putting ashes on garden

[bohawg1]

Has anyone put there ashes on there garden for years? have you noticed a big difference in the soil in the years? Well ive been putting all my ashes on my garden for the last couple years. I have a wood furnace and burn alot .

 

[mschoff]

I put all my ashes on the garden and I had a great crop this year it has been two years of doing this

 

[audible fart]

I scatter ashes along my hedge, and the base of my trees. Haven't grown my traditional crop of hot peppers for a few years, but the ashes sure never hurt 'em.
((WARNING))!!!!
As you well know, ashes/tiny coals can smolder for days. I lucked out HARDCORE a few years ago. I threw ashes on an old rotten sweetgum stump in the corner of my yard. The day after, I walked out to my truck and smelled smoke. The ashes I'd thrown on the stump had nearly completey burned the stump, leaving a crater in the ground. It could have been so much worse, but that damn stump is history. The moral of the story is never trust the ashes. Now I rigged a container that I can pour a bucket-o-water on the ashes, and I still let it sit for days till I disperse them. It sure doesn't take much to start a terrible fire, and I don't expect to be so lucky next time.

 

[swift4me]

great against snails and slugs

Here in this part of France we have huge slugs, same as Oregon and Northern Cal, about 4" long, plus lots of snails and they'll devour a garden. If you make a border of ashes, the snails and slugs won't cross it for the most part. I think you'd have to dump alot of ashes on a small garden to have a negative impact. Make sure you're adding other stuff too.

Pete

 

[S Mc]

If you are in an area with acidic soil, then woodashes may indeed prove beneficial. However, if your garden is already neutral or basic (alkaline) you will compound the issue by raising the pH even further.

Always know what you are putting in/on your soil and what you are trying to achieve.

Helpful tidbit about the snails and slugs.

Sylvia

 

[bohawg1]

Yes im the one that posted, I have clay soil and only had a garden for two years now, Been trying to make my soil better by mixing in some shreded leaves and also been putting in my wood ashes. Just was wondering if anyone had clay soil and the ahes have helped them out. THanks

 

[Woodcutteranon]

If you are dealing with clay soil go buy yourself a truckload of sand and till it in. Wood ash is always good along with any organic material you can dump in. Of course...as a previous poster put it... you have to keep a balance in what you are putting in. You should have a soil test done each year and take their recommendations. Visit your local Ag extension office or ask a local farmer where he/she sends their soil samples. It is pretty cheap, about $7 to send in a sample. If you are putting your leaves in your soil (acidic) your ash is a good balance (alkaline). Organic gardeners will always tell you to compost your leaves before instead of putting them directly in your garden.

Wood ash is a technique organic gardeners utilize to deal with slugs and snails. The slug's underside will get sliced up by the ash resulting in their slow and painful death.


Good luck.

 

[cableguy256]

I live in a clay-filled area.. a few years ago had my neighbor bring over a couple trailer loads of some really good, fertile soil... since then I always dump my ashes on the garden during the winter, and he comes and tills it twice in the spring prior to planting... have never had better crops before!!

 

[savageactor7]

We've put wood ashes in the same garden for 30 years...mostly just to get rid of them. All crops but potatoes come in fine with them. Can't say I notice any difference in soil consistency.

FYI Potash is a component in commercial fertilizers like 5-10-5, 10-10-10 etc. For a long time slash and burn agricultural practices practices have been used with limited success...so in short ashes are helpful.

 

[05mxdiesel]

Plants take nitrogen out of the soil. Leaves and grass clippings add nitrogen also. I put everything in my garden like it is a compost pile. 1/2 acre of grass clipping, lots of leaves and ash from two woodburners. Too bad the blyte killed our tomatoes this year. My garden also sits on my drain field which helps with moisture for the plants.

 

[mercer_me]

I put my ashes in the garden. I don't realy notice a diference in my crops though. Somtimes when I have some hot coals I will dump them at the end of my driveway and it melts the ice.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

As you well know, ashes/tiny coals can smolder for days. ... never trust the ashes. ... It sure doesn't take much to start a terrible fire, and I don't expect to be so lucky next time.

Good reminder. Ours go from the woodstove into a 30 gallon steel trash can. They sit there for at least a week before we dispose of them.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

If you are dealing with clay soil go buy yourself a truckload of sand and till it in.

Clay + sand = concrete.


As Sylvia said:

Always know what you are putting in/on your soil and what you are trying to achieve.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Hello,
I believe ashes are high in Nitrogen, that is why they say they are good for the soil. Many commercial fertilizers have high Nitrogen in them. Thanks.

No, not much nitrogen in wood ash, if any. Nitrogen tends to make the soil more acidic. Ash helps by neutralizing the acidity.


From the excellent link provided by Treeco:

In terms of commercial fertilizer, average wood ash would probably be about 0-1-3 (N-P-K).

It also provides other nutrients, and can help with tilth (breaks up clay).

..so in short ashes are helpful.

If you have acidic soil (which is very common), yes. If you have basic soil, ash will be harmful. If you use too much, ash will be harmful.


Juan More Time!

Always know what you are putting in/on your soil and what you are trying to achieve.

 

[Wood Scrounge]

I store it in large metal trash cans, screen it, mix it with composted chicken manure and spread it on the lawn with the drop spreader.

 

[crashagn]

Never knew about the ashes taking care of the grubs and snails. Our garden is in part of a once used to be cattle lot so the fertility is great!!! Got a whole lot of sweet corn from my side this season. Will be putting on some chicken poo from the coop next season before winter.

Plants take nitrogen out of the soil. Leaves and grass clippings add nitrogen also. I put everything in my garden like it is a compost pile. 1/2 acre of grass clipping, lots of leaves and ash from two woodburners. Too bad the blyte killed our tomatoes this year. My garden also sits on my drain field which helps with moisture for the plants.

We havent had nothing for tomato's the last 2 years because of this. Both years I even removed all the veins from the garden and burned them. I dont know what else to do

 

[swift4me]

blight

I guess this has turned into a gardening thread. Last year I grew potatoes for the first time, and they got early blight very "early". I pulled them and ate alot of great small potatoes, but some of my tomatoes picked it up too.

Did your tomatoes have blight or just not many tomatoes?

They say if you have a full blown case of potato blight, you can't grow potatoes in the same ground for 3 years. I think I planted them too early, so I'm going to try again this spring.

Pete

 

[crashagn]

Rust looking stuff on the veins and on all of the tomatoes. The potatoes i was gving them away by the 5 gal bucket fulls. We also tried the tomatoe upside down in the bucket thing and same issue and the buckets were clear across the yard.. +300feet away

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Yeah, that blight destroyed us last year, too. From what I hear, it was all over the east coast. Hobby growers were pretty much wiped out, and it hit commercial growers pretty hard, too.

 

[sachsmo]

Clay + sand = concrete.


As Sylvia said:

I will have to disagree with clay+sand=concrete.

We live in an area that has many old clay pits(had an old tile kiln in town years ago)

I have amended my garden with sharp sand the last 2 years and it has made the soil much better to work/hoe.

I have been adding compost and some sheep manure as well, so it may not be all in the sand.

We don't put ashes in our garden because we have a row of raspberries and they wouldn't like the PH raised any more.

I can say before adding compost/manure/sand that garden area was akin to concrete!