towards actually sustainable farming in Ahualoa
I recently did a second and third burn in my biochar kiln, tweaking each time. The story is best told in pictures: Upon detailed inspection, the April test burn actually gave good results. Four white buckets are completely charred material, two orange buckets incomplete, one mixed and one of material from the surrounding fire. Completely …
It’s been a long time since we’ve blogged about tea. The field has been growing exceedingly well, particular in the wet wet weather which stayed wet until mid-April this year. Tea loves rain! Our February 22 harvest, a full-bodied oolong, was announced on facebook and did well. The May 1 harvest experienced difficult conditions, surprisingly …
As a followup to my last biochar post, i was sent the following document from Karl Frogner of UBI. Karl asked me to make it available, so i’ve put it here: Biochar Ovens, until UBI has a place for it on their own site. It describes experiments conducted in Mongolia on making biochar in a …
My friends Josiah and Jay down in Puna are producing biochar using a classic pit method, which seems to work well. I may end up making char that way as well, but there is some criticism on the biochar list of open burns, saying that emissions aren’t fully combusted and carbon yield is low, recommending …
I read the Transition Handbook last year. It’s a growing movement, and it’s full of great ideas for making sustainable local communities. There are lots of issues to figure out, about how to interact with local government, and finding the people who have the time and talent for organizing. I’ve spent some months thinking about …