How I Make Biochar - Easy Methods - And How I Inoculate or "Charge" the Charcoal with Compost

Budget Phil
Budget Phil
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Published 2022-01-17
Making biochar can be as easy as tending a campfire. I'll show how 10 gallons of biochar was made in about 45 minutes using a cone shaped pit during this video. I also show how charcoal was made using my Bar-B-Q. It's as easy as enjoying a campfire in the backyard, followed by extinguishing the hot coals with water. What remains is charcoal that can be burned later with the grill for cooking, or crushed and mixed with an active compost pile to inoculate it with beneficial microbes and nutrients. Then when that compost applied to the garden, it adds even more carbon to the soil than it would otherwise. And that carbon from the charcoal can last a long time. I have read about fertile soil located in parts of South America, referred to as Terra Preta, that was created by people using charcoal with compost long ago and is apparently still very rich in carbon. A video that explains some of the benefits biochar has to offer is listed below. Some books that helped me learn about biochar, microbes, and charcoal in general are also listed below. I receive a commission from some of the links in the description. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

What is Biochar? (video link):    • What is Biochar? - How does it Improv...  

Biochar Benefits - Stable Carbon (video link):    • Biochar Benefits - Adding Stable Carb...  

Clay Soil, and Biochar (video link):    • Biochar Benefits - Improving Clay Soi...  


Books that Helped Me Learn How to Make Biochar:

- Gardening with Biochar: amzn.to/3S4oecF

- Making Charcoal and Biochar: amzn.to/3OFr3jo

- Teaming with Microbes: amzn.to/3tS48dx


Gloves I Wear in the Video: amzn.to/3xDggRd


Biochar has many benefits for garden soil and can even help mitigate the effects of pollution. This is the cheapest and easiest method I know of to make biochar, but there are other ways that are more efficient and can produce higher quality charcoal. The first two books mentioned above both include information on how to make higher quality charcoal than I typically get using the method shown in the video. The more efficient methods involve using kilns or retorts. The second book listed above, "Making Charcoal and Biochar", is particularly detailed about the subject of kilns and retorts and gives a little history along the way. Doesn't have much info about gardening with biochar, but it does include a lot of good information about making charcoal. The first book, "Gardening with Biochar", provided me with enough info to start making my own biochar and also gave some history as well as info on how to use it in the garden. I read it first. The last book listed, "Teaming with Microbes", is about the microbiology in soil. It helped me to better understand how to promote healthy soil ecology.


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All Comments (21)
  • @freedomfighter0011
    I'm about to give you the best tip of your life for making this stuff. When you think its burnt enough, throw a sheet of roofing iron or such over it and cover with dirt, it will starve it of oxygen but continue to smoulder for a while giving you the best char you have ever seen. Thanks not needed.
  • @jeffcole1914
    If you go by the areas that have been destroyed by wildfires you notice where it regrows it’s lush and beautiful.
  • @grasshopper7760
    I love your presentation, and your attention to detail is phenomenal. Thanks for the great content! And now I'm going to go make me some bread on a stick
  • @Frog13799
    You can also soak your bio char in an organic liquid fertiliser followed by jadam microbial solution (easy to make with leaf mould and potatoes) this will inoculate it way faster than a compost pile and avoid the charcoal leaching nutrients from the soil initially
  • @B30pt87
    Subscribed. This is a great biochar video! I've been watching a lot of them, as I'm going to move up to my property next month. I loved the amount of information you put in - it's obvious you know what you're talking about. P.S. I have the match to your cat.
  • @1049662
    Mum uses a method of a ten gallon drum inside a forty gallon drum, she ties newspaper around the smaller drum and places it upside down inside the larger drum which has some vent holes cut around the bottom, then builds a fire inside around the smaller drum and lights it, the stuff inside the smaller drum is pyrolized. She linked me this because she found it interesting and I do likewise!
  • @the26local96
    i'm gonna start doing this and selling it near me. awesome video man
  • @TRUMP_WAS_RIGHT_ABOUT_EVRYTHNG
    nice! my usual task is big fires in feb or early march on top of my garden and mix all the ash and charred bits in to the soil. i knew it was good for the garden but i had never heard of biochar! ill have to try to have a fire and not let it get to ashes LOL
  • @Wolfe0803
    Thanks so much for not making it seem like you have to be a microbiologist engineer rocket physicist psychic to make good bio char. I enjoyed your techniques and your narration.
  • @totopolo2379
    hey was that some bread at the end? that was fantastic
  • @KimikoMaui
    This guy sounds extremely excited about all of this😂
  • @georgecarlin2656
    Since you seem to be dealing with branches imho you should use the trench method so that you work less on cutting them into little pieces.
  • @karan25535
    Great video.... between the 1st two pit methods, which one did u find better....where u keep adding wood slowly and building the fire or where u add all the wood together and burn from top?