Aeration + humic acids?

[chinchillin]

I'm about to start some raised garden beds that will have around 1000L of soil + vermicompost. Thus I need the commonly suggested 1/3 or 500 L of aeration. Pumice seems to be the easiest go to recommendation but, in my country, with how much I would need, it would cost more than the soil + nutrients. Then I came across Carbomat ECO which is brown coal (lignite) that comes in 4-16mm pieces. The claims are great aeration, drainage, provide complex humic acids and is cheaper.

That sounds like a great replacement for Pumice no? One rep said that it would still provide decent aeration for years and years and that it wouldn't be a problem in a TLOS system. That's what reps always so though no? I've been thinking of buying a BIOchar for the water retention and CeC benefits, but that too is expensive as hell. I've read that brown coal does the same just not as well. Plus, with all the extra calcium being added as nutrients, I'll need to acidify the soil just a wee bit and I can buy the acidic and ph neutral forms. Even with the diminished benefits, buying this carbomat could knock three birds with one stone.

Compromises have to be made in every direction but, Ms. Chinchillin is making sure that money is not the biggest one. So what am I missing here?

 

[Azimuth]

Do you know of anyone (other than the rep of course) using it successfully? I'd have questions as to what it does to soil and plants long term. I use biochar in all my grows and make it myself but for that one the standard advice is to not use more than 10-15% in your soil volume.

The biochar is inert though, I've never heard about using coal in a soil mix.

 

[chinchillin]

Do you know of anyone (other than the rep of course) using it successfully? I'd have questions as to what it does to soil and plants long term. I use biochar in all my grows and make it myself but for that one the standard advice is to not use more than 10-15% in your soil volume.

The biochar is inert though, I've never heard about using coal in a soil mix.

I don't. It seems like they sell to people commercially but, I have no way of contacting their customers or would even want to. Farmers some times have a certain type of attitude to those types of inquiries. They said that in acidic soils you could use up to 30% and beyond the humic leaching it seems like it's inert as well.

I might skip using biochar all together, if I'll add some coco or peat into the soil, depending on what they say next. 60 L of bought BIOchar would be the price of 1000L of this coal lol.

 

[Azimuth]

I might skip using biochar all together, if I'll add some coco or peat into the soil, depending on what they say next. 60 L of bought BIOchar would be the price of 1000L of this coal lol.

Do you have a yard where you could make it yourself?

 

[SmokingWings]

came across Carbomat ECO which is brown coal (lignite) that comes in 4-16mm pieces. The claims are great aeration, drainage, provide complex humic acids and is cheaper.

That sounds like a great replacement for Pumice no?

The web page is in Polish and might have to go through a translation program.

Since you are planning on growing in raised beds I am thinking that you will want to treat the soil mix like you would for any potted plant situation. Most likely you will want a loose, fluffy soil that does not pack down over a growing season and that can be turned over and used year after year. The pumice would be the better choice when it comes to aeration. Pumice can be bought in just about any size depending on how the gardener is planning on using it. Pumice also has some water retention, most likely more than the Carbomat does.

Then I came across Carbomat ECO which is brown coal....

The Carbomat is the lowest grade of coal. It is the least expensive to mine since it is often found at or close to the surface. Because of its low grade it takes more to produce the same amounts of thermal energy as the better and more dense coals.

The way I see it, the major drawback to using the Carbomat is that not enough is known about using it in gardening or farming. Another drawback is the size of the pieces. If it comes in 4-16mm pieces then it is in large pieces, which for those of us in the US would be 1/6th of an inch up to a bit larger than a 1/2 inch which could cause some issues. With 1/3 of your soil being Carbomat it might not be as easy to work with by hand or with a shovel.

The Carbomat does have some CEC benefits, it is a carbon source, might have some natural nutrients including Phosphorous and Potassium, it might help with colonization of soil micro-organisms, and it has some water retention potential. The big thing I noticed when looking at information on other websites was that the benefits were for large farms with fields that were a heavy clay soil. I have the feeling that not enough is known about using "brown coal" in a smaller scale like you are planning.

I've been thinking of buying a BIOchar for the water retention and CeC benefits, but that too is expensive...

You should be able to buy Biochar that is not yet inoculated for more reasonable prices and then inoculate it yourself which usually can take a couple of day up to a month depending on the method used. Or make your own Biochar and then inoculate it yourself for an even lower cost as @Azimuth is bringing up.

 

[chinchillin]

Do you have a yard where you could make it yourself?

It's a small yard surrounded by neighbors. It's a new development so I don't want to give any negative impressions, which I know will happen, to my new neighbors that we will have to work with for at least the next year. It sounds dumb but in this country the importance and need of/for respect + gossip can really hinder relations lol.

Did some searching on how to do it. Wood coal + inoculate with nutrients. A lady on youtube was using molasses water and manure. Does that sound about right?

Since you are planning on growing in raised beds I am thinking that you will want to treat the soil mix like you would for any potted plant situation. Most likely you will want a loose, fluffy soil that does not pack down over a growing season and that can be turned over and used year after year. The pumice would be the better choice when it comes to aeration. Pumice can be bought in just about any size depending on how the gardener is planning on using it. Pumice also has some water retention, most likely more than the Carbomat does.

I linked earlier a study and with other study's conclusions are that it doesn't do much ----> it's a bit below biochar in quality when conditioning the soil and CEC values. I just got off the phone with the company and it seems like it works really well for the cost. They did say though that 10-15% for our type of soil is the max that they would add so it's not good enough for a 1/3 aeration ratio.

The problem with pumice is, in my area, 400 liters of pumice and what is referred to as lawa stone is twice the bulk cost of 1500 liters of soil (75% black and 25% vermicompost (which can be expensive)). With that same price I'm buying 1200 liters of 1/2 soil and 1/2 peat mix + enough vermikompost to even out that 1/3 compost requirement.

The only other permanent solution beyond I see is keramzyt aka, hydroton. I could easily get 400-500L for 25% less than what I will be paying for the grow medium. Keramzyt is universally available here and, beyond perlite (which is expensive), the go to for our outdoor gardening in our climate conditions.

 

[Azimuth]

Did some searching on how to do it. Wood coal + inoculate with nutrients. A lady on youtube was using molasses water and manure. Does that sound about right?

Here's how I do it. Biochar and Small Batch Biochar

The only other permanent solution beyond I see is keramzyt aka, hydroton. I could easily get 400-500L for 25% less than what I will be paying for the grow medium. Keramzyt is universally available here and, beyond perlite (which is expensive), the go to for our outdoor gardening in our climate conditions.

I've just started using the Hydroton as the 1/3 aeration part in my mix. No conclusions yet, though.

 

[Stunger]

When I put together my trough/garden bed for my current grow. I would have used Perlite as that is what is most often recommended by folk. Altho in saying that I don't like its tendency to rise to the top of the soil. But in my neck of the woods Perlite is expensive and Pumice is cheaper which I ended up using along with some larger sized volcanic Scoria stones. I thought for aeration and also maybe some mineral benefit to the roots. Regions close to me with lots of volcanic rock in the soil seem to naturally make outstanding gardens.

I like some biochar in my mix too.

 

[Azimuth]

When I put together my trough/garden bed for my current grow. I would have used Perlite as that is what is most often recommended by folk. Altho in saying that I don't like its tendency to rise to the top of the soil. But in my neck of the woods Perlite is expensive and Pumice is cheaper which I ended up using along with some larger sized volcanic Scoria stones. I thought for aeration and also maybe some mineral benefit to the roots. Regions close to me with lots of volcanic rock in the soil seem to naturally make outstanding gardens.

I like some biochar in my mix too.

Pumice is preferred to perlite, it's just that perlite is more available to most which is why it's the one that gets recommended all the time.

Pumice FTW though, for sure!

 

[chinchillin]

Here's how I do it. Biochar and Small Batch Biochar


I've just started using the Hydroton as the 1/3 aeration part in my mix. No conclusions yet, though.

Thanks man! I just bought some good cheap wood charcoal that's already been grinded down a bit. Next is just activating it.

Will use hydroton too and we can conclude together