Ashes in the garden

[Robert V]

So for the past two burn seasons I have been dumping my ashes in my little 15X30 ish garden. I thought I was doing a good thing but according to my brother in law the ashes are toxic. My brother in law knows everything But for the heck of it does anyone know for sure if and what ashes help/hurt the soil?

 

[Studdlygoof]

We'll yes and no. It depends on what type of soil you have. If it's acidic, then yes it's good because it sweetens the soil. But if your soil is already sweet then you could be doing damage. If you contact your local master gardener organization they often do free soil tests to tell you where your soil actually sits on the ph scale. All my ash goes into my compost pile. It helps with decomposition and by the time I put it back in my garden it doesn't mess with my soil chemistry. If you don't want to go through all this work, one good garden use for ashes is to sprinkle them around plants plagued by snails and slugs. It messes with their slime and keeps them off the plants.

 

[lindnova]

I have been putting ashes in my garden for years. Ashes add potassium and raise the ph, so you don't want to add too much. I usually fertilize with mostly nitrogen only fertilizer. I had to put some sulfur on last year to lower the ph. The charcoal that is in the ashes is actually very good for the soil to help absorb nutrients. Everything but potatoes seems fine. I had a lot of ash by some potato hills last year and they didn't do so well. I would get a soil test kit and see what your nutrients and ph are.

 

[ZZ Tom]

Ash will raise the pH of the soil.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

So for the past two burn seasons I have been dumping my ashes in my little 15X30 ish garden. I thought I was doing a good thing but according to my brother in law the ashes are toxic. My brother in law knows everything But for the heck of it does anyone know for sure if and what ashes help/hurt the soil?

They are not toxic, per se, but they are alkaline, so if you soil is acidic it's perfect.

 

[Studdlygoof]

Everything but potatoes seems fine. I had a lot of ash by some potato hills last year and they didn't do so well.

I have always heard ash can promote potato scab in your potatoes

 

[Fred Wright]

Yup, been doing this for a couple years now. A trick learned from my old FIL - he swore by it but I wasn't aware of the science behind it 'til I did some research.

Stove ashes have much the same effect as lime in your garden soil. Supposedly it encourages root growth and stem strength. Like the folks here say, have your soil tested beforehand. You don't want to add it if it isn't needed.

 

[cre73]

Thats were most of mine go. Great tomatoes and peppers. Been doing it for years.

 

[MDFisherman]

I buy the soil testing kits at the hardware store.

(broken link removed)

Then adjust your ph accordingly. I also put my ash in the garden early in the burning session and let them sit all winter. It's almost time to start turning the dirt over!

 

[razerface]

I buy the soil testing kits at the hardware store.

(broken link removed)

thanks MDFish,, will pass this on to the female at my house who believes she is a gardner,,,,,,,, I know for a fact, that I am not one. She had me dump some ashes on her garden spot this winter.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I have always heard ash can promote potato scab in your potatoes

Not true.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

So for the past two burn seasons I have been dumping my ashes in my little 15X30 ish garden. I thought I was doing a good thing but according to my brother in law the ashes are toxic. My brother in law knows everything But for the heck of it does anyone know for sure if and what ashes help/hurt the soil?

Robert, we have done this every year we have burned wood and that has been many. Ashes on the garden can be bad but only if you don't spread them thinly. If you just dump a pile of ashes, don't figure on growing anything there for a couple of years. But spread the ashes and all is well. It can and will raise the ph but it takes a lot to do any damage. It is commonly called a poor man's lime and for good reason.

We keep the winter's ashes in a barrel. Come spring, we take the barrel to the garden and lay it on its side. Then we roll the barrel and the ashes come out. Of course as it gets down you have to raise the rear to get the remaining ashes out. We always take a shovel with us too. Any spot that is too thick with ash gets spread. A rake will work for that too. We even have others come and dump their ashes on our land and welcome it.

 

[Trktrd]

I'll be dumping ash this week on the garden. My 55 gallon drum is just about full. Been doing this for years with no ill side effects. If the wife says "Save the ashes, they're good for the garden" then it must be true.

 

[bsruther]

I have a metal garbage can filled with ashes from this winter, been pouring the rest in the hayfield, across the road. I usually sprinkle some of them in the garden, but not a lot. I'm thinking about using them for other things this year.

 

[Hills Hoard]

When i was younger I put ashes on some of mums roses because she said it was good for them.....turns out I didnt wait long enough for the ash to cool down.....killed her roses...haha..

 

[JA600L]

So I assume you would get the same effect trying to grow grass?

 

[Bret Chase]

If you just dump a pile of ashes, don't figure on growing anything there for a couple of years..

that's because you're basically poisoning that area of soil with wood ash's leachate... caustic potash aka potassium hydroxide... lye's little brother.

 

[Fins59]

I do straw bale gardening. Last spring I sprinkled ash on one of my bales along with soil. I forgot what I planted in that bale but whatever it was did not come up at all. No ashes on the bales this year.

Otherwise I've been using ash for fill in one part of my yard. Then covering it with top soil.

 

[Soundchasm]

I've struggled trying to understand the details of adding ash to soil. The major issue is Ph. Don't add ash to clay soil, but do add ash to a peat bog. If I've got it wrong please somebody correct me.

 

[CaddyUser]

So I assume you would get the same effect trying to grow grass?

You got it. Been spreading them with the fertilizer spreader, usually in the fall. Again, be sure to get a pH kit, and test to be sure. With our lawn, I'll probably be pushing up daisies before there is a problem....

Cheers!

 

[DanCorcoran]

I give my ashes to Angela...

 

[DougA]

Everything in moderation is OK. I assume that you did not burn pressure treated wood in your stove, which is a huge no-no, even worse to spread those ashes in the garden.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've struggled trying to understand the details of adding ash to soil. The major issue is Ph. Don't add ash to clay soil, but do add ash to a peat bog. If I've got it wrong please somebody correct me.

It won't do any serious harm to clay. Just spread it thinner and all will be well. We did that for many years, but of course we had some large fields so there was no way we'd run out of space for spreading it. We used to even put some ashes on top of the manure spreader and then it would get spread with the rest of the s...., whoops, stuff.

 

[fullofbaloney]

I have always heard ash can promote potato scab in your potatoes

I use wood ash to prevent root maggots from eating radishes and turnips - works great

 

[tsquini]

You have to be careful not to much too charcoal in the garden all at once. It has a very high ph, around 8. Charcoal/biochar will compete with the plants to absorb nutrients for the soil. The biochar will always win. I have a compost that I place all my ash and charcoal in. After a year I transfer it to the garden. After a year the ash and char has time to absorb all the nitrogen from the compost and do the garden good.