ash.

[darrenc]

having just emptied my barrel which i use to burn wood offcuts and weeds etc i am now left with a wheelbarrow full of fine seived nail free ash. what can i do with it as one of the old boys on my site tells me onions benefit from a layer when preparing the bed. what other crop indoor and out would benefit?

[Geoff]

Depends whether you like accuracy in your fertilser applications or not. It is a source of potash and will benefit most fruit, gooseberries are I think particularly fond of it. You can't do much damage to anything but for a crop like onions I would want more accuracy. If you have no other use for it just mix it into your compost heap.

[retropants]

whether its the right thing to do or not, I spread it around the leeks and in the new year around the garlic. They both seem to love it. In summer I share it out amongst the tomatoes and peppers!

[darrenc]

seems to be an allium theme here as i have just been told that garlic too likes a good dressing of it.

[seedling]

I too put ash around my garlic. They were still pathetic specimins but who knows they might have been even worse without the ash

Seedling

[Mole]

Hi

Ash of any sort is a 'dirty' unquantified chemical fertiliser. Not to say that it isn't useful.

With ash, the best potash content comes from small wood 1.e. twigs and branches. Not that much in 'timber'.

Also, the potash is highly soluble. Not much point putting on the ground this time of year.

Best stored dry, and applied in spring/early summer. Most useful for fruiting crops or potatoes.

HDRA recommend putting through the compost heap rather than direct application.

Traditional 'Ash Houses' were used to process ash, food waste, dung and animal slaughter residues - turning them into a sort of super rich compost.

hope this is of help.

Mole