Burning for You

Biochar ready for amending into soil.

To say we take soil seriously may be an understatement. For nearly three decades, Mr. Bates (or Dad as I like to call him) has worked to continuously improve our soils and amendments. From switching from peat (which takes up to 1000 years for a meter to generate) to coconut coir (which is highly renewable) to fine tuning with quality ingredients, we are always looking for ways to improve our products. Part of what makes coconut coir sustainable is that the coconut palm can sequester up to 200 kilograms of carbon in its lifetime. Another marvel of carbon sequestration is biochar.

Biochar is black carbon made from biological sources for the purpose of transforming the biomass carbon into a more stable form. It is created through pyrolysis, a heat reaction that takes place between 350-700 degrees Celsius in an oxygen deprived environment. It is completely inert, and the nutritional content is negligible. However, it is resistant to degradation and can last thousands of years, pulling carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil. We’ve begun making our own, but we are still in the “R&D” phase. In the meantime, we invite you to try it in a Biochar Blend from Organic Mechanics, combined with compost and worm castings for maximum benefit. The porous nature of biochar can lighten heavy clay soils & prevent the leeching of nutrients from the composts!

It was made by indigenous peoples in the pre-colonization Amazon Basin to transform their red clay soils to “terra preta” or dark earth. Indigenous agricultural practices have been centuries ahead of western culture — food forests, crop rotation, plant guilds, and seed saving are part of their holistic approach. We gardeners see firsthand the interconnected nature of all things when we kneel to tend our beds, and we thank those who came before us for handing down their wisdom.

We may see a little rain in the forecast, but don’t give up watering your new plantings just yet! We’ll be out of the 90 degree days before you know it. If you still haven’t had your fill of botanical goodness, give us a follow on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Catch the Gardening Inside Out gang Saturday mornings at 8 am, or listen to the podcast after hours.

Happy Gardening,

Sara Bates