Happy New Year everyone ! I wish you all a successful and fertile 2013 .
We ’ve been busy trying to last out warm here in westerly Pennsylvania and have been enjoy many fires in ourfireplace . As a solvent , we have a lot of wood ash . I ’m often ask by gardeners if it is safe to use open fireplace ashes in the garden . I thought you might like the low - down on this , as well .
Both Ellen Price Wood and leaf ash has been used for centuries by gardener to improve their soil . This , however , does n’t mean that it ’s always a good practice . We ’ve learned a passel about dirt and plant wellness over the years , and as a result , the conclusion to practice ashes in the garden has become a hot theme in the gardening human beings . I ’ll give you some fact , then you’re able to settle for yourself if it ’s something you require to do .
First , one of the reasons ethnic music expend ash tree in their gardens is its nutritionary content . Ash control about 1½ pct P and 7 percent K , two essential nutrient for plant growth . If your grime has a deficiency in K , impart a few ashes would help supercharge the levels . But , to make an informed conclusion , you should first take asoil testin the garden to find out both existing nutrient degree andsoil pH. ( you’re able to do this by sending a dirt sample to a lab at your local cooperative extension . ) Because ash are so alkalic , adding them to the stain also raise the pH , take a leak it less acidic . If the mental testing results show a pH of 6.5 or higher , do n’t add the ashes . Doing so would raise the pH to non - optimum level .
In western Pennsylvania we lean to have more or less acidic soil , so tally a diminutive bit of ash to the garden each class unremarkably does n’t shed the pH too out of wack . That being aver , the reason some experts are no longer recommending the usage of ash tree in the garden is because a little goes a long way and putting even a little too much on the grease can wreak havoc on soil organism , making the territory so alkaline that most plants can not thrive . I would also intimate you do n’t add up ash to badly drained soil because it reduces a soil ’s porousness .
If you do choose to add wood ash to your garden , be sure to spread it evenly and in minimum amounts . Come give , ruffle it soundly into the grime to avoid patch of overly alkalic ground .
Because I prefer to avoid the theory of over - doing it , alternatively of adding our ashes directly to the garden , here ’s what I do with them ( and you’re able to corroborate this with my hubby who got admonished last week for dumping a mound of wood ashes into a layer of evergreens ): Icompostthem . I interest that I ’ll add too much to the garden beds or that I wo n’t get them equally spread , so I cut the endangerment by add the ashes to my big compost pile . They get knock down on top or economize in a metal bucket to be commingle into the pot during the growing season . The mixture of organic thing that pop off into my big money helps neutralize the ash tree ’s pH , and by the clip the compost is fully ready , the pH is not a concern . Obviously you do n’t desire to add exuberant amounts of ash to a small compost binful , but large piles can treat quite a bit .
For more on what you may add to your compost pile , download and printthis guidecompostable green and dark-brown materials .
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