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RE: Master Quote: Toby Hemenway – 02/22/18
That's good to know. I suppose it depends on what its made from. Here its usually made of hardwood, and is usually about 8 to 8.5 on the PH scale before integration. It certainly isnt ideal to broadacre spread because of its dry alkalinity.
I always rinse mine, but for non-agricultural reasons.
I use the lye water for stripping/tanning hides.
The near 7.0 pH char is just a very valuable by-product for me :)
Damn sure stabilizes soil and holds nutrients.
I tend to use scrap softwoods
So you actually wash the lyes out of the char and leave almost neutral carbon? That’s an interesting point.
I rinse it when I need lye water for hide processing. At that point i add it directly on the garden.
If i don't need lye water, I add it to the composting process for 3 to 6 months.
The biologics in the compost process tend to moderate the alcalinity for me.