GreenGro EarthShine Biochar

Earthshine Biochar blend is a fast and easy way to boost the performance of new soil, reuse your old soil, and improve the effectiveness of compost teas and Mycorrhizae products. This amazing product will save any gardener money by reducing soil costs, improving fertilizer use and reducing water use over the gardening season.

Biochar and its use in amending soil is an age old Native American technique that has been around for over a thousand years. It is based upon the observation that after a forest fire occurs the surrounding vegetative growth is tremendously more robust than areas that were not affected by the fires. The fire creates rich deposits of carbon in the soil and this increases soil fertility and encourages microbial activity. Earthshine mimics this incredible process and thereby brings new life to your garden.

The International Biochar Initiative has recognized Biochar’s ability to rejuvenate soil carbon levels, sequester CO2, reduce nutrient runoff, and increase water use efficiency.  We make our Biochar from oak, pine and other woods and blend it with the highest quality soil amending ingredients.

Directions for Use:

• Recycling old Soil: 1 Lb per 4 Cubic feet of soil
  
• Boosting new soil: 1 Lb per 6 cubic feet
  
• Compost tea accelerator: 1 to 2 TBS per 5 gallon
  
• Transplant: 1 TBS per 6 inch potting hole

    Application Rates:

• 2-4oz. will treat 5 to 10 gals. of tea.
• 1tbs. will treat a 12in. x 12in. potting hole.
• 1lb. will treat 4 cubic feet of new or old soil.
• 4lbs. will treat 13.5 cubic feet of soil (100 gallon soil pots)
• 7-8lbs. will treat 1 cubic yard (light) but more can be applied if desired. A heavy application would be 15lbs. per cubic yard.
• 25 gallon pot = 1lb Earthshine
• 50 gallon pot = 2lbs. Earthshine
• 75 gallon pot = 3lbs. Earthshine
• There are 27 cubic feet per cubic yard of soil.

    Large application:

30 Lbs will treat 1 pallet of new soil OR 2 cubic yards of old soil

BIOCHAR: What is it?

Biochar is slowly charred organic matter. In most cases it is made out of hardwood, oak, pine or redwood. The regionally specific locations we pull from are Colorado and Northern California. Biochar is made by slowly heating the wood at approximately 650 degrees for a period of 24 hours. This insures that the wood is carbonized but not completely made out of carbon activated charcoal. The main difference between activated charcoal and Biochar are that activated charcoal is primarily used for absorption and soil remediation whereas Biochar is used as a soil amending ingredient and has been proven very useful at cultivating beneficial bacteria and fungi in the soil. Biochar should still have some remnants of wood remaining while activated charcoal is completely carbonized and is not intended for agricultural use.

The International Biochar Initiative has recognized Biochar’s ability to rejuvenate soil carbon levels, sequester CO2, reduce nutrient runoff, increase water use efficiency and promote soil microbial development. Activated charcoal is not as good as Biochar because it is a byproduct of a secondary industry. Activated charcoal usually comes from bio energy or energy production industries. And thus it is very inexpensive to buy compared to Biochar. Biochar is listed as organic while activated charcoal cannot be listed as organic in most cases.

Product Particle Size:

Biochar is typically made in 1 to 2 inch sized pieces. However, the soil breaks them down slowly so it is important to break them into sizes of roughly a quarter inch or smaller to insure that it is utilized in the soil quickly. GreenGro's Biochar is sized between 3mm and 26 mesh. Since GreenGro's Biochar is refined to a smaller size, the soil is able to utilize it quicker and it works faster in the growing season. Other inexpensive Biochar products are sized to 1 inch or larger and may take several seasons to break down. The smaller the particle size, the more expensive the cost will be due to extra production costs associated with breaking and filtering it down to a smaller particle size. GreenGro typically doesn’t sell pure Biochar, it's blended into GreenGro's EarthShine Biochar product to insure ease of use and functionality in the soil.

Over use in the soil which can cause problems such as nutrient and water deprivation to the plant because of the Biochar’s ability to hold nutrient and moisture very efficiently. So we blend our EarthShine mix with Glacial Rock, Humic Acid, Worm Castings, Organic Soy Bean Meal and Beneficial Bacteria. This insures proper nutrient, microbial and Biochar ratio. It is mixed ‘ready-to-use’ and is somewhat fool proof and safer to use in this manner. It is used best with mycorrhizal products such as GreenGro Mycorrhizae, compost teas, and neutral soil such as coco. It can be used as a pre-planting mix, old soil rejuvenator, new soil booster, transplant aid and a compost tea booster.

Odor and Appearance: Since this is considered a fermented fertilizer product (and biologically active once moisture and sunlight are introduced to the product) the biological processes will begin and over time a fermented wine or beer smell may occur due to the breaking down of nutrients in the product or soil. This is safe, natural and completely normal. If kept in a cool, dry place and out of the sunlight, EarthShine should stay viable for up to 3 years. When packaged or dry it will be very dusty and leave a black carbon residue on everything – use caution. Do not ingest or inhale