Adding charcoal to the compost is a good way to retain the nutrients, but definitely a good idea to let it sit in the compost because charcoal has to be given something to carry to the soil. If you ever get into compost teas I bet thatāll be a quick way to supercharge the charcoal for gardening.
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Ofcorse. I probably did a couple of tons by now 
all thats not fit for sale, forge or machines goes straight to the stable, mixed with bedding. I do deep bedding so everything partly composts alredy in the stable. Twice a year l clear it out and man, thats some nice black compost.
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How do I make compost that really works without any animal or human manure?
I have no more sheep, and need compost for next year.
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I make my compost out of almost entirely shredded leaves. I have no manure available but I drink a lot of water and never waste the gallons of nitrogen rich liquid I drain from my man spigot. I sift my wood ash from the wood stove through a quarter inch screen for the first sifting. Any char that goes through screen get mixed into the compost piles with the ash. Ash adds a lot of nutrition to the compost. If I didnāt use the rest of my charcoal for gasifier fuel and bio-char I would definitely all it to the compost. By the way after quite a bit of research and personal trial and error Iāve found that 20 percent bio-char is about the maximum for best results. More can actually be detrimental to some plants. 10 to 20 percent is ideal. For potting soil and container mix including raised beds you can substitute that much char for vermiculite or perlite and it will work the same to keep the mix friable. It must always be charged though or else for a year or so it will leech nutrition out of your soil and you wonāt get much crop yield. You can charge it with chemical fertilizer the same as with anything more organic. Of course organic everything is better but time is of the essence. Donāt get all hung up on that debate right now. Adding some epsom salts to the water you keep your compost moist with will add magnesium and sulfur. Iāll post a aeration set up I use for making compost. Here is a video by the No-till guy. I recommend his site.
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Here is a contribution from the agricultural show, the husband cooks charcoal, crushes it and mixes it with compost, cow dung and pours it with water in which he had soaked nettles, thus āactivatingā it and creating an excellent fertilizer.
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It depends on what organic and how much material you have to work with. 
I honestly would start with compost tea, and go grab some healthy smelling compost out of the forest to start using this method (or with substitutes) at least until the end of the elaine ingham part. This boosts the biology in your current soil.
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this is the one im following
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Just my 2 cents. Back in 2009 I got an old Chipper Shredder Vacuum on craigslist, and fixed it up enough so that it makes mulch. Since then I spread all my chopped up leaves and sticks. on the grass. Iāve stopped using fertilizer, herbicide and stopped watering. I just mow the grass with my human powered, reel type mower, every other day, sometimes. The grass stays greener longer than it used to and the ground feels softer when I walk on it. I think Iām building up a layer of cut up sticks under there that acts as a water reservoir. Our soil here is 20k year old volcanic ash, called bentonite.
Rindert
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Iām surprised you got anything to grow in it Rindert. Back in the early 70ās it was very popular as waterproofing for underground houses. Still used a lot for pond sealing. Not cheap. Iām talking about pure benonite for waterproofing and Iām sure yours is more friable than that but still a tough row to hoe.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=bentenite+
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This is a compost bin design that I think has a lot of promise. For a long time I wanted to build a greenhouse with metal side walls about three feet high and build compost bins outside them to generate heat for the GH. This guy is mostly a dome builder but if you look at the other videos on the right hand side there are quite a few that try the idea I originally had from the original Jean Pain trials.
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If you look at SteveUās post #28 you can see that his bins are lined up with a space between several of them. Easy to drive pipes into the ground outside the bins and connect PVC or top rail hoops over them for a hoop house. Outside of an actual freeze, plants are more dependent of the soil temp that air temp. Loops of PEX a foot under the top of those beds with hot water pumped thought them would be a very effective way to grow early and late.
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I would start with geothermal if you are just trying to keep the plants from freezing.
Thanks for noticing TomH.
Our beds spacing was set up by the previous owners low bed spacing. Had enough space in between for trundle along walkers and later a wheelchair to work from.
I did set up a few and watch closely the shading lines created in early Spring and especially late Summer/Fall before locking in.
Tall containers and you can lose sides gains sun warming by shading yourself.
S.U.
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Got a new member of the family last night, wife and kids wore him out enough for a nap and i could get a picture
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Just maybe. Bentonite is like grease after it rains. Its swells as it absorbs water, so sidewalks, driveways, roads & etc go all squirly after a few years. Iād say the environment in general is fairly hostile to food production, because droughts, hail, 100mph winds, short growing season at a mile above sea level. But I figured if bison used to live here the place should at least grow grass. And yup, it does.
BTW, the local soil here can be used as a binder for green sand molds used in foundry, and also for kitty litter.
Rindert
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I was supposed to tell you @Norman89 needs a few buckets of your prime lawn dirt now after last nights activities and he is on his way. 
I know bentonite expands with water like 10x, but your description makes it sound like you have healthy mycorrhizal fungi, because they give that spongy feeling, soak up water, and essentially expand plants roots systems by 20x.
The leaves, grass etc probably had some āsporesā that you basically spread out (along with bacteria) and food for them.
It would be interesting to know if the azospirillium bacteria could infuse and overwinter in your grass in that climate. The Azo fixes nitrogen similar to what happens on legumes.
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Cold and dumping rain today, time to learn the wood stove a little more
Cheese quesadillas. Plenty of heat with a regular frying pan, means cast iron will work plenty well. Was a little concerned the top would be to cold it seems pretty well insulated. Kids get a snack wife gets a warm house and i get play with fire everybody wins. Oh and cloths are getting dried on a rack nearby, saving power bill too
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Man lm jelous. Those look so tasty.
Can you not freeze them whole? Or even raw?
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