Grow Your Own Magazine

Have quite a lot of wood ash from a recent bonfire. I was planning to use some for the gooseberries and have read on another thread that onions benefit - does anyone know what else could it be used for (there is rather a large heap!)

Once you've put a generous top dressing on the goosegogs and onions (incl. garlic and leeks) dust it generously on other soft fruit. If you've any left over after that, top dress any beds where you've got stuff growing - it disappears very quickly, so no point in top dressing vacant beds. Or layer in the compost. Lovely!

__________________
SSx
not every situation requires a big onion

Very appropriate thread for me at the moment! (stink of smoke)
Have lots of soft fruit as well as onions and garlic to put recent ash on.

What does the ash add?

The Greeks use it for baking!
'Alousia' = water boiled with ashes according to my Cretan recipe book! Unfortunately it doesn't tell how much or for how long, or whether to seive it afterwards, or anything. Needless to say i have yet to try it!!

__________________
Regards, Jane
What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? The creative adult is the child who has survived.
Ursula LeGuin
http://www.etribes.com/madderbat

I'm sure gripe water was made with wood ash and water?
Wood ash is high in ... potash!

__________________
SSx
not every situation requires a big onion

http://www.cretan-nutrition.gr/recipes/patouda.html

Madderbat according to this recipe it is seived!

__________________
[

Useful to know, thanks LJ, but I'm still not trying it!
Great link though, thanks.

__________________
Regards, Jane
What sane person could live in this world and not be crazy? The creative adult is the child who has survived.
Ursula LeGuin
http://www.etribes.com/madderbat

Could I dig it in rather than top dress? I've got loads from our wood burner.

The Pompeyans weren't too impressed with ash!

__________________
My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

I don't dig

Nutrients in wood ash percolate easily into the soil as soon as it rains, so I wouldn't think there's any benefit to digging. If I had surplus wood ash (unlikely as we have eleven 1m x 4m beds growing alliums!) I'd use it as a layer in the compost heap. What do other grapes think?

__________________
SSx
not every situation requires a big onion

We never have enough wood ash and we have two wood burners. If there was a surplus I would just keep putting it around the alliums and fruit even to a couple of inches depth. Its a low level potash source unlike manmade versions.

__________________
Kindest regards, David.

http://pigletsplots.blogspot.com/
updated - Sunday 19th at 2100hrs