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Post by heavyhitterokra on May 10, 2022 4:20:45 GMT -6
Chrysanthemum, You might have to add something along the lines of sulfur to your final product there in that situation with your pH being above 8.0 already. It might be that someone has already studied this and figured it out for you? If not, you might contact Texas A&M to request they do a study on behalf of the public. Sometimes, universities are just looking for an opportunity to do a thing like that. I've participated in several OSU research projects up here over the decades.
Being how the charcoal needs to be crushed, in order to better absorb the inoculants, I'll bet it would be easier there to burn your cedar limbs and branches a few evenings at a time in the bottom of a barrel, by stacking them on top of one another faster than they can fully burn, then dousing the flames with water, leaving ideal diameter charcoal in the bottom of the barrel. That might even be an enjoyable thing to do as a family. You might even be able to do that in a hand-dug fire pit. If not, buying a bag of natural lump charcoal and crushing it certainly is an option. Every little bit helps.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on May 21, 2022 8:27:59 GMT -6
Man After My Own Heart If you can't find a thing you need on the farm, just set out to build one yourself. Something about that is very satisfying. Two pillow blocks, an old belt, a used pulley, an old electric motor, a few homemade blades, a grid made of plate steel, a few blots, some plywood, and you've got a Winter's long project that can not only chop charcoal but can grind pecan shells as well. |
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2022 13:52:48 GMT -6
Would it destroy a wood chipper?
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Post by heavyhitterokra on May 21, 2022 20:14:55 GMT -6
I wouldn't think charcoal would hurt a wood chipper. You'd need some way to wet it really well though or the dust would take you out and could possibly start a fire. Charcoal dust is flammable and possibly explosive if in high enough concentrations. We had a coal dust explosion at the GRDA Powerhouse in Chouteau once that blew the boiler doors open on the 7th floor and blew the catwalk landing right off the pulverizer deck on the ground floor. Of course, nothing that catastrophic could ever happen in an open area. That was just because the explosion was confined by the boiler enclosure, plus it was a massive area of coal dust that exploded. We were told it happened because the coal in the pulverizer had been wet during a shutdown and methane built up, but who knows what really happened?
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2022 8:32:57 GMT -6
I take that as a Yes. keh Think I'll leave that idea behind.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 5, 2022 15:59:53 GMT -6
This is a good, short video showing my favorite method of cooking charcoal for Bio-char. I've tried quite a few methods over the last two years, this one is the simplest, cheapest, and most efficient.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 5, 2022 20:18:12 GMT -6
Charcoal absorbs everything, like a tiny sponge. It's also used to purify water. (charcoal, not biochar).
Charcoal is really good stuff, but only if used correctly. If one were to spread charcoal without first charging it with nutrients to become what is called 'biochar' it would absorb the nutrients right out of your soil. But, once it's charged, it's like a battery, in that it time releases nutrients for an extended period of time.
I've been really pleased with the results. Plus, it's just an interesting and very peaceful winter-time activity. 
There are quite a few videos of late on how to 'activate' charcoal, using Lemon Juice and Distilled water. I'm no expert on the subject, but from the few videos I've watched recently, it appears to be fairly easy to do. It would also be a lot more economical than buying pre-activated, being how you can make it for virtually nothing.
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