[smc]

hi guys,  can we use wood ash in our ground  i have open fires and usely  burn coal and logs on there,but for the last two months i have had no coal and loads of logs left from last year so getting rid of some,so basically its just wood ash and paper ash,is it any good in comp bin and or ground....

[tode]

Hi Smc,  yes the ash is full of minerals, especially potassium.

I use quite a bit in compost bin, where it's very useful for reducing acidity if you've got a lot of grass mowings.

Ideally you should keep it covered until use,  otherwise the rain will wash out the soluble oxides.

What isn't used on compost is scattered round fruit trees/bushes in Spring.

If there's well-burn't coal ash mixed with it, I wouldn't have thought that would be a problem.

[DavidT]

Woodash is high in Potash (potassium), Unfortunately, potash is water soluble so it ( the ash) MUST be kept dry. Once it gets wet, all you are left with is inert ash.

[chriscross1966]

It's good in the greenhouse if you grow in big pots, the border or in ring-culture.... just top-dress around the plants.... it provides potash and the slugs hate it .....

chrisc

[bonfire]

Wood ash is excelent quick acting food - I use it on my onion bed - but you have to spread it where it will be taken up within a few months.
I am old enough to have been brought up with coal fires everywhere and was always told that whilst coal ash was not a problem it was no help either because it has virtually no nutrients and a lot could make a poor soil even poorer.

[PAH48]

Mention this a long while ago...as a  kid my 'ole Pa used to throw all ash,
wood or coal ash, every morning around his beloved roses.
The soil was very clayish, solid, broke down over the years,
by the ash, and plenty of digging.
Can remember him now saying "coal ash to break down the clay, wood ash to feed "
He had some of the best roses you could ever wish to see...

Down the plot  I burn most things, wood, weeds ect, all goes back to the land...
Forest fires ect......

[sion01]

I have read somewhere that a lot of coal ash can lead to a build up of toxins in the soil so check up to be on the safe side.
I have used soot as a surface dressing though and the leafy greens loved it,I think it has a high nitrogen content.

[drdave]

Surely  soot is just carbon?

[tode]

The soot you get in chimneys is a cocktail of carbon particles and "tarry" hydrocarbons that haven't been burned completely.

It's produced by wood (or coal) that's burning badly - yellow/orange flame and smoke. A blueish flame shows that combustion is complete.

[jenny53]

hi
i found all the answers great i to have a open fire..
wood..coal.. and i put it on the flower beds.. but i.ll now take it up to my plot..

i,ve just started a new waste area.. so i can mix it in..as i cover the top..
thank you so much
jenny