Biochar, first documented in the 1960's, has been discovered across the entire south american continent. It's been revealed that the Mayans, who perfected the recipe for mass biochar production, clearly understood the superiority of this black gold. They made entire countrysides of black soil, carbon-based and stepped with micro cabinets and cupboards for nutrients to store themselves into. These plains were created and stand anywhere from 8 inches deep to 8 feet deep.
The process from which biochar is created is understood, but in no way can it be manufactured on the incredible scale the Mayans had. That recipe is lost.
Maybe it has just been rediscovered.
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IMAGINE
...if you will, hectares of fields, as large as the local community themselves, bursting with marijuana flower and their terpene scents. Imagine if tons of marijuana were harvested from Mother Earth and put to use as it was provided ~ not for medicine, but for a fuel.
Imagine large clay pools carefully formed so as to seal air, but with a mechanism that can release gases so as to allow pyrolysis (burning in absence of oxygen) from the bottom and sides. The pools are layered with refuse from the locals - husks, leaves, anything that constitutes biomass. Between layers, kilos of dried, cured marijuana are stacked in, leaving multiple layers consisting of 50% biomass, 50% marijuana. The pools are sealed with a layer of clay for an air tight lid. The next pool was build adjacent, and the next one to that.
The marijuana would act to generate incredible heat, and given time, the biomass would burn within the hardened clay coffin and release wood vinegar gases beneath, further heating the entire clay 'skillet'. The top clay lid would also bake beneath the sun. The temperatures could theoretically approach the 300 degrees required to induce pyrolsis and thus create the end product - biochar.
This theory can be substantiated by the fact that clay shards are littered within these artifact fields. Could these clay pieces be the top shell and ribbed walls of endless chains of biochar pools?
Unfortunately, the question of legality prevents study of all the dynamics of this incredible plant. It could be that our cultural demonizing of marijuana could keep us from rediscovering Real Secrets of the Old World.
Also, the demand for marijuana as a commodity would prevent many people from composting perfectly good pot ~ in the name of science.
References:
The Biochar Solution by Albert Bates
Teaming With Microbes by Jeff Lowenfels
