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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Walnut bio-char

15 years ago

Hello all,

If I'm in the wrong forum please redirect me. My question is; Is it safe to use Walnut wood in making bio-char? I'm thinking it would be because the wood and all of it's "properties" are basically gone, nothing left but char. But I don't know for sure, so I ask.

Thanks

Ed

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Comments (8)

Kimmsr
15 years ago
Burning Walnut will eliminate most of any nutrients that would be in the wood, releasing them to the atmosphere as pollutants and you would have left a large quantity of Calcium Carbonate, some Phosphorus, Potash, and a few other minerals. I have used Walnut chips as mulches and have not seen them suppress the growth of the plants they mulched, so I'd suspect that the wood might have some small quantity of the Juglone most is in the trees roots.
californian
15 years ago
If the walnut you have is big enough to make usable lumber out of it would really be a waste to burn it. Even 45 years ago companies were going around and paying a $1000 for a nice walnut tree. Now a days I would guess a large walnut tree would be worth many thousands of dollars if they could get much furniture grade lumber out of it.
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Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
15 years ago
I second using the wood for something other than burning it. But the allelopathic chemical, juglone, will volatilize out of the biomass upon burning & biochar will be OK.

Dan
calm1
Original Author
15 years ago
Hello,
Thanks for the responses, the Walnut is scrap wood. I own a woodworking company, if the Walnut was worth anything I'd be using it.
Thanks
Ed
curtludwig
15 years ago
I'm not sold on the idea of biochar, I saw it in the Mother Earth News and among other things they basically told people to creosote up their woodstoves by using the stove exactly wrong...

I've got some scraps of unburned wood in my garden from dumping my wood ash in there (controversial I know, pretend I didn't say it ;) amd I haven't seen any difference in how the garden grows around the "biochar" than anywhere else... I wouldn't spend a whole bunch of time on it...
albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
14 years ago
I used to go to a hardwood retailer and buy scraps of walnut. My in laws who restored furniture as a hobby always found a use for it.
toxcrusadr
14 years ago
I agree there is not much juglone in the wood itself, and the heating should destroy it.

I give my scrap wood to people doing small crafts, inlay, marquetry, etc. I would be surprised if there isn't SOMEone out there who wants it and might even pay something for it.
seamommy
14 years ago
There's a buyer for everything on eBay. A guy sold his ex-wife's wedding gown on eBay by modeling it himself, it was an ugly picture but he sold it anyway. Another guy sold a very old, dirty bra that fell out of his attic when he was remodeling his dining room. My brother sells the seeds to a non-native, invasive species, noxious weed because it has pretty red flowers on it and he gets $3 for 50 seeds. And he's making money!

Ditto what toxcrusadr says, put your little scraps into reasonable lots and sell them. Somewhere in the world right now someone is saying to himself, 'Gee, I wish I had just a couple pieces of walnut to repair that. (or build that, or decorate that)' Cheryl

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