Why Use Activated Charcoal?
It's a Time-Tested Soil Detox
Using activated charcoal on golf course greens is a standard practice when chemicals have be over applied. A consultant recommended we test it in beds with vegetable plants that are showing symptoms of herbicide damage.
We then found three studies showing results using activated charcoal to mitigate contaminated soils for vegetable growers. The studies are interesting, but we need real world experiments so we can learn if it really works in backyard garden soils. Your experiences (replications) are integral to the learning process.
Note: Sometimes activated charcoal is called activated carbon or biochar. They are used interchangeably.
Since we know you're curious to learn more, here are the studies we found. We are looking for more!
- Evaluation of Activated Charcoal as a Remedy for Soil Residual Herbicide Injury: https://ashs.confex.com/ashs/2015/webprogramarchives/Paper22143.html
- Activated Charcoal Reduces Pasture Herbicide Injury in Vegetable Crops:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261219418303235 - Activated Charcoal Reduces Pasture Herbicide Injury in Vegetable Crops (same study as above; original publication included): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331441294_Activated_charcoal_reduces_pasture_herbicide_injury_in_vegetable_crops
- Detoxing the Soil by Sierra Flower Farm:
https://www.sierraflowerfarm.com/blog/2019/1/6/25stfk0kpkbganypkondj7ieea8gp5 - Detoxing a Poinsettia greenhouse crop from pre-emergent herbicide poisoning: https://charcoalremedies.com/poinsettia_poisoning/
