Using Charcoal

[mikecox]

The seeds are placed on top of the charcoal. I've never seen this done before.

 

[Chuck]

Horticultural charcoal is used for water retention and absorption. It absorbs nutrients and holds moisture well. When a seed is placed on top of the charcoal the water in the medium is absorbed along with any nutrients that are available. The charcoal is a porous substance and the roots will grow into it. Also HC has trace minerals. In the above picture all it is is a marketing gimmick. You can do the same thing by making your own bio-char or adding HC to your garden soil.

 

[mikecox]

Horticultural charcoal is used for water retention and absorption. It absorbs nutrients and holds moisture well. When a seed is placed on top of the charcoal the water in the medium is absorbed along with any nutrients that are available. The charcoal is a porous substance and the roots will grow into it. Also HC has trace minerals. In the above picture all it is is a marketing gimmick. You can do the same thing by making your own bio-char or adding HC to your garden soil.

Thanks for that very complete explanation. It makes sense, based on my totally unrelated experience with charcoal, in the ER.

 

[alp]

If you want to know more, please click here

Hope it helps.

 

[mikecox]

If you want to know more, please click here

Hope it helps.

very interesting, thanks

 

[AuntRose53]

View attachment 59224

The seeds are placed on top of the charcoal. I've never seen this done before.

don’t do it, they didn’t do that 100s of years ago and they lived off the farm back then. these new trends are horseshit.

 

[Chuck]

don’t do it, they didn’t do that 100s of years ago and they lived off the farm back then. these new trends are horseshit.

I'm sorry Aunt Rose but farmers in Europe and South America have been using charcoal for 1000's of years.

 

[AuntRose53]

I'm sorry Aunt Rose but farmers in Europe and South America have been using charcoal for 1000's of years.

well I’ve never read of such thing and I’ve read a lot of history in farming now.

 

[Chuck]

well I’ve never read of such thing and I’ve read a lot of history in farming now.

Google history of charcoal in agriculture. There is a lot of reading there.

 

[AuntRose53]

I swear google lies cus they biased against the old ways. But I’ll consider taking a look in a bit. Never heard of such nonsense, perhaps I missed something in my reading many years ago.

 

[Chuck]

I swear google lies cus they biased against the old ways. But I’ll consider taking a look in a bit. Never heard of such nonsense, perhaps I missed something in my reading many years ago.

I am probably older than you and I have known about charcoal for decades. Using charcoal IS one of the old ways. What do you think the first settlers in N. America did with all those trees they cut down besides make cabins out of them. They turned them into charcoal and dug it under. And google is biased, but with politics, not with factual history.

What do you think charcoal is? It is unburned organic material. It doesn't have much NPK but is loaded with trace minerals. It decomposes just like any other wood only a little slower. Don't you use organic materials in your garden?

 

[AuntRose53]

I am probably older than you and I have known about charcoal for decades. Using charcoal IS one of the old ways. What do you think the first settlers in N. America did with all those trees they cut down besides make cabins out of them. They turned them into charcoal and dug it under. And google is biased, but with politics, not with factual history.

What do you think charcoal is? It is unburned organic material. It doesn't have much NPK but is loaded with trace minerals. It decomposes just like any other wood only a little slower. Don't you use organic materials in your garden?

How old are you sir? You sure talk like one of those hipsters. Well that’s just not how my great grandparents did it and they had a wonderful garden, lots of beets, peas, cabbage and we only ate off of the land growing up. Yes I use my own homemade compost. I rarely make it to the store and refuse to buy anything for my garden only all natural just like our ancestors did it.

 

[Chuck]

How old are you sir? You sure talk like one of those hipsters. Well that’s just not how my great grandparents did it and they had a wonderful garden, lots of beets, peas, cabbage and we only ate off of the land growing up. Yes I use my own homemade compost. I rarely make it to the store and refuse to buy anything for my garden only all natural just like our ancestors did it.

I am 72 and a tad old to be a hipster but many things improve with age. Especially gardening knowledge. My parents had a farmers market/roadside stand vegetable garden of 13 acres and that is how I grew up from big enough to hold a hoe until I went into the military. I got out of that and have been gardening ever since. Only in the past 25-30 years have organic methods and products become common. I use nothing but totally organic products in my garden now but, 25 years ago I had no choice but to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides. We only had 1 milk cow and my mom used all of her manure for her flowers which she also sold. I have a fair sized garden but it is getting difficult to work it properly so next year everything but row crops will be in containers.