Using wood ash from a bonfire.

[Garden Manager]

Following a big tree pruning session and subsequent bonfire (first for many years) to get rid of the prunings, i am now left with a significant pile of ash.  I know this is a good source of potash and can be used as a feed, particularly for fruiting/flowering plants (also believe alliums and potatoes benefit).

What I would like to know is when would be the best time to apply and how please?

I would also like to know what other things can be fed on wood ash?

PS: if it helps the material burnt was largely pine and ivy.

Thanks

[Garden Manager]

[flowerlady]

GC

I have been reading Gardening & Planting by the Moon (author Nick Kollerstrom)
in it is a brilliant section on monthly tasks, small quote:

"Sieve the resultant ash and mix it with an equal quantity of leaf mould to make a wonderful base for sowing seeds later on.  Stack clods of earth round the bonfire; these will crumble and make a useful ingredient in a potting mixture for tomatoes later in the spring"

hope this helps

[Robert_Brenchley]

Out it on when they're growing well, usually when they're producing fruit or whatever their thing is. So I put it on the spuds when they're flowering, for instance, as this is when the tubers start forming. meanwhile, keep it dry.

[Garden Manager]

Put it on when they're growing well, usually when they're producing fruit or whatever their thing is. So I put it on the spuds when they're flowering, for instance, as this is when the tubers start forming. meanwhile, keep it dry.

Thanks.  Re: Potatoes, any good putting some i the trench before planting?
What about onions, leeks etc, before planting or when they are actively growing.

PS Had the fire this pm. Wasnt out/cool before dark so hoping it doesnt get too damp over night, before I can collect it up.

[Paulines7]

Garden cadet, wood ash can encourage scab on potatoes.  We didn't know this until the end of last year when we dug up the crop.  Those potatoes that had been planted where my Hubbie had scattered ash from the bonfire had far more scab than those planted further up the plot.

You might find this site helpful and this is an extract from it:  http://www.humeseeds.com/ashes.htm

WHERE TO USE WOOD ASHES
Wood ash especially would be beneficial in areas where you have deciduous trees and shrubs, including fruit trees, vegetables (root crops), bulbs, annuals, perennials and deciduous vines. Avoid using any wood ash around such acid loving plants as rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas, junipers and conifers.

Wood ashes can be used very successfully in the vegetable garden (except in the area where you plan to grow potatoes). Mix the ash thoroughly with your soil. Tomatoes seem to benefit especially from soil that has been mixed with a small quantity of wood ash.

I believe it can also be used in layers in the compost heap.

[dandelion]

Thanks Paulines7 that's very useful info. I have a large quantity of wood ashes from our woodbruning stove and had been wondering where best to use it. I'll avoid the spuds. I wonder if it would be OK on strawberries as those also prefer a slightly acid soil?

[Robert_Brenchley]

That's interesting, I've used wood ash successfully with potatos for years, and had very little scab. Only use it when plants are growing actively, since the benefit is fairly short-lived.

[Paulines7]

I think it also depends on the soil ph Robert.  We have a very light soil on chalk, so it is very alkaline and therefore prone to scab.  From what I have read on the web, following the harvesting of our crop last year, wood ash will make the condition worse in an alkaline soil.

[Garden Manager]

I was wondering about potatoes and wood ash. Wood ash being alkaline, would probably not be a good thing to use on crops sensitive to high ph. I believe it is alkalinity that encourages scab, and as my soil is alkaline and i already get a bit of scab naturaly, perhaps it is not a good idea to exacerbate the problem by using wood ash.

I should think the same could be said of raspberries. Whilst the potash in the ashes could boost flower production in theory, the alkalinity would cause chlorosis and therefore reduce the crop produced.

Might be a short term alternative to limeing the spiol for brassicas though, however the potash would be wasted on a leaf crop.

Its not exactly a crop but I was thinking some might be worth putting around my roses. They are a flowering plant after all.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Good point; my soil is slightly acid so that would explain the difference.