Probio Carbon - Mirai Asymmetry Podcast with Karen O’Hanlon

[Colorado]

I was fascinated by the recent Mirai Asymmetry podcast with Karen O’Hanlon. The subject of discussion was her product line Probio Carbon.

Here’s a link to the podcast:

I was intrigued so I checked out her website. She is offering a “bonsai bucket” which contains an assortment of her products in bonsai proportions:

Shop All Products | Probio Carbon | Plant Feed | Kildare

From our Kildare base we offer probio carbon plant feed to wholesale growers & farmers. We offer Enriched Carbon Feed, Bacillus subtilis & Pseudomonas fluorescens

www.probiocarbon.ie

I couldn’t resist the chance to experiment with this in my garden in 2023. My order is in!

Anybody else using Probio Carbon products? Thoughts about the podcast?

 

[GGB]

I usually eat this stuff up with a spoon, so I was super excited when I saw this podcast posted. But when I turned it on I got about 15 minutes into it and almost died of boredom. Maybe I was just in a weird mood? or maybe the interview picks up soon but struggling to get through this one so far. I know Harry Harrington is a huge fan of her products and he's one of my favorites so I will get through the epsiode soon

 

[hampton]

I agree, it too me two tries to get through the podcast. I don’t think it’s the information as much as the speakers vocal cadence and her admission she was low energy at the top.

I want to listen again - there seemed to be some nuggets of info pertaining to biochar experimentation.

 

[Abhishek Dasgupta]

Out of all the podcasts that Bonsai Mirai has done , this was the best of all . So many myths busted at once and am glad that finally bonsai community is talking about soil microbes …

My father always said - SOIL - the one thing that gives back life even when you throw death at it .

 

[BrightsideB]

I’ll have to check it out thanks for posting! I know from experience using symbiotic fungi and bacteria that they work. Plus I am just as into mycology as I am bonsai. I’ll have to listen to it when I’m working.

 

[Abhishek Dasgupta]

I’ll have to check it out thanks for posting! I know from experience using symbiotic fungi and bacteria that they work. Plus I am just as into mycology as I am bonsai. I’ll have to listen to it when I’m working.

There’s a lot of myths busted especially around mycorrhizae and what exactly does happen inside the plant . Many of these I knew at a high level - but now I do a lot more in detail

 

[BrightsideB]

There’s a lot of myths busted especially around mycorrhizae and what exactly does happen inside the plant . Many of these I knew at a high level - but now I do a lot more in detail

I’ll have to listen. I didn’t know there were a lot of myths.

 

[Colorado]

I usually eat this stuff up with a spoon, so I was super excited when I saw this podcast posted. But when I turned it on I got about 15 minutes into it and almost died of boredom. Maybe I was just in a weird mood? or maybe the interview picks up soon but struggling to get through this one so far. I know Harry Harrington is a huge fan of her products and he's one of my favorites so I will get through the epsiode soon

I think you just have to keep listening! It did get a little dense in the microbiology/physiology at the beginning, but they get more into the application to bonsai later in the episode.

 

[Colorado]

Of all the products, I am most excited about the inoculated olive stone biochar.

This seems like the ideal method of introducing a stable carbon component to the traditional bonsai soil mix. The olive stones are reportedly resistant to breakdown. Seems like you get all the benefit of added carbon to the system without clogging it up with something that quickly breaks down like bark.

Then you also get the benefit of the microbiology that is inoculated into the biochar.

 

[MichaelS]

A good organic fertilizer, the occasional use of synthetic fertilizers for certain varieties and the occasional dose of seaweed is all you will ever need.
Don't waste your money. Your plants will not be any healthier.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

It took me one try to listen to the whole podcast, but I had the feeling that the vibe was off. I felt like I was listening to a ADHD kid asking a very, very tired parent about very specific things. The sighs were deafening.

As for the product, well.. just before this episode I made my own biochar by pyrolizing pine chips in an old paint can in the fireplace. Thanks to finding those old 'Primitive Technology' youtube videos.
I've already been collecting microbes from the wild and inoculating soils with them for a couple years.

I think there will be a whole lot of wrong interpretations of this interview along the way and that it's going to take a while before these are corrected.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Much ado about nothing.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I am about to make a batch of kimchi and while reading up on it, I noticed that a couple of the bacteria growing in healthy kimchi cultures are the ones mentioned in this podcast.
So could mean that you can make your own biochar by just adding kimchi juice to charcoal.

Maybe saves some people some money

But that kind of makes me wonder about bokashi fermentation and the Japanese not broadly applying those extracts to their trees.

 

[Rivian]

I guess she is chronically stressed. I bought from her and instead of 3 (1L) bottles she sent me 2. I told her and she apologised, then went on to send me 4 (200mL) bottles instead of 5. I gave up at that point.
I didnt have a great way to measure the biochar, so I will not say what I measured lest it was my mistake. But if others receive theirs, please measure the amount.
She seemed like a nice person though.

 

[Colorado]

A good organic fertilizer, the occasional use of synthetic fertilizers for certain varieties and the occasional dose of seaweed is all you will ever need.
Don't waste your money. Your plants will not be any healthier.

Michael, how does the synthetic fertilizer impact the microbiology inside the container?

 

[Colorado]

It took me one try to listen to the whole podcast, but I had the feeling that the vibe was off. I felt like I was listening to a ADHD kid asking a very, very tired parent about very specific things. The sighs were deafening.

As for the product, well.. just before this episode I made my own biochar by pyrolizing pine chips in an old paint can in the fireplace. Thanks to finding those old 'Primitive Technology' youtube videos.
I've already been collecting microbes from the wild and inoculating soils with them for a couple years.

I think there will be a whole lot of wrong interpretations of this interview along the way and that it's going to take a while before these are corrected.

Im sorry but I don’t think that pine chips in an old paint can in a fireplace is equivalent to a professional-grade product engineered by someone with a PhD

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Im sorry but I don’t think that pine chips in an old paint can in a fireplace is equivalent to a professional-grade product engineered by someone with a PhD

Making charcoal is a technique older than writing and if the base product and the end result are the same.. I don't see how it's engineered at all, inoculation is a fairly straight forward process too. I've done it a couple thousand times myself.

I wonder if you'd pay more for a bag of barbecue charcoal if the producer has a PhD. Because that's the better charcoal, right?

Literature states that charcoal made from pine works better than other charcoals, for some reason. So I went with pine. I don't know what's being used in those probio products, but I'm sure they've read the same literature as I have.

 

[Colorado]

Making charcoal is a technique older than writing and if the base product and the end result are the same.. I don't see how it's engineered at all, inoculation is a fairly straight forward process too. I've done it a couple thousand times myself.

I wonder if you'd pay more for a bag of barbecue charcoal if the producer has a PhD. Because that's the better charcoal, right?

Literature states that charcoal made from pine works better than other charcoals, for some reason. So I went with pine. I don't know what's being used in those probio products, but I'm sure they've read the same literature as I have.

Well the jury is out on whether the end result are the same.

Look, you very well may be right that biochar is biochar. I am no expert in this stuff, I’m just a guy who listened to the podcast! Lol!

What impressed me about the product were a few things: 1) it contains a select few (single?) strains of bacteria/fungi that is specifically selected because of its beneficial properties to plants; 2) the bacteria/fungi is inoculated at a very specific and identified concentration; 3) the biochar is heated to a very specific, optimal temperature; 4) the base material used is olive stones which are similar in size and shape to traditional bonsai substrates and apparently are resistant to breaking down in the container.

If you can achieve all of that in your fireplace, then that is awesome and impressive! However, I definitely cannot. Much more feasible for a “regular guy” like me to just buy the product.

I am not advocating for it. I have no idea if it will provide any benefit or not. I just think it is interesting and looking forward to giving it a try on a few of my trees!

 

[Taste]

This cast reminded me of the soil compost ones. Neat theory but I won’t try it until I see an outcome. And as we saw before how that went.

Also, I agree with above postings that it was a slug fest to listen

 

[Rivian]

the base material used is olive stones which are similar in size and shape to traditional bonsai substrates and apparently are resistant to breaking down in the container.

The product is not intact olive stones, its broken up. I would say around 1mm pieces. It seems fine to me, just saying.