Carbon Gold’s enriched biochar products are added to soils and substrates and combine beneficial bacteria, fungi and trace minerals with a highly porous and stable form of charcoal known as biochar. This blend enables growers to improve the health and yield of crops in both conventional and organic growing systems in a sustainable way.
Carbon Gold’s products have been tested in both organic soils and a range of conventional substrates including coir, rockwool and peat by UK and European growers over many seasons, consistently and significantly increasing yield against control crops.
Cor-Jan van der Elzen, the company’s commercial manager for Europe comments: “An increasing number of growers across Netherlands and Germany now enjoy the benefits of enriched biochar in their production systems. We look forward to growing this market while exhibiting at this important industry event.
Carbon Gold’s enriched biochar improves root morphology and reduces transplant shock. Research has also shown biochar to increase resilience to common glasshouse diseases such as crazy root, botrytis and mildew.
Van der Elzen continues, “The products’ value as a growing media additive is optimised because it is blended with beneficial micro-organisms which establish themselves on the biochar and make the root environment less susceptible to pathogens.”
Biochar has been identified by experts at Wageningen University Research as a material that can be used in potting soil to replace peat.
In dedicated research Chris Blok, project manager root media and plant nutrition of Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture found: “Certain biochars can be used as an effective additive to soil and potting mixes in commercial horticulture. These biochars can replace at least 15% of peat in potting soil with no loss of yield or change of fertilisation scheme."
Carbon Gold will be exhibiting at Horticontact 2017 at stand 424 in Gorinchem, February 14th – 16th.