Good news for those who would like to try horticultural carbon for home gardening! Horticarbon is now available in 5kg and 10kg bags at 10 and 18 Malaysian ringgit respectively, at the new plant shop at the 1 Utama Shopping Mall.
From the Rain Forest at 1 Utama, go out onto the service road, walk under the bridge and the place is to the right.
Horticultural carbon is charcoal made of compressed sawdust and graded in two sizes: 1-5mm and 5-12mm. It used to be available only in half-ton bags that needed four men to lift. The new packing is more convenient. This is essentially the same as BIOCHAR.
Those who need more information can find it my earlier blogs. Also by googling biochar or horticultural carbon.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Dear Dr Ng,
This is great news for the burgeoning biochar industry in Malaysia. I shall post a report on the the Biochar Interest Group - South East Asia (BIG-SEA) website and circulate the news to the international biochar community. Can you provide any additional details about the characterization of new product... any plant soil trials completed or underway? These are often questions asked by the international biochar community when new products are announced.
Best wishes,
Trevor Richards
http://sea-biochar.blogspot.com/
This is good news! I'll look out for this place the next time I go to 1U. What is the name of the shop? Is it the area after the makan shops to the right of the water lily pond?
Hi Autumn Bell , Trevor and others interested in Horticarbon/Biochar. The shop does not have a signboard yet, but it is just after Mamak eatery under the bridge. It is an outdoor extension from the Mall
Please remember when you use this material that it is not a fertilizer. What it does when mixed with soil is to make the soil lighter and more free-draining. Some plants need this. In the beginning the carbon and soil will separate somewhat during watering. In a year the carbon and soil will be combined into 'black soil'.
The big danger for beginners is to inadvertently allow the mixture to dry out, because a rich carbon mix will dry out faster than normal soil. So, keep a close watch and make the necessary adjustments to your gardening routines.
For normal potted plants I mix the carbon with burnt soil sold in Sg Buloh at RM1.50 per bag. The proportions I have been using are 1:1 and 1:2 carbon:soil.
Dear Dr. Ng,
Thanks for sharing how to use the horticultural carbon with us here.
Hope you would share more of your horticultural knowledge with us on your blog. I am keen to learn how to make my plant flourish, how to deal with pests (the one I dislike most is mealy bugs) and of course how to get more blooms out of my plants.
Dr.Ng, Wishing you and your family Happy New Year 2011! Thank you very much for your guidance and advice.
Hi Dr. Ng, is the horticultural carbon still available for purchase at 1 Utama ?
Post a Comment