacity in soils
• Permanently sequester carbon in soils
• Reduce soil acidity
• Made from 100% recycled pine wood
  
• Reduce soil emissions of greenhouse gasses
• Registered group 3 fertilizer

 

How does Bio-char work?

Each bio-char granule comprises of a clump of hollow carbon capillaries of approximately 10 to 20 micrometres in diameter. These capillaries provide water holding capacity and provide an ideal space for beneficial soil microbes to establish and thrive.

The carbon walls that make up these capillaries are approximately 1 to 2 micrometres thick and contain tiny pores. These pores have diameters in nanometres and have the ability to attract and store organic nutrients by a phenomenon known as adsorption.

Adsorb Carbon has a minimum pore surface area of 400 m2 /g. The nutrients stored in these pores provide a convenient food source for the soil microbes living inside the carbon capillaries. Furthermore, when the concentration of these nutrients in the soil lowers, the nutrients tend to desorb and return to the soil, delivering essentially a slow release mechanism.

This product is specifically manufactured at elevated temperatures above 800 C to deliver the required porosity and to drive out volatiles, including Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), known carcinogens, to safe levels.

 

Properties

• 0.425 – 1.640 mm material.
• Iodine Number -  471 mg/g
• Fixed Carbon Content - 90%
• Ash Content - 3%
• Moisture content  -  5%
• pH - 10
• Bulk Density - 100 kg/m3
• Average pore Diameter - 18 Å
• Total Pore Volume - 245 cm3/kg
• Micro-pore (below 1 nm) Volume - 182 cm3/kg
• Total Surface Area -  551 m2/g
• Micro-pore(below 1 nm) Area  - 471 m2/g
• Packaging:
• 5L - 30L packs made with 100% recycled plastic
• 80L with white polypropylene bag
• 1000L in a large durable bulk bag

 

How to use

Activate your Bio-char:

• Pre wet your biochar with dechlorinated water.
• Add in Environoc 401 Byodyne or high quality compost/wormcastings to enoculate your biochar.
• Bonus: Add in Molasses, fluvic acid, humic acid and kelp meal.
• Let sit for about 3 days and then apply to soil mix.

Planting soil:

• Add approximately 3%-10% Bio-char to soil mix. Mix well until evenly spread throughout the soil.

Soil Amendment:

• 30L of growing medium: Add approx. 6 cups (1.5L).
• Per 1L of growing medium: Add approx. 3 tablespoons (50ml). 

Garden bed top dress: 

• Use approx. 150g (1.5L) per square meter, work into top layer of soil.

Compost: 

• Great for use in a compost heap. 50 - 200L of bio-char per cubic meter (m³) of raw material.
• Activate with composting soil microbes: Byodyne Environoc 501

Per Ha:

• Traditionally, biochar has been used at rates of 1 – 2 tonnes Per Ha.
• This would be applied the same way as you would apply Lime.
• However small amounts applied in the top soil will still be beneficial at application rates of 150kg Per Ha

 1L (approx. 100g)

 

Helpful tips:

Bio-char will absorb liquid nutrients and release it slowly later, take this into account when top dressing with bio-char. It is highly recommend to pre-activate it.

Application not recommended in windy environments if the bio-char is dry.

 

 

For placement of large or custom orders contact us at: office@greenhouston.co.za