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Is Wood Ash Good for Plants?
Is Wood Ash Good for Plants?. Wood ash is an old-fashioned fertilizer that is high in calcium carbonate and helps alkalize soil. Plants that need a higher pH in the soil do well with wood ash, assuming that the soil is not already alkaline. Many garden-grown vegetables need a slightly acid environment to absorb nutrients from the soil, so extra...
Wood ash is an old-fashioned fertilizer that is high in calcium carbonate and helps alkalize soil. Plants that need a higher pH in the soil do well with wood ash, assuming that the soil is not already alkaline. Many garden-grown vegetables need a slightly acid environment to absorb nutrients from the soil, so extra ashes might not help their growth. Other plants that thrive in a more alkaline soil will enjoy the addition of the ashes to the soil as long as the ashes do not come in contact with the plant.
Amount
Add about 20 lbs. of ashes to every 100 square feet of acidic soil so that you do not run the risk of burning the plants with the high alkalinity of the ashes. Use 10 lbs. for soil with a pH of around 6 and only 5 lbs. per 100 square feet for neutral soils. Water after you sprinkle the ashes over the area or dissolve the ashes in water before you apply them. Wait for another year before adding any more ashes to the area.
Type of Plants
Apply ashes around plants that prefer a higher pH than others, such as grass plants. Use double the amount you would use for lime since the calcium carbonate content of ashes is lower. Sprinkle the ashes over your lawn and then water it down to rinse the ashes into the soil and off the leaves of the grass. Sprinkle ashes around your asparagus patch as well as your leafy greens like spinach, lettuce, cabbage and celery to help provide the extra alkalinity these plants needs.
Acidity of Soil
Test your soil for its pH levels before adding amendments like alkaline ashes. Add ashes if the soil tests acidic and you know that the plants you are growing need an alkaline base. Save the ashes to spread over the garden in the fall to balance the acidity of the soil. If the soil is already alkaline, use the ashes elsewhere so you do not tip the pH too high, making the soil toxic for your plants.
Timing
Save your ash application for the fall or very early spring if possible so that the ash particles have a chance to work down into the soil instead of burning the tender seedlings coming up in the spring. Wait for a calm day, possibly before a forecast of rain so that the wind does not blow the ashes around.
