Wood Vinegar

Like all living organisms, agricultural plants tend to be quite conservative in their use of resources. Their evolutionary objective isn't to create as much foliage, fruit and vegetables for us as possible, but rather to produce enough seeds to ensure the next generation. They don't know a farmer is taking care of their every need, but rather genetically assume there will be tough times ahead. Photosynthesis requires water and minerals, and the more cells you have as a plant, the more water and minerals you will need to obtain to support them all.

Wood vinegar, also known as pyroligneous acid, contains over 200 organic compounds, extracted from biomass using a moderate amount of heat in the absence of oxygen. Wood vinegar upregulates photosynthesis to a signficant degree, kicking it into a higher gear, which has a cascade of effects on plant health and productivity. First, the rate of foliage growth is signficantly increased, which further increases a plant's overall photosynthetic capacity because of the increase in leaf area. Energy providing carbohydrates produced during photosysthesis flood the plant, and during the night these are excreted into the soil to nourish the microorganisms surrounding the roots, and their populations explode.

The microbes that surround a plant's root system are in a symbiotic relationship. They dissolve the minerals they need and in the process make them plant available. Some microbes, such as mycorrhizal fungi, transport them into the plant root hairs in a direct exchange for carbohydrates. Others, such as bacteria, have a very short lifespan and release dissolved minerals into the soil solution as they die. Multi-celled organisms excrete dissolved minerals into the soil solution as their waste product.

In sum, when wood vinegar upregulates photosynthesis, the increased microbial activity surrounding a plant's root system rapidly provides both higher levels and a greater diversity of plant available, dissolved minerals. And this allows our plant to support a much higher level of productivity. The philosopy behind regenerative agriculture is to "feed the soil", specifically to feed the soil microbes, and let the soil microbes feed the plant. This is exactly what wood vinegar does.

As a result of this cascade of effects, the plant will produce more flowers, vegetables and fruits. The produce from these plants will not only have higher amounts of nutritious minerals, but also a wider variety of minerals compared to vegetables produced using chemical fertilizers. And they will have richer, sweeter, more appetizing flavors.

Wood vinegar