Re: Re: Wood ashes

Neil, I have to agree, don't use the ashes very close to the iris plants.  I 
use the ashes in a different way.  I live on the side of a hill.  I've build 
rock terraces in several places in the yard to control soil creep/erosion.  
I'd read that wood ashes are a good control for slugs.  I had alot of slugs 
around the rock terraces.  So, throughout winter when I empty out the 
ashes, I walk along along and dust them on the rocks.  The terraces 
range from 1-3' high and I've probably got way over 100' feet of them in 
the yard and growing, kinda stair stepped. The ashes get distributed 
out, and with rains just settle in around the rocks, and no slugs in sight 
when spring rolls around, and the ashes keep weeds from growing up in 
between the rocks.  If there are any clumps of ashes on the rocks that 
don't get washed off by rains, I just spray them off with a garden hose.  
The iris are not real close to the rocks and haven't been effected by the 
ashes, but there is never ashes right on the iris.  Hope this helps those 
with slug problems and excess wood ashes.  
Also, SDB's Dark Crystal and Blitz reblooming today, they look really 
good together.
Will Warner
SW MO 
zone 6

> 
> From: "Neil A Mogensen" <neilm@charter.net>
> Date: 2004/11/21 Sun AM 09:13:47 CST
> To: "Iris-talk" <iris@hort.net>
> Subject: [iris] Re: Wood ashes
> 
> Barbara, be careful with wood ashes.  They do contain a lot of 
wonderful
> stuff--micronutrients plus Potash, which iris need.
> 
> BUT--raw wood ashes that have not been wet and leached (which 
takes out some
> of the good stuff, sorry to say) is very strongly alkaline.  The burning
> process converts some chemicals to their alkaline cousins.  That's how 
lye is
> made--by burning.
> 
> The safest thing to do with ashes is put them in your compost pile.  
Then the
> powerfully alkaline radicals react with other things in the pile and are
> neutralized.  Also, any leaching goes into the compost that's deeper.  
They
> are safe this way, and very beneficial.
> 
> If you do want to use them directly on the soil, don't put them in a
> pile--scatter very thinly, and make sure you try this on ground where 
nothing
> is growing you care much about.  Also, don't do this with coal ashes.  
They
> seem to be disasterously damaging in many soils.  I have no idea 
why--coal is
> just cooked, compressed compost that is *very* old.  In the central 
coalfields
> in West Virginia we often found fern imprints on horizontal fracture
> lines--the separation layer between years.  Coal does often contain 
some clay
> plus fine silt or other mineral (silica)  component that makes coal ash 
often
> a vitreous (glassy) ash.  Compost wouldn't give that kind of result.
> 
> Neil Mogensen  z 7 western NC mountains
> 
> 
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