Wood Ash Fertilizer

Wood Ashes as a Garden Fertilizer The author is Ed Perry Farm Advisor Stanislaus County Cooperative Extension At one time wood ashes were a chief source of potassium and much used in farming and horticulture.

Wood ash fertilizer. Wood ash is high in calcium carbonate the active ingredient used in store-bought lime fertilisers. In terms of commercial fertilizer average wood ash would be about 0-1-3 N-P-K. Make sure you are only burning dry untreated wood before using the wood ash.

Firewood ash is an excellent organic fertilizer when applied correctly to the proper plants. But wood ash fertilizer is best used either lightly scattered or by first being composted along with the rest of your compost. WHY ASH IS GOOD FOR SOIL Lime is a popular soil fertiliser that is generally used to add nutrients to the soil speed up the breakdown organic matter and decrease soil acidity.

Wood ash contains few elements that pose environmental problems. It refers to the process of soaking wood ash in iron pots to dissolve the potassium salts and then evaporate them. Not only that using ashes in the garden also provides many of the trace elements that plants need to thrive.

While not an important fertilizer anymore wood ashes have become plentiful around many homes as more. Use your wood ash dry as once it is wet the nutrients are washed away. Rather it supplements it and reduces the overall need to purchase costly off-site inputs.

Because of the presence of calcium carbonate it acts as a liming agent and will de-acidify the soil increasing its pH. Heavy metal concentrations are typically low. In addition to these macro-nutrients wood ash is a good source of many micronutrients needed in trace amounts for adequate plant growth.

Up until the 19th century this form of potash was hugely important and used in. The beauty of using wood ash is that the spectrum and ratio of minerals present in the ash have already been preselected by plants. Wood ash is an excellent source of lime and potassium for your garden.