Inoculation

Local compost sources are limited in the forest. To inoculate char with few external inputs, I add compost tea and worm castings made from food waste. While it was available, I also used recycled cannabis waste from oil extraction.

Microorganisms that inhabit biochar need the char to have a high surface-to-volume ratio, otherwise they won’t penetrate far enough to fully utilize it. That’s why we grind it down to 1/4” or less. Raw biochar sponges up nutrients and water until it reaches equilibrium, so we either co-compost it with garden trimmings or slake it in compost tea for a few days before incorporating it into soil. Otherwise the crop would suffer for a season.