Deep Sea Diver
Imperial Masterpiece
For the past four years I’ve been sporadically researching Biochar as a beneficial media amendment and searching for a product that would be usual le as a bonsai media amendment.
There are a plethora of scientific studies researching the effectiveness of Biochar as a soil amendment. At the same time we’ve all been inundated with other products, following in a long line of pricy ‘go faster’ bonsai dollar intensive products… Vitamin B1 and hormone, Superthrive, Kelp, Humic acid, Fulvic acid, CO2 pumping, etc etc.
Research shows some are shams, others to be effective, yet for the best there are downsides of price and liquid applications losing much of the product upon application and after the next watering cycle.
What Biochar appears to offer is something else, a product that hangs around in the media, improving the rhizosphere via its chemical, physical and biological properties, improving CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity), high water-holding capacity, size of pore, volume, distribution, and element composition, affect its recognized influences, particularly on microbial communities.
obtw: There is a precedent of using charcoal in bonsai media already in that folks actually use horticultural charcoal as a regular component of properly made up Boon “APL” mixes. Yet it’s not widely used in most other mixes…. and horticultural charcoal is not Biochar.
At this point, I think it’s time to try Biochar out.…. and I’m gonna jump into the swamp and try it out in some limited applications, expanding over time, starting with a couple dozen newly repotted satsuki azaleas (in a 90/10 Kanuma/pumice blend)
The problem is finding a product that doesn’t gunk up the media, as biochar amendments tend to be smaller particles. That’s where I was hung up before pulling the trigger on actually using Biochar. Next post we’ll explore one of these products.
obtw: Here’s some research on Biochar for those who would like to be informed on the potential of Biochar: .
2017 review of research paper
a bit about Karen O’Hanlon….
Some pioneering works documented…. and
a bit on Biochar and Humic acid
more. soon,
cheers
DSD sends
There are a plethora of scientific studies researching the effectiveness of Biochar as a soil amendment. At the same time we’ve all been inundated with other products, following in a long line of pricy ‘go faster’ bonsai dollar intensive products… Vitamin B1 and hormone, Superthrive, Kelp, Humic acid, Fulvic acid, CO2 pumping, etc etc.
Research shows some are shams, others to be effective, yet for the best there are downsides of price and liquid applications losing much of the product upon application and after the next watering cycle.
What Biochar appears to offer is something else, a product that hangs around in the media, improving the rhizosphere via its chemical, physical and biological properties, improving CEC (Cation Exchange Capacity), high water-holding capacity, size of pore, volume, distribution, and element composition, affect its recognized influences, particularly on microbial communities.
obtw: There is a precedent of using charcoal in bonsai media already in that folks actually use horticultural charcoal as a regular component of properly made up Boon “APL” mixes. Yet it’s not widely used in most other mixes…. and horticultural charcoal is not Biochar.
At this point, I think it’s time to try Biochar out.…. and I’m gonna jump into the swamp and try it out in some limited applications, expanding over time, starting with a couple dozen newly repotted satsuki azaleas (in a 90/10 Kanuma/pumice blend)
The problem is finding a product that doesn’t gunk up the media, as biochar amendments tend to be smaller particles. That’s where I was hung up before pulling the trigger on actually using Biochar. Next post we’ll explore one of these products.
obtw: Here’s some research on Biochar for those who would like to be informed on the potential of Biochar: .
2017 review of research paper
a bit about Karen O’Hanlon….
Some pioneering works documented…. and
a bit on Biochar and Humic acid
more. soon,
cheers
DSD sends