Biochar test bed for spring has now been put to bed so to speak. This post is dedicated to all of you who like to get into the garden and experiment with biochar.
biochar test bed start with a empty plot and frame it
The biochar tests we have done in our zone 2 Garden are not strictly scientific like the ones set out at The International Biochar Initiative here . We are doing these beds to enhance the yields of foods for us to eat.
biochar test bed cover to prevent weeds from competing
Our biochar test bed is based around permaculture concepts and biological farming methods. It would be very hard to standardise these beds to produce scientific data as the variables are in the hundreds.
biochar test bed slabs down so we don’t compact the earth or crush the roots
Nonetheless I am sure someone will soon be able to deduce scientific data from these kinds of beds in the near future as it is well known that these permaculture concepts are the best way to produce abundant food in the smallest of spaces.
biochar test bed layering the organic materials
By me creating a link between permaculture and Biochar in a simple way I am hoping to get the permaculture fraternity onto the idea that biochar is a great team player and it can only serve to enhance the permaculture design further.
biochar test bed adding biochar to enhance growth
Biochar test beds will be an important tool to help convert folks who are already on the organic / natural trail to a input that offers so much more than just carbon to the soils.
biochar test bed trailer of poo food for plants
The joy of seeing one of these biochar test beds in full bloom is gratifying to say the least. Gaia has a wonderful connection to each of us that really goes beyond the limits of our scientifically acknowledged five senses.
biochar test bed finished ready for planting
Biochar Test Bed
Here are the stages we went through to produce our Biochar Test Bed.
1. Find a empty area and border it.
2. Lay down weed suppressing material like paper or cardboard
3. Put down something to walk along that will not compress or crush roots
4. Layer organic materials straw/cow poo/ humanure whatever you have with soil
5. Add your conditioned biochar (we used worm wee human wee and water) at the rate you want (we did 1kg per meter square)
6. Mulch over the lot in preparation for planting. Water during every step.
Don’t forget to think loving thoughts throughout this process it really helps a lot to nurture your food. (Sorry cant prove this scientifically as our current grasp of science is to infantile right now). However there are massive quantum leaps being made right now in the spiritual science called Plutonic Fullerene Chemistry. So perhaps one day I will be able to prove it.
Hope this helps
Charmaster Dolph
