Does anyone put charcoal from the grill in their soil or compost? What are the reasons I should or should not do this?
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Does anyone put charcoal from the grill in their soil or compost? What are the reasons I should or should not do this?
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Everything that I have read says to stay away from putting unburnt charcoal in anything it's properties will not improve anything in the gardens soil. The idea of adding burnt charcoal is to add potash to the soil. Potash comes from burning the charcoal, which will increase the Ph in the soil. The one thing to keep in mind with charcoal is all the elements that are added to hold the briquette together or make it "instant light".
If you need to add anything add pure ash from wood, and put it directly into the garden. I added some ash to my compost this winter thinking it would add potash to my compost. After I did this the compost appeared like it stopped composting. I read into it and discovered by adding ash to compost something happens with the nitrogen levels and the compost will take a vacation. The compost will come back but only after the levels readjust. After all this research I though back to my grandfather who started gardening/composting in the 40’s and he would always add ash directly to the garden when nothing was growing, never to the compost.
Interesting that Brian and Jeff seem to have opposite response ( burnt wood ash to garden vs compost)
Jeff,what part of country did your grandpa garden in ? Maybe that is the difference here?
Thanks everyone, I will throw the used charcoal away. If I get motivated I will try the biochar. I think the most feasible concept for me is the hugelkultur.
If you are using charcoal briquets in your grill, it is not advisable. The binders used to form the briquets may have chemicals you don't want in a garden. Plus, the ash will add alkalinity.
But if you use regular wood, and dowse the coals before the charcoal is burned away - that charcoal is an excellent addition to compost. If you add it directly to soil, it will absorb nutrients from the soil and stunt your plants. By adding it to compost - or soaking it in compost tea - you create a growth medium for bacteria and fungi that will enhance the fertility of your soil.
Look up "biochar" and "Terra Preta" on the Web for more information.
I remember reading somewhere that it made compost more alkaline ...not something we need AT ALL here.
BUT I look forward to hearing from others if I am correct in memory.