NOVELTY - Biochar-containing composition (I) comprises biochar (A) having organic matter in/on it; clay intercalated or associated with the organic matter; and at least one non-clay mineral.    USE - (I) is useful for planting a crop in a soil (claimed) and fertilizing a crop in a soil, where the crop comprises seeds, seedlings, juvenile plants and/or mature plants. (I) is useful as fertilizer. (I) is useful in broad acre cultivation, turf/nursery applications, other horticultural applications, tree production and land rehabilitation. (I) (27.5 kg/hectare granular urea) was tested for its ability to improve the quality of wheat plants by measuring the screening of the grain sample. The results showed that the percentage of screening of grain was 4.26%, which was significantly higher than most other treatments and the hectoliter weight of the grain was 77.67 (i.e. in grain density).    ADVANTAGE - (I): serves to combat global warming; utilizes waste matter e.g. waste fecal matter; encourages plant growth; and reduces the need for artificial fertilizers, which are known pollutants. (I): increases the water holding capacity of the soil, and the cationic interchange capacity of the soil; stimulates germination of seeds; and improves the immune system of the plants, and vigor of growing plants. (I) enhances the nutrient retention capacity and other properties of soils, thus improving crop yield. (I): is economical; reduces the use of pesticides and/or herbicides while maintaining or increasing crop yield and/or quality; reduces the carbon footprint of agricultural processes. (I) promotes greater, or more rapid, plant growth. (I) promotes the plant growth at least 5% faster or at least 10% faster, or greater, than in the absence of (I).    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are included for:    (1) the preparation of (I) comprising: (i) combining organic matter, one or more non-clay minerals, (A) and a swelling clay and mixing in a mixing vessel at a sufficient temperature for pillaring of the clay, so as to form a pillared mixture; torrefying the pillared mixture in a torrefier so as to form a torrefied product and an exhaust gas, where a heated gas is injected into the torrefier during the torrefying; and cooling the torrefied mixture to form (I);    (2) a method for planting a crop in a soil comprising inserting seeds of the crop into the soil and locating (I) into the soil onto and/or near to the seeds; and    (3) an apparatus (100) for making (I) comprising: a mixer (120) for mixing starting materials at mildly elevated temperatures, a torrefier (170) for torrefying a pillared mixture produced in the mixer, a post-mixer (220) for combining a torrefied product from the torrefier with additives, and a transfer device for transferring the mixture from the mixer to the torrefier, where the torrefier comprises at least one hot gas inlet port for passing a hot gas into the torrefier so as to heat contents of the torrefier in use.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figure shows a simplified version of flow chart for preparing the biochar composition.    Apparatus (100)    Wood furnace (110)    Mixer (120)    Torrefier (170)    Post-mixer. (220)