What's up everyone? Welcome back to the podcast. Today we're going to be talking about biochar and its uses or potential misuses in the garden. So we're going to talk about what it is and what is it supposed to do.

So in its purest form, biochar is pyrolyzed organic material.

So pyrolysis is a form of thermal decomposition in a low oxygen environment, which means extreme heat and low

air flow that prevents the material from catching fire. Instead, it charrs kind of like charcoal right so there are benefits and there are

drawbacks to using biochar in the garden the first thing that we're going to do

is discuss the different types then we'll go into more detail and potentially how to use it.

Okay, first the types. In and of itself, charcoal is the term used to describe charred wood that is turned into coal,

but what we're really trying to

describe here is carbonized wood. As it burns, wood releases all the

volatile compounds that were within it is starting with water. Plant saps are

burned off, toxins are often neutralized, and what's left behind is pure carbon

and ash.

Now it's the pure carbon, which is potentially beneficial in your garden, and that should be your goal.

The ash can actually have benefits too,

but the carbon itself is what you are striving for.

You'll know you have good charcoal if it's light in weight,

if it kind of has a clinking ceramic sound when it's dropped and it's

very brittle and breaks easy. If you have material that's heavy or doesn't break

easily that often means that there's unburned parts within it and it's not pure charcoal.

The first question that a lot of people will ask is,

can you use grilling coal?

So if you buy charcoal bricettes, can you actually use them?

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