Re: Best Way to Use Wood Ashes

On Wed 19 Jan, Julianne Wiley wrote:
> Hi, all.
> 
> We have a lot of ashes from our wood stove which I always scatter (as evenly
> as I can) on all my planting beds, which are are already topped with 5
> inches of shredded autumn leaves.  I'm thinking that the dry leaves have an
> acidic tendency, and the ashes are alkaline, so ashes + leaves =
> nearly-neutral compost over the winter.  All this is on top of my hard clay
> soil.
> 
> So it's hard clay soil, then shredded leaes (in raised beds), then ashes,
> layered somewhat.
> 
> BUT now I read that rain and snow can cause the nutrients in the ashes to
> dissolve and trickle away, and so one should protect one's wood ashes from
> LEACHING over the winter.
> 
> So: what's the best way to handle wood ashes?  Store them up all winter in
> garbage cans, and spread them in the Spring?  Or do like I'm doing?  Or
> cover my beds with plastic so they don't get rained on in the winter? Or
> what?
> 
> (You guys are so knowledgeable...)
> 
> Ears perked and nose twitching,
> 
> Julianne
> 
The potash is very soluble so if you can bother, save them dry for
gooseberries, tomatoes and other fruit in the spring/summer. The
charcoal etc. is a soil conditioner anyway and would do good in the
compost heap.
Allan
-- 
Allan Day  Hereford HR2 7AU allan@crwys.demon.co.uk
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