Good luck, and be attentive. It is a fine line between ash and snuff, all based on the oxygen supply. You really have to be able to turn it off and turn it on, so to speak.

Keep us posted.

"...Most burn barrels come with lids..."

Those must be the Cadilac of burn barrels, and I have the Nash Rambler. Ours was (they outlawed them were our real home is) just an old 55 gal drum that I poked a bunch of holes in with my pick. Made a wire cover for the top, just to keep flying papers from tourching our trees...

Well, shoot! You mean I probably won't do it perfectly the first time?! Sigh. Okay, I've got 3/4 acre. By the time I've charcoaled the whole thing, I should know what I'm doing and probably won't need to do it again. Ever.

Thanks, guys!

Sue

OBG, if your wife wants to check out Terra Preta, suggest she go to the Permaculture Institute of Australia site. This link will take her to one of the threads on the subject there, but there are others, too, if she does a Search.
http://forums.permaculture.org.au/ftopic1775.php&sid=a8b9f1a2539e2fc4a7972d619bc93f17

I just peeked in over there, and there were 103 responses on the thread, plus a lot of links, too, so tell her to settle down and be prepared to spend some time.

Sue

I have never made charcoal, but on our last camping trip, we took an evening walk and came upon an old Hawaiian kiln that was used to make charcoal out of guava wood.

Sorry, not a helpful post, but just an fyi.

10-4, thanks...