Introducing Salt Spring Soil!

A new source for local, regenerative soil building amendments to help you and your plants grow abundantly.

Biochar is a carbon rich soil amendment made from burning biomass in a low oxygen environment to create charcoal. The charcoal becomes biologically active when it is added to the soil and becomes filled with soil micro-organisms, water and nutrients. Biochar has an immense surface area and complex pore structure (a single gram can have a surface area of over 1000 square yards). When added to your soil as an amendment biochar increases the capacity of your soil to store water, hold onto nutrients, and support a healthy soil food web. Biochar is incredibly stable, and can last in the soil for thousands of years if undisturbed. This sequesters carbon more effectively than any other method currently in practice.

Benefits of Biochar

• Enhanced crop yields
• Improved soil texture
• Improved soil water holding capacity
• Reduction in nutrient leaching
• Soil carbon sequestration
• Healthier soil food web

Application

Biochar can be added directly to your garden soil, but it is most immediately beneficial if it has been ‘charged’ or ‘activated’ with biological activity first. Our biochar has been activated by mixing it in with high quality vermicompost so it is ready to go straight into the ground. If you are working with your own biochar that needs activating you can do so by adding it to a compost pile, or soaking it in compost tea before applying it to the garden.

Our biochar can be mixed directly into your soil as a light top dressing or it can be added to plant holes before planting. Make sure to water thoroughly after adding biochar so that the life contained in it stays moist and for water to start soaking into it.

For More Information

Biochar: Helping Everything from Soil Fertility to Odor Reduction