Permaculture Techniques & Education
A collection of permaculture principles, techniques & eco-gardening hacks from the Permaculture Education Institute (@ Crystal Waters Eco-Village in Queensland Australia):
12 Permaculture Design Principles
Designing For Water Resilience
Creating a Water-Resilient Garden: 6 Simple Ways To Save Water In Your Garden
How To Make Self-Watering Pots
How To Make & Keep A No-Dig Garden
How to Use Coffee Grounds In Your Garden
Soil Stewardship Handbook
Biochar + EM (Effective Microorganisms) Research
- – A research study showing that combining both Effective Microorganisms (EM) and Biochar as compost inputs is an extremely effective method of composting, as EM+biochar accelerates the rate of decomposition of organic materials and has positive impacts on the chemical & physical properties of compost manure .
- – Research paper showing the effectiveness of biochar + EM + wood ash for restoring soil quality in depleted farm soil.
How To Inoculate Biochar With Effective Microorganisms
How To Make Biochar
Biochar is made by burning wood in a high-heat + low-oxygen environment (aka pyrolysis). To make your own biochar, plans for constructing your own biochar-burner are readily available online, as are fully-assembled biochar-burner/pyrolosis equipment/setups.
You can also make biochar without specialized equipment by making a fire-pit (in soil or sand; if you have access to a campfire-friendly beach it’s a nice place to make DIY biochar) and then covering the fire (with dirt or sand) when fire gets to the right stage:
For biochar, make sure the wood (or other biomass) you’re burning is clean/untreated with any chemicals.. The fire is ready to cover when smoke color changes to bluish-gray (as wood burns the smoke will change from white (water vapor) to yellow (when resins in wood start burning/vaporizing) to bluish-gray. Fire is ready to cover when smoke changes to bluish-gray colour (important to cover the fire as biochar formation is optimal in a high-temperature low-oxygen environment which encourages pyrolysis i.e. maximum ratio of wood converting to biochar instead of burning off into ash..)
