Biochar/Terra Preta made from… Sheep!?

From the inbox:

Hey David — I saw your video on Terra Preta and wanted to add to it – hopefully this method will work for you as well as it’s worked for me…

I keep about 70 sheep year-round and that number often grows to 120 when lambs are born. Sadly, about 10% of the lambs die of natural causes in their first few months. Over the years, I’ve run out of places to bury them, so I began burning them. This necessity led me to explore creating BioChar or what’s also known as Terra Preta. I’ve been doing it consistently for a few years with incredible results..

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This is the method:

I use a 50-gallon metal drum as a burn barrel for this process (poke holes in the bottom and sides of the barrel to allow air to circulate)

Instead of thinking about “burning” the material, think about BAKING the material [ for 18-36 hours >500 degrees Fahrenheit]

*How long you keep feeding the fire depends on how big of a thing you’re burning – for one of my lambs it takes about 18 hours of feeding the fire.

Video Idea: If you were to find a road killed deer or any dead organic matter on the side of the road –  this will work – for a full grown deer I’d say keep the fire going for 24 to 36 hours (no need to gut any animal)

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 Preparing the Barrel:

1. Place the organic material (animal remains or manure/compost) at the bottom of the barrel.

2. Build a fire on top the organic matter – This setup ensures the material bakes from the top-down.

3. Lastly, when the fire has completely burned itself out  – ADD WATER to quench it – Soak it **  Very important ** Soak it

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What you’re left with is a bout 20-30 pounds of the greatest soil you’re ever going to get – the earthy smell is overwhelming – it’s the holy grail of soils…

I’m sending you this email because I’m never ever-ever-ever going to buy any soil or any soil supplement ever again – they don’t make fertilizer better than this stuff ..

I mix in 2-3 Cups of Biochar / Gallon of aggregate soil – each plant gets about 2-3 cups .. It equals out to about 200 plants per burning – I now have too much of it because I’ve been reusing the same soil for 3 years and haven’t added ANYTHING to the soil.

I’ve never grown plants this big, and I’m an average plant grower on a good day.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,
Cliff Stephens