wood ash?

Hi-
I have an outdoor fireplace and an entire cord of wood for the fall/winter. I have already burned some and was wondering if the ash is beneficial at all for my beds? I hate to throw it away if it can be useful somewhere. I didn't find any previous posts on this...anyone know? Thanks!

It will furnish potash, a valuable fertilizer. But spread it thinly as it can change the pH of the soil.

Like most things in life, it depends. If you have an acid soil, the ash may raise the ph somewhat. If your soil is already alkaline, it may raise it too high for your plants' comfort.

If your soil ever requires lime, ashes may be a good substitute. Know your ph level before adding them, though.

Wayne

Ok, I see. My soil is clay and alkaline, so I won't put my wood ash in my beds. Thanks for the help.

Ambercroakley,
I think there is some confusion. Wood ash will help your acid soil like adding lime wouid. If you add too much you could actually make your soil alkaline (which for most plants would not be a good thing) I would guess you could safely add some to your beds. If your soil is very acidic, you could add even more.
I used to burn 3-4 cords a year. We have very acid soil in CT and I sure surprised the agricultural extension service when the soil from my beds tested alkaline after a couple of years of putting all that ash in my beds. Now, I take it easy. I will also put some ash in my compost (again in moderation)
Dave 47

Hi Dave47-
I'm pretty sure my soil is already alkaline. I have not tested it myself, but visited with a local independant nursery guy who said that all of the soil in my area is alkaline. So, it sounds like wood ash would not be a good thing for me to add to my beds. I plan to mix all of my hardwood mulch into the soil this weekend and not use it for mulch anymore. Then when it is time to cut down my bananas, cannas and elephant ears, I think I will use compost for mulch over the winter. That should help my alkaline/clay soil problem, right? Or at least a start?

If that mulch isn't already rotted, it's going to pull nitrogen out of the soil that you're mixing it with in the short term. So be prepared to add extra nitrogen in some form for your plants.

Adding organic matter may improve the soil pH somewhat, and likely will improve the soil structure, but it isn't going to change the fact that the soil is clay.

Oh...boy. Ok, I didn't know that about mixing in the hardwood mulch. I put it down in July, I think. I suppose i could spray the beds with miracle grow until first frost. Thanks for the tip!

This message was edited Oct 16, 2005 10:21 PM

You could also use something like blood meal or other organic source of nitrogen.
It'll last longer by a lot than miracle grow would.
Tam

Tammy-
I happen to have some blood meal/bone meal combo that I have not used yet. I have read more now about mixing in mulch, and now I am thinking not such a good idea. But does it matter so much in a bed that is full of plants that will be dormant over the winter? I don't want to use hardwood mulch any more, but didn't really want to do the work to remove it. And then what would I do with it? If I could just mix it in and add enough nitrogen rich material to get past the eventual decomposition, I guess it would be fine...?

I'm not so sure about your climate but up here, there wouldn't be enough microbial
activity to worry about the mulch over the winter. I'd wait 'til spring and than spinkle
the blood/bone meal on top of the bed. (My that sounds yucky doesn't it? blood & bone).
Then the rain will wash the nitrogen into the soil when its warm enough for the bacteria
to get going on braking down that mulch.

Tam