Our Biochar Blend is a mixture of bone char (adding phosphorus and calcium, and more in on this in a second), alfalfa and kelp meals (providing essential nutrients), compost and worm castings (for beneficial biology), and azomite and zeolite to nourish the soil’s microbiology and the plant’s roots. Soils become deficient in all of these things as plants grow and are then removed at harvest. Biochar adds all that good stuff back in.

Back to that “bone char” for a minute. To elaborate, this form of biochar is a highly porous carbon that improves nutrient adsorption and provides a home for the soil’s beneficial microbes. Biochar is made through a process called pyrolysis (i.e., decomposition brought about by high temperatures) and once it’s in your soil, it’s safe to say it’s there for a lifetime. Our president Mark Highland is a serious fan of biochar and loves to explain what it is, how it’s made and how it benefits your garden. We captured him on video doing just that! Here’s his explanation of the whats, whys, and hows of biochar, and here is Mark dropping some garlic into a freshly biochar-prepared bed for a June harvest.

And here’s an episode of just-released GardenDC podcast featuring Mark, wherein he talks about how he developed a passion for soils and gardening in general. We are encouraging our consumer customers to apply Biochar Blend to their gardens this fall in order to prepare the soil for an outrageously productive spring and summer season next year. One of the best ways retailers can sell this product is to prepare some pots with Biochar (use a ratio of about one part Biochar Blend to nine parts Premium Blend Potting Soil) and some without, then sow some quick-growing seeds. The resultant pots with biochar will be the proof that its addition certainly makes a difference.