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!