Horticultural Charcoal – Can be Substituted by Barbecue Charcoal or Filtering Charcoal?

While someone may suggest saving the leftover charcoal after a barbecue gathering for gardening use, another may believe that the use of filtering charcoal can yield better performance in purifying the potting soil. None of these is either feasible or true, but only an urban myth of horticultural charcoal. Not all charcoal are created equal. And horticultural charcoal cannot substitute by either barbecue charcoal or filtering charcoal.  

Horticultural Charcoal & Barbecue Charcoal

There are binders added in barbecue charcoal, and they are reported as sufficiently toxic to plants, and in consequence, make barbecue charcoal and its ashes not recommended for composts or garden soil enrichment.

Horticultural Charcoal & Filtering Charcoal

Filtering charcoal is not the same thing as horticultural charcoal. Most that are sold for aquariums today is not a wood charcoal at all, but are made by a completely different process from bituminous coal, peat, lignite, hardwood, or animal bone, followed by further processing & chemical washes. It retains a great deal more water than horticultural charcoal, yet less oxygen. Unlike filtering carbon, horticultural charcoal is untreated and unprocessed, hence, a more natural product.

Because filtering charcoal is an activated carbon, it has lots of air pocket, hence can absorb odors. Horticultural charcoal cannot absorb odors, for it merely is a cheap grade of natural charcoal that has not been activated. Check out Horticultural Charcoal Myth #2 Absorb Odors for more details on this topic.

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