Improve Your Soil's Health With Bio-Char From Tenderfoot Farm
Four Benefits of Bio-Char
Bio-Char is a type of charcoal that forms when organic matter decomposes under high temperatures without oxygen. This carbon-rich material has many benefits, ranging from renewable energy to combating climate change. Some of its best attributes, however, are the ways it enhances the health of your soil. Keep reading to learn more about Bio-Char or contact your friends at Tenderfoot Farm with questions about this wonderful matter.
Decrease Soil Acidity
When your soil’s pH is too low, this means it’s too acidic, which can be detrimental for your crops. Bio-Char can provide a quick-fix when your soil acidity gets too high. Because of its molecular structure, Bio-Char is more stable than its original carbon form, which means it doesn’t convert back into CO2 as easily. Its surface is also very absorbent of acidic materials, including aluminum and manganese. By absorbing the excess of these elements, Bio-Char helps your soil thrive.
Retain Water and Nutrients
Bio-Char lasts for a long time in soil - as long as a few thousand years, in fact. This makes it the most persistent organic soil application that we currently know of. Its extensive presence in soil is due to its ability to resist chemical and microbial degradation. This results in it helping to promote and elongate nutrient retention, water retention, and overall soil fertility.
Remove Unwanted Contaminants
We’ve already touched on how Bio-Char reduces soil acidity to balance soil pH by absorbing aluminum and manganese. However, there are other unwanted contaminants in soil that Bio-Char can help mitigate as well. In soils contaminated by heavy metals, Bio-Char can absorb damaging substances such as arsenic and cadmium. This means that Bio-Char has the potential to take historically hostile growing environments and make them bear growth.
Provide Environment for Soil Biology
Bio-Char has been observed to form symbiotic relationships with plant roots that allows them to more effectively absorb nutrients from the soil. It also provides a secure habitat for many good fungi and microorganisms. It can do this due to its complex pore structure and vast surface area - one gram can coat up to a thousand square yards.
There’s plenty more to say about Bio-Char. We could get into the weeds talking about its environmentally-friendly applications, potential energy production, and fascinating molecular structure. However, we think the most important thing for you, our curious growers, to know right now is how wonderfully it makes vegetables and herbs grow. Learn more about Bio-Char and its impressive resume by contacting Tenderfoot Farm today!