Thought this would be interesting to read.
Hi, my name is Charlie! I’m going to tell you why I am so excited about charcoal! Charcoal isn’t just for cooking tasty food on the grill. In fact, people have been using charcoal for thousands of years to help their plants grow! It’s true! Charcoal is good for plants, and for the fungi, bacteria, and critters like me who live in the soil with the plants!
Better Than Barbecue... CHARCOAL HELPS PLANTS GROW!
The next time you’re cooking on the grill, remember the other amazing things we can do with charcoal! Bye!
In Brazil, scientists have discovered that native people once made large amounts of charcoal and mixed it in with the soil in their gardens. This produced a rich, dark soil that is now called “Terra Preta” or “Dark Earth”. Even though the soil was created 500 to 2500 years ago, it is still used by farmers today to grow bigger, healthier, and more valuable crops!1 It’s amazing that Terra Preta soils have remained fertile for SO LONG!
After the plants have grown, we can measure and weigh their leaves and roots. Also, we can stain the roots with a special blue dye that lets us see how much beneficial fungus is growing in the roots! This way, we can tell what types of charcoal help the plants grow best!
Brooke McBride-College of Forestry and Conservation, UM
The more that we understand about charcoal, the better we can use it to help our plants grow, and to help the environment! Charcoal is better for the environment than chemical fertilizers, and it can last in the soil for thousands of years! Also, when wood or other plant matter is turned into charcoal and mixed into the soil (instead of decaying or burning all the way into ash), it means that less CO2 is going up into the atmosphere. This may be a way for us to control global warming by reducing greenhouse gases!
