Manteca Biochar Demonstration
At a 5 acre farm plot managed by the Manteca Unified School District, biochar has been applied to two acres. Water use efficiency is the primary focus of the project, but effects on nutrient flow, plant health, soil microbial diversity, and yield will also be investigated. The 5 acre area is divided into 4 plots; biochar, biochar plus compost, compost, and no treatment. This 5 acres is dedicated to growing mixed veggies.
Manteca Unified School District (MUSD) operates a 40 acre school farm. One of the school programs that takes advantage of the farm is Veggie Express. Veggie Express is a Farm to School program that grows food for the cafeterias at MUSD. This program is funded by the produce that it provides the Nutrition Education department of MUSD. The goal of Veggie Express is to provide vocational training to the high school students who are interested in agriculture and to expose these students to new and emerging technology and management strategies.
Biochar has been plowed into the field. Seeds are going in as this is written. We will keep you updated as this progresses.
Pacific biochar donated the biochar used in this study. We have great faith in the farm manager Cole Dutter to see things through with great integrity.
– Josiah Hunt