Biochar is not a fertilizer, biochar is a soil enhancer!

What is the difference?

Fertilizers add nutrients to the soil… For some time there are more nutrients in the soil, but eventually they are taken up by the plants. After some time the nutrient concentration will go down and you have to fertilize again. This means that fertilizers improve the soil temporarily.

Soil enhancers add structure to the soil… When the soil structure changes, the soil properties also change. Examples of how structure affects soil properties are:

• More airspaces – Reduces chance of waterlogging
• Higher surface area – Higher water holding capacity
• More negative charge – Higher pH, higher nutrient holding capacity

These structural changes will remain over time. This means that soil enhancers lead to a long-term improvement of the soil.

None of them is better, fertilizers and soil enhancers have completely different roles.

Fertilizers and soil enhancers complement each other:

Biochar is a fixed carbon structure that improves the soil structure over hundreds of years. It is a soil enhancer and contains no nutrients by itself. One structural change when using biochar is that there is a larger surface area and more negative charge. The soil has now the potential to store more nutrients at the time.

To fulfill the nutrient storage potential, nutrients have to be added. This is where fertilizer is needed! What you know as “charging” is combining a soil enhancer (biochar) with a fertilizer (manure) to get the highest benefit.

Biochar: Increases potential to store nutrients

Manure: Fulfills the potential by adding nutrients

Biochar does not replace fertilizer, but its structure can hold nutrients and makes fertilizing much more efficient. In the end this lowers your fertilizer demand!

The line between soil enhancer isn’t always this clear. Compost adds nutrients AND structure to the soil. It is a fertilizer and soil enhancer.