Biochar: “This gift of nature is the best way to save us from climate catastrophe” -Peter Read

The term “biochar” was coined by Peter Read to describe this type of charcoal being used as a soil amendment.

Black Owl Biochar starts with virgin wood left over from sustainably harvested forests and transforms it with heat into a stable form of carbon that decomposes at a nearly undetectable rate.

Biochar and bio-energy co-production techniques can be used to offset climate change by displacing fossil-fuel burning and sequestering carbon into long-lasting soil-carbon “pools”.

This simple and easily-produced product can be used to sequester more than 2 annual gigatons of carbon by the middle of this century. As one of a few technologies which are low-cost and easily-implemented, the question goes begging: Can we really afford not to pursue it?

Biochar creates more soil habitat for beneficial microbes, enhances aeration, nutrient and water availability, and improves soil texture. That means vigorous plants, with more flowers and fruits.

A premiere biochar consisting of greater than 80% carbon

• Low ash content
• High porosity and low density
• High surface area (~800 square meters/gram)
  Ideal particle size for multiple uses in the garden or in bioremediation
• Improves water movement, increases nutrient retention and availability in production soils
• Filters storm water, removes toxins, pathogens and heavy metals in remediation projects.

Black Owl Ultra Biochar (7 Quarts)

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Black Owl Ultra Biochar (1 Cubic Foot)

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Biochar is a terrific solid matter derived from biomass which has been carbonized through heat processed materials. Created through gasification or pyrolysis, these are the names of processes which involve the heating of biomass in reduced-oxygen environments.

This technique,  which dates back more than 2000 years, converts ag-waste into a rich, dark and earthy soil amendment that has been shown to effectively retain carbon and increase soil biodiversity, while at the same time discouraging the unnecessary destruction of forest-habitats. Biochar is a porous and fine-grained charcoal which has been shown to aid a soil’s ability to retain both valuable nutrients and water-supplies.

Biochar can be found in soils from around the world as a result of vegetation fires and ancient soil management techniques. Studies of dark earth-belts in South America, (known as “terra preta”), have allowed us to possess a greater understanding of Biochar’s unique soil-enhancing properties. Biochar has been shown to improve water-utilization by improving nutrient-retention for crops. Basically, nutrients are more likely to stay in soil rather than leach into the groundwater.

Adding biochar to soils to improves rhizosphere functions and sequesters gases from the biomass that would otherwise become greenhouse emissions. Biochar has carbon sequestration value: Such properties have been verified in carbon emission-offset protocols.