My own business

So it has come to pass that we started our own business. Vuokrapuu was founded in early 2020 with the aim to rent out trees. Potted living trees, mainly Christmas trees are a new thing in Finland and we are very excited.

What on earth does it have to do with biochar you might ask. Well, let me explain. Our goal is to make biochar out of trees that don't make it and use the thar in our potting soil. I'll probably get back to this in the future when we get our kon tiki kiln up and running.

Biochar in Finnish urban growth medium

The Finnish company TerraWise has introduced a growth medium for urban plantations. It contains gravel, biochar and compost based organic matter. Have a read for yourself. Similar growth media has been used in the city of Stockholm for a number of years.

Homemade biochar

A few years back, I posted about the "Primus stove". It still works and this week I made a few batches of biochar. It will later be used for my christmas trees that I plan to rent. I'll keep you posted on the results. Here are a few shots from the stove.

primus stove in action

Biochar can help mitigating loss of nitrogen in fertlizers

http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2019/03/biochar-soaks-ammonia-pollution-study-shows?fbclid=IwAR2wAJq43cktvImLKtEEpELSI-p9jLTvJwyupvuTsEeIshKL5d7ijHsbj94#.XIPxJsLDTDw.facebook

The times are changing

As of this month I have begun pursuing a career as an entrepreneur. No details are finalised BUT several people have joined and our buisnessplan is in the making. Some market analysis has been done as well.

The direct connection of this venture to biochar is still unclear, although I can recognize some apparent synergies. If you are interested in NIR spectroscopy of solids or liquids hit me up on for example twitter where I go under @TobySpruceMt

Mandatory update for 2018

Look, there is so much happening right now in the world of biochar. One huge thing to mention would be the creation of the Finnish biochar association https://www.suomenbiohiili.info of which I am a proud member. My personal life is taking some new turns and I hope to be able to post updates on some new innovations in the near future.

Horticulture and biochar

Over at Carbon Gold in the UK some really interesting results are emerging. Applying their enriched biochar once when planting has given on average 11% of increased crop yield.

http://www.hortidaily.com/article/29764/European-biochar-trials-show-promising-results