Habitat out loud

[SD51555]

What will you be using the charcoal for?

I watched a few youtube videos that used old 55 gallon drums for charcoal production. I thought it would be a good way to improve sandy soil, but I haven't found the time to do that yet.

May eventually make some for grilling. Right now, I'm perfecting the process and dialing in the inputs. It uses up a good amount of wood, so you have to be strategic with it. What I'm making now will get ground up and turned into biochar for my gardens.

I use a 10-gallon stainless pot. I don't want paints, gaskets, and resins getting into my charcoal. I don't know if that's a problem or not. But I'm not gonna be the one to find out.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

May eventually make some for grilling. Right now, I'm perfecting the process and dialing in the inputs. It uses up a good amount of wood, so you have to be strategic with it. What I'm making now will get ground up and turned into biochar for my gardens.

I use a 10-gallon stainless pot. I don't want paints, gaskets, and resins getting into my charcoal. I don't know if that's a problem or not. But I'm not gonna be the one to find out.

I think you could probably burn out most of the contaminants with a small fire inside and outside the drum and discard that wood if there was a contamination concern. It would be interesting to see if some biochar tonnage could make a noticeable difference in plant growth in an area.

Are you going to soak the biochar in some type of compost or manure mix to charge them up before adding them to your gardenl? I use leftover coals and ash from my maple syrup operation in an attempt to build soil. I spread those ashes and coals around apple trees in some sandy locations and add leaves, grass clippings and dead varmints and deer carcasses over the course of the year. That combo turns into some really nice topsoil in a few years and tree growth explodes.

 

[Telemark]

I think you could probably burn out most of the contaminants with a small fire inside and outside the drum and discard that wood if there was a contamination concern. It would be interesting to see if some biochar tonnage could make a noticeable difference in plant growth in an area.

Are you going to soak the biochar in some type of compost or manure mix to charge them up before adding them to your gardenl? I use leftover coals and ash from my maple syrup operation in an attempt to build soil. I spread those ashes and coals around apple trees in some sandy locations and add leaves, grass clippings and dead varmints and deer carcasses over the course of the year. That combo turns into some really nice topsoil in a few years and tree growth explodes.

Try adding some clay to your sandy soil.