Biochar Workshop at Frog Farm

On April 23 we held a biochar compost workshop at Frog Farm in Cave Junction. About 25 people attended and heard a lecture by Kelpie, toured the Frog Farm barns and compost piles and enjoyed a farm fresh lunch. After lunch we headed to Kelpie's biochar workshop down the street and saw various biochar compost experiments and biochar used in vermiculture.

Kelpie's presentation in the Frog Farm Gazebo

Tour of the Frog Farm goat barn

Frog Farm compost pile and screen setup

Worms love biochar!

UBET at Earth Day

We had a good day with a surprising interest in biochar from many gardeners. They all got brochures to get those wheels turning.

- Scott

PRESS RELEASE: Making Biochar in your backyard, small farm, forest, or vineyard

The Umpqua Biochar Educational Team (UBET) will demonstrate making Biochar using various types of kilns at the Elkton Community Education Center (ECEC) Thursday April 28 from 9am-2pm at 15850 Hwy 38, Elkton.

Turn your burn pile into a very valuable soil amendment by making Biochar.   The UBET members will demonstrate the proper method of creating Biochar with your backyard tree prunings, vineyard prunings, scotch broom, hawthorne, and other "trash" items.  What is so amazing about Biochar?  It nourishes soils, protects water quality, provides market value to biomass waste, creates energy, reduces Greenhouse Gas emissions and sequesters CO2 for thousands of years.  Don't let your burn pile burn to ash,  but turn it into cash.

For more information conact the ECEC:  541 584 2692

Biochar in Cave Junction on April 2, 2016

Excellent article about integrating biochar and livestock production

Download this article here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wyrbc4tka55ja8k/WANTFA_NF_Summer2015_Biochar-002.pdf?dl=0

The Bug Whisperer

Mark Sturges came and spoke at the Biochar Expo a couple of years ago about his amazing compost tea. Just found this article and want to remember it so I am posting it here for all of us. It's worth reading again. Check it out here:
http://craftsmanship.net/the-bug-whisperer/

Checklist for a Biochar Burn

Here's a checklist of things you need to consider when planning a biochar burn:

• You need a water source, first of all, both for safety and for quenching the char. 
• Several shovels and rakes for spreading and cooling the char when it's done.
• Old steel roofing material is helpful for spreading and cooling the char without getting dirt or other contamination.
• Dry wood. A moisture meter is helpful. It's not very efficient to use wood that is more than 20% moisture. 
• Safety - Helpers should all have leather gloves and wear cotton or wool clothing that won't melt. These piles can put out a lot of heat! It is good for at least one person to have a fire helmet and a face shield. 
• Get a burn permit from the local officials. 
• Ignition - You can use a propane weed burner type torch for ignition, but all you need is a match if you have plenty of dry kindling. Light it on the top. 
• Make sure the kindling is somewhat densely packed so it will sustain a flame and allow the flame to move down to the lower layers. It seems slow to start but pretty soon you'll find the whole pile is ablaze. 
• Use a wind screen if conditions are breezy. Even if wind is not a factor, a wind screen will help hold in heat for a safer and more efficient biochar burn.