permaculture

[kevin s <k.skvorak@verizon.net>]

hey folks,

we are also very interested in creating some charcoal beds.  we have 
a couple of acres that we are growing for a csa, primarily using 
mulch and no-till.   for a lot of reasons we would love to create 
some 'black gold'.   one of them is we  have to deal with a rodent 
boom, so we are going to limit and think carefully about the types of 
mulch, and quantities we put on.  (much less mulch hay, alas)

we are also very interested in raising soil temperature, as we really 
need to compete in the local marketplace if we are to survive.  most 
(virtually all) of the other growers in the area use black plastic 
(or 'organic' bio-plastic) on the soil, and we are not going to do 
this.  of course our crops are going to come in much later because of 
this, seriously affecting our economic viability in the local market.

anyway, that, among other reasons leads us to the idea of a lovely 
charcoal mulch bed!

i want to make some charcoal, but am reluctant to do it the old 
fashioned way (in a big earth covered mound) because it seems so 
wasteful.  we definitely can't afford a fancy processor, so that 
leaves out that option.  so what i am trying to imagine is simple 
system using an adapted wood stove for instance, so that we can also 
use the heat for ourselves.  maybe as simple as a big wood stove with 
a secondary  burning chamber to burn the gases so as not to creosote 
up the chimney.  if the stove was really airtight enough, maybe we 
could fire it up with a big fire, and then shut it down completely 
after it is all glowing red. it wouldn't be a perfect burn, but it 
would probably provide something useful.  as we shut down the air to 
the main stove, it would be nice to be able to fire up a small 
secondary burn capturing the gases emitting up the flue.  i was 
thinking about adapting the smallest wood stove i could find for 
this, and then just stacking it on top of the big one and doing a 
little creative plumbing.

does this sound workable?

thanks,
kevin