Anybody ever used Biochar?

[roadhunter]

I ran across a product a while back that I had never heard of called Biochar. After researching it a bit it sounds like an interesting soil amendment. I was curious if anybody out there has tried using biochar in thier garden, yard, flower beds, etc..?

I found some older discussions on the subject but nothing recent.

Some info
Frequently Asked Questions about Biochar | International Biochar Initiative

Biochar Basics | US Biochar Initiative

 

[Billrog]

I have a friend that makes it and he gave me some so this summer I'll use it in my garden.

 

[charlz]

Biochar is just charcoal... as in the pyrolysis of wood byproduct, not what you BBQ with. It can help raise your PH if you need and can help the soil retain moisture. We already have high PH here so I was more interested in boosting the carbon levels in the soil and seeing what it did for water retention.

I did not make a lot of it and only treated a small area. Like compost the stuff disappeared into the soil pretty fast. After one season I couldn't tell the difference between treated and untreated areas with the exception that I would find the occasional piece of charcoal in the treated area. I think you would have to add a significant amount of it at once or make it an annual amendment like compost. If you live somewhere that already has nice dark soils it might not make as much of a difference. I was in South Dakota once and couldn't believe how dark their soils are.... figured it was from the tens of thousands of years or more that the prairie was decomposing/burning etc. which put a lot of carbon into the soil.