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Local Biochar Demonstration at Mullumbimby

On Saturday the 9th of May, local bio-char expert, Geoff Moxon from The Channon, was in Mullumbimby to do a presentation on biochar and promote its benefits for soil fertility. As part of the Mullumbimby Community Garden open day, Geoff showed how to make bio char in quantities suitable for the average garden patch.

Biochar is made by heating organic waste like wood and plant clippings to high heat in the absence of air. This is also known as pyrolysis. The volatile components escape as gases and can be burned to produce the energy to keep the pyrolysis going. There is also an energy benefit, 20 percent more energy is produced than the process requires, so this can be used for powering plant and machinery etc.

Biochar or charcoal consists of about 95 percent carbon and 5 percent ash or minerals. The minerals are embedded in the charcoal and slowly release to fertilise the soil. Charcoal is buried in the soil at a depth of around 15 centimeters. After some months  it hosts millions of soil microbes.  The charcoal sill contains all the minute pores from the plant cells, this provides a home for all sorts of soil organisms and protects them from leaching by high rainfall. The minute pores in charcoal,  produce an enormous surface area capable of supporting   biological processes and catalytic processes.

Biochar lasts in the soil for thousands of years and can be a good way to sequester carbon especially when waste is used.