wood ash

[taylorlej]

hi everyone,
i was wondering - ive heard some veg/herbs hate wood ash - is this true?
what veg can you use wood ash on?
thanks for all advice
Laurence

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi Laurence, wood ash is great for your onions and garlic, that much I know, but dont know what its not good for, sorry!

[pigletwillie]

Dont put it anywhere near acid lovers such as blueberries, azaeleas, rhododendrons and the like.

All other fruit loves it.

[supersprout]

Let's see ... as Mrs D say, put ash on your onions, garlic once they start growing again in spring; and anything you want to affect the size, shape and quality of fruiting body (so greedy soft fruit bushes usually get second dibs at Sprouty Towers). Use it quickly; tis a fairly fragile form of K (potassium), you could also use comfrey and seaweed mulches which are slower acting. Or add it to the layers in the compost heap or leafmould pile (the latter makes good seed compost).

A figure from the Barnsdale veg growing courses: plants draw 96% of the nutrients they need from the AIR. They need only 1.5% potassium from the ground, so don't overdo it on e.g. tomatoes - I think overdoing K inhibits calcium takeup in toms, leading to Blossom End Rot Your greedy feeders and soft fruit (Piggers' acid-loving exceptions noted) will love it tho

[rustylady]

Wood ash is best used round fruit bushes, such as gooseberries, raspberries and currants.

[Snadger]

I would imagine wood ash has a fair bit of charcoal in it (as well as potassium) which is used to sweeten soil in waterlogged conditions, so it would probably be beneficial to clay soils which had become waterlogged and acidified! Deflocculation seems to ring a bell!

Just a thought

[serenity]

I get through quite a bit of wood shavings which I use in the chicken house and the rabbits hutch. I use far too much to add to the compost heap so have been considering burning it instead. I know this is a really dumb question but would this produce a form of wood ash that I could use in the garden?

[serenity]

Just read this from "geordie tips" thread

mix it with peas to repel the mice
plant potatoes in wood ash if scab is a problem
Set your root crops in a furrow, cover with ash and water the furrow. Cover with a plank of wood and check daily for slugs & snails. This speeds germination and provides a fertiliser.
Scatter ash from fine nylon mesh over brassicas to repel cabbage whites and kill the caterpillars.
Ash strewn amongst carrots and onions can deter the respective flys
Spread amongst Gooseberry bushes and on leaves it will deter sawfly, shake the caterpillars onto the ash and they will not climb back.
Infuse in water for a foliar spray
Add to a compost (aaha heres the link!!) heap that has become to acidic (fruit flies can indicate acidity).
Mix in generous amounts with pine needles to make the best possible mulch for strawberries. I'm not sure why but think its because the needles raise the acidity which strawbs love, the ash acts as a counter but provides potash, and the slugs and snails hate both

hope I am allowed to copy/paste bits of others posts, very sorry if I am not but seemed the easiest way to add this, can someone let me know if this is a no no

[taylorlej]

great - thanks everyone