Soils and layers
Biochar
Crushed charcoal that traps impurities and gives helpful microbes a home.
What the simulation uses
- Holds water
- 37.5 % by volume
- Water it keeps after draining; the rest runs down to the drainage.
- Pore space
- 77.5 % by volume
- Room for air and water between grains; low means roots suffocate when wet.
- Weight
- 275 g/L
- How heavy a litre is.
- pH
- 7 to 9 pH
- How acid it keeps the soil.
- Mould risk
- none
- How much fresh food it gives white mould; high-risk soils fuzz over in the first weeks.
- Nutrients
- low
- Plant food it brings.
- Presses down to
- 97 % of its loose depth
- How far pressing can pack it, keeping its weight.
Description
Crushed charcoal that traps impurities and gives helpful microbes a home. It never breaks down and raises pH slightly. Use it as a filter layer or mixed into soil.
Also called charcoal fines.
Estimated, where sources were thin: values estimated from hobby and horticultural references; not measured.