Biochar

Biochar - a biologically activated charcoal, first made from woody biomass and crop residues (& even manures) in a low oxygen burning process called pyrolysis. After the charcoal is produced, the biochar should then be enhanced or charged with various nutrients and liquid. In the very least a cow urine and water solution. But more elaborate methods include being enhanced for weeks in blends of composts, teas, seaweed, rock dusts etc. The biomass can also be prepared pre-pyrolysis to make it paramagnetic.

Once applied to the soil, the biochar adds carbon and can - depending on application rates - dramatically improve the soil’s water holding capacity and even structure and redox. If enhanced well, the biochar can also provide fantastic resources to plant roots and abet the regeneration of the soil food web. With its extraordinary surface area, biochar also offers space for microorganisms to shelter.

At Drawdown Farm we’ve been wanting to incorporate Biochar since the beginning of our journey in 2017, but never had the bandwidth to be able to. We recently produced our first batches, and we’re escalating our production of biochar, with the goal of producing as much as our biomass access will allow. We believe that this Drawdown solution is an essential component to regenerating dead soils, esp. in semi-arid and brittle environments.