Plant Growth Assay Reports Now Online

Plant Growth Assays testing different biochar compost materials made by farmer participants in the Conservation Innovation Grant are now online. You can read them here:

Growth Test #1 - cattle manure with and without biochar

Growth Test #2 - worm castings with char; composted biochar

Growth Test #3 - alpaca manure compost with and without biochar

You can see clear differences between alpaca compost with biochar (L) and without (R).

New Report on Turning Shelterbelt Biomass to Biochar

Wilson Biochar Associates has completed a feasibility analysis on turning dead trees that were planted in shelterbelts throughout the Great Plains into biochar. The study was funded by North Dakota Forest Service and NDSU. You can read the report here:
http://greenyourhead.typepad.com/files/wba-converting-shelterbelt-to-biochar.pdf

The techniques discussed could also be useful for orchard removal. We relied a lot on the work of the Sonoma Biochar Initiative in developing the biochar technique called the Conservation Burn. You can learn more about SBI's work at: http://sonomabiocharinitiative.org/

Pictures: upper left - a typical burn pile in the Dakotas; lower left - a pile of vineyard prunings in Sonoma, California; right: Sonoma Biochar Initiative conducts trainings for farmers who want to learn the Conservation Burn method of converting burn piles to biochar.

​From Mike Burke on January 12:

Here is latest picture of Duchess Plots as of this morning.  There is deer damage to fencing that I was able to mend with twine, but there is a hole in need of 4'x4' patch.  Not sure who has any of this material left over from when we put it up?

Germination & Growth Tests

Winter is a good time to test some of the compost materials we made over the past year. We use small pots in a climate-controlled growth chamber. Each treatment has 5 replicates. We plant 10 cucumber seeds in each pot, water it, and add a humidity dome. We grow for 2 weeks without any additional watering. At the end of two weeks, we count the germinations and the number of secondary leaves. Then we harvest the plants and dry them in a food dehydrator for 24 hours. Finally, we weigh the biomass produced by each type of soil amendment. This gives us a way to compare the effects of different treatments on plants. Here is a collage of photos that illustrates the process:

A Visit to Siskiyou Alpaca

It was time to take some samples of compost at Siskiyou Alpaca. John and Christine Perala-Gardiner raise alpacas for their many values including fiber and the wonderful compost made from their droppings. We have two experimental compost piles with different amounts of added biochar, and control piles with no biochar.

Taking samples from the compost experiments.

Helper Nancy with Christine and John at Siskiyou Alpaca.

Current practice is to clean the barn and pile manure in windrows to compost.

These intelligent animals have the right idea about where to poop!

Making the Fungal Compost

Our gardens appreciate a good balance of helpful fungi. Good compost will help promote that balance. Don's biochar compost is looking pretty good.

Fungi (toadstools and mycelia) are growing on outside hay of my oldest pile that is currently 110-120 degrees F in the center. Mycelia in attached photo are on my recent pile started a couple of weeks ago.
-Don Morrison

NRCS CSP Program Biochar Enhancement

See the list of conservation enhancements supported by the NRCS CSP Program, here:
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/cspsearch/or/programs/financial/csp/?rc=allr&lu=alll#cspTable

Scroll down and look for:
CONSERVATION ENHANCEMENT ACTIVITY E384135Z Biochar production from woody residue