Biochar Pioneer – Ed Revill

Nov 13, 2014

Ed Revill lives in South Gower, where he implements the theories of soil carbon regeneration on his market garden. He runs workshops on using appropriate technologies, including biochar stoves.

“Biochar is charcoal intended to be used as a soil additive rather than to be burnt. There are two main reasons for making and using it: firstly, to improve crop yields by increasing the soil’s nutrient holding capabilities, increasing moisture retention, reducing acidity and influencing the activity of the soil micro organisms; and secondly, to stabilise the carbon in biomass and thereby sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide.”

“We westerners, instead of burning fossil fuels, high in hydrocarbons, and putting the carbon into the sky, we should be burning the volatile components of wood for our heating very efficiently indoors. Same idea of burning the volatiles and locking off the carbon.”

Two quotes from Ed Revill taken from a fantastic online article, to read it in full: http://permaculturepeopleuk.tumblr.com/post/102266926058/biochared

The application of the biochar rocket hybrid stove was clear. Like any tool or technology its how you exploit it that matters. To clarify, Ed’s Biochar Rocket Stove is part of a closed loop system. The fuel, ideally from coppiced wood, is used to heat or cook (not simply to create biochar) and the remaining biochar is then used to amend the soil, whence the plants for food & fuel come, and so the stuff of life loops in a nicely self-contained(ish) cycle. A home based ecology.

For more info & how to make and use biochar visit: www.soil-carbon-regeneration.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/wwoofuk

Classifieds – Autumn Equinox ’23

Classifieds – Autumn Equinox ’23

Welcome to the WWOOF UK Classifieds section. Here, you can find postings from members and other friends of WWOOF UK regarding opportunities, job listings, property advertisements and more. Have something you’d like listed in our Classifieds section? Send us an...

Hive mind – letters to the editor – Autumn Equinox ’23

Hive mind – letters to the editor – Autumn Equinox ’23

Do you have a question for the ‘hive mind’? Do you have any answers to these questions? Do you have any top tips you want to share? Feel free to email the editor – editor@wwoof.org.uk Slugs galore! The latest question for the hive mind is...

Seasonal recipe – Autumn Equinox ’23

Seasonal recipe – Autumn Equinox ’23

Parsley Pesto Do you have a glut of parsley? We don't have enough customers for our luscious crop of parsley so we're enjoying it in bulk! But maybe you have a plant that's gone a bit mad in your greenhouse or herb garden and want to prune it back? Serves: 4 + •...

Barn to be wild

Barn to be wild

An opportunity to live in the Brecon Beacons Ten years ago I bought a dilapidated stone barn high on a hill in mid-Wales. I had been visiting the area for several years, staying in my campervan, walking and exploring. I started to look for somewhere to make a more...