ASH?

[buckhunter10]

I have saved a lot of ash this year from fireplaces. I have 2 wood burners at my home plus the farm we burn through a cord or two a year. This means I have a lot of great hardwood ash.

Any benefit to spreading this on plots? I figure I will have two or three 30 gallon trash cans full of ash. I normally spread some on my garden but this year Ill have more than usual. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Kabic]

Ash will raise the PH and has some fertilizer value which varies on the wood that was burnt.

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/industrial_wood_ash_on_crop_land

 

[buckhunter10]

Ash will raise the PH and has some fertilizer value which varies on the wood that was burnt.

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/industrial_wood_ash_on_crop_land

Thanks for information. I wonder when the best time to spread the ash would be? Probably right before planting?

 

[dgallow]

Spread it well ahead of planting but not on frozen soil. Oxides of Ca and K in wood ash are highly caustic and cause dramatic reaction in soil so you don't want that going on while seeds are germinating. Figure spreading at a 1-2 ton per ac rate....which is 0.5-1 lb per 10 square feet. I strew it across the yard one fox-hole shovel full at a time.

 

[buckhunter10]

Spread it well ahead of planting but not on frozen soil. Oxides of Ca and K in wood ash are highly caustic and cause dramatic reaction in soil so you don't want that going on while seeds are germinating. Figure spreading at a 1-2 ton per ac rate....which is 0.5-1 lb per 10 square feet. I strew it across the yard one fox-hole shovel full at a time.

thank you Dgallow! I am not sure how much I will even have but I can probably fill my PTO spreader to the top atlas one time. I will spread it on a plot this year and next year do a different plot. Slowly but surely I will hope to add some OM to the soil.

I am going to do the same for my garden behind the house.

 

[CTM1]

I usually save it to toss on my dirt driveway in the winter when it gets icy, but starting two months ago I started
tossing it as well as any of the bio-char I get out of some stove clean outs into one half of the small plot next to
the house. I am just going to compare the growth on one side as opposed to the other.