In Today’s episode, let’s look into 10 incredible hacks and uses of wood charcoal
in garden. Will also tell you about different types of charcoal like bamboo coal, coconut
shell charcoal, hard and soft wood charcoal, horticultural charcoal and so on. Coming up!
It might sound weird but, there are many incredible Uses of Charcoal in the Garden.
If you want to develop a healthy garden, please watch this episode till the end.
Well, there are many types of charcoal available to purchase. But the good news is charcoal is
very inexpensive to buy, though online prices are a bit on higher side than offline purchase.
You get Hardwood and Softwood charcoal. Hard wood charcoal is best for gardening. Will tell you why
as we proceed further. You also get special charcoals like coconut shell charcoal, bamboo
coal, horticultural charcoal, activated charcoal and so on. It doesn’t matter, you can just use
hard wood charcoal for your garden. Now, let’s discuss the benefits
of charcoal in gardening. 10. FILLING YOUR POT BOTTOM:
Charcoal is porous and light weight and filling your container with pieces of charcoal at the
bottom of your container, instead of using heavy weight rocks and pebbles, reduces your pot weight
and you can lift or move your pot easily. This is a great boon for terrace gardeners.
9. CHARCOAL MULCHING: You don’t always need straws and twigs for mulching your top soil.
You can use spread small charcoal pieces and enjoy the benefits of mulching. Mulching creates
a protective covering over the soil surface and prevents moisture evaporation from the soil.
It also helps to prevent weed growth over the soil.
8. GARDEN DÉCOR: Using a layer of small pieces of charcoal as mulch, especially
around light-colored plants is a nice and unique way to create a different look in your garden!
7. AS AN ANTIFUNGAL: Mixing charcoal to soil is an effective strategy to treat or prevent
fungal infections in plants, especially succulents and adeniums which are more prone to fungal rot.
Just include 10% of small pieces of charcoal in your potting mix to keep harmful fungi at bay.
6. INSECT KILLER: Sprinkle powdered charcoal over your plants. This helps deter
many insects like the voracious beetles which can create havoc in your garden or on your crops.
5. PESTICIDE RESIDUE REMOVAL: The absorption qualities of charcoal powder,
especially activated charcoal, helps in neutralizing the harmful effect of pesticides.
Mix 500 grams of charcoal powder to 1 gallon of water (1 gallon is 3.78 litres).
Spray or sprinkle this over the pesticide treated plants. This is very useful in edible gardening.
4. REDUCE FERTILIZER FREQUENCY: Charcoal will also absorb any fertilizer you put into the garden
and will hold it over a long period of time, providing the plants a slow, steady supply.
Here, you need to know one thing - Hard wood holds more nutrients than soft wood.
3. INCREASE SOIL PH: If your soil is highly acidic like PH of 5 or below,
you need to increase the soil ph to desired level. A soil ph of 6.0 +/-0.5 is considered ideal for
most plants. The potassium content in charcoal and also wood ash raises the pH balance of the soil
and neutralizes the acid. Just don't add too much ash, because if you increase the soil ph
too much – like over 7, the plants may not do well, because most of the nutrient absorption in
soil happens at a PH of around 6.0. So, How much of charcoal to add per container or per plant?
You can add 100 gms or max 200 gms of charcoal per standard container – like a 12-inch container.
Of course depending upon your soil PH level. You can watch a detailed video
on soil ph and its importance in improving flowering and fruiting from an end screen
link or from a link in description below. 2. IN POTTING SOIL: Charcoal acts as an excellent
soil conditioner, thanks to its low cost, and in fact it’s a suitable replacement of lime in soil
additive mixes. It makes the soil a well-draining soil which is very important for plant growth.
It is the high porosity of charcoal that benefits plant soils because it offers more of the
oxygen that plant roots need to stay alive. 1. REMOVES BAD ODOURS IN SOIL AND COMPOST:
You can sprinkle charcoal powder over your compost to reduce foul odors that may arise
during composting. Also, when included in potting soil, charcoal soaks up the nauseating
odors of compost and manure, while leaving the nutritional integrity of the mixture intact.
Please Like, Share and Comment below with your feedback and queries. Happy Gardening!