I made up a biochar compost a few months ago using crushed hardwood charcoal at about 10% to 15% by volume, leaf-mould, blood and bone fertiliser with a little mycorrhizal fungi. On inspection I decided it was a bit too glutinous, so I added some horticultural sand to make it […]
Hugh Spencer
9 posts
Aversley wood owned by the Woodland Trust was being treated as though it was high forest even though it is in fact derelict coppice. The wood is mainly Ash, Oak and Hazel. Management of the wood has been minimal for many years with little more than keeping the rides open. […]
The UK government has decided to crack down on open fires in the home and log burners. As from February 2021 it will be illegal to burn ordinary coal or non kiln dried wood on an open fire or enclosed log burning stove in your home. The reason for this […]
Today as I was reading posts about the Australian bush fire catastrophe and the denials by their government, I came across a brilliant post on LinkedIn about how Kew gardens had saved a mighty Oak that was almost toppled in the 1987 hurricane. A BBC video explaining how and what […]
Boris Johnson has sacked president Claire O’Neill, the person charged with setting set up COP26. She claims he doesn’t ‘get it’. As the former minister of energy and clean growth, she should know the views of the prime minister she served. With COP26 due in November 2020 and all sorts […]
Discussion as to what happens after ‘Brexit’ has been heated and divisive in many areas of life. However, the replacement of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has not had much exposure. This is surprising since the mainstay of the EU and its predecessor the Common Market, was the CAP. […]
When something new comes to our attention we often accept it without question. Even with all the evidence presented on the Internet about Biochar, it makes sense to do some tests to prove for yourself whether or not the claims can be replicated. I have an allotment where I grow […]
After a prolonged drought over the summer of 2019 in the Cambridgeshire area, the fields of clay soil were cracked and hard as concrete as one might expect. Then the autumn rains came, much more extreme than usual. This made lifting root crops hard work and heavy machinery puddled and […]
Making Biochar is an immediate way of beginning to tackle the vexed problem of carbon dioxide and methane emissions. I’ve decided to try and bring it to the attention of a wider audience so that anyone can experiment in their back yard. What is biochar?Biochar is made from wood or […]