Episode 19: BioChar with Craig Sams of Carbon Gold

This episode, I’m talking BioChar with Craig Sams, the co-founder of Carbon Gold, a company that produces a range of BioChar products for the garden but also for agricultural use. I interviewed Craig in his beautiful garden in Hastings, so please excuse the cries of the seagulls who tried to get in on the act around halfway through the interview.

We discuss:

- What is biochar?

- Why did people start to produce biochar? What are its origins?

- How is it produced?

- Does it matter what kind of biomass goes into the kiln to make the biochar? Do the end results vary depending on the input?

- What is the difference between biochar and simple BBQ charcoal? Won’t BBQ charcoal be almost as good?

- What does it actually ‘do’ – how does it help plants?

- Is there a rule of thumb regarding which soils and which types of crops it works best on? 

- How is it best to apply?

- Can you apply too much?

- Is it for application on new plantings only – or is it also good for mature specimens?

About Craig: Before this interview, I probably knew more about Craig than about his product, because he’s a legend in many fields, not least in food and growing. He founded the first macrobiotic restaurant in London in 1967 and went on to start Harmony Foods, which later became Whole Earth Foods. He and his friends provided the food for the first ever Glastonbury Festival in 1972. In 1991, he and his wife Josephine Fairley founded Green and Black’s. He was Chair of the Soil Association from 2001-2007 and is the author of four books, including the seminal text ‘About Macrobiotics’. 

Craig’s website is www.craigsams.com

To read more about/buy BioChar products, go to www.carbongold.com

To read more about the CarbonGold Tree Rescue and to nominate a tree, visit https://www.carbongold.com/save-a-veteran-tree-for-free/ 

Follow CarbonGold on Twitter: @carbongold

Like on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarbonGold 

Further Resources

The Greenhouse Gas Removal Report https://royalsociety.org/~/media/policy/projects/greenhouse-gas-removal/royal-society-greenhouse-gas-removal-report-2018.pdf 

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