[Offwego]

Hi
The company I work with have a massive biomass boiler of which of course the by product is tons of wood ash
Would you use it on your allotment or in your compost bins
Literally they produce tons per week all of which is available

[Subversive_plot]

 :Yes.
Remember, wood ash is like many things that are fine in moderation. Meaning, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

Determine how much is safe to apply, and stop there.

[coldandwindy]

Hi
The company I work with have a massive biomass boiler of which of course the by product is tons of wood ash
Would you use it on your allotment or in your compost bins
Literally they produce tons per week all of which is available

Wood ash is very alkaline, with a pH of anywhere between 9 and 11 so it would be easy to over do it. 

[coldandwindy]

This tells you how much to use
https://www.rhs.org.uk/soil-composts-mulches/wood-ash-using-in-garden

[rowlandwells]

basically what's been said is true you can over due it we have been using wood ash for several years now and the way we do it is on plot rotation

as we burn only wood in the wood burner we usually make sure our onion beds get  the wood ash prior to planting and some on our blue berries

the only downside to our wood ash is if we burn wood with nails in it like pallet wood have to sieve the ash to get the nails out as I could end up with a nail in the tractor tyre 

[Yorkie]

as we burn only wood in the wood burner we usually make sure our onion beds get  the wood ash prior to planting and some on our blue berries

I'm surprised by that. Blueberries like acidic soil. If ash is as alkaline as a previous poster says, then surely they should thoroughly dislike ash?

[rowlandwells]

you could be rite there Yorkie as I was told to put wood ash  on the blue berries by a fellow gardener I hope your wrong our ells I'm in for a B    or telling off from my other half

and following your advise I think in the future I'm going to stick with wood ash on the onion beds 

[coldandwindy]

you could be rite there Yorkie as I was told to put wood ash  on the blue berries by a fellow gardener I hope your wrong our ells I'm in for a B    or telling off from my other half

and following your advise I think in the future I'm going to stick with wood ash on the onion beds 

Or put it on the bed that's going to be brassicas, instead of buying lime. 

[rowlandwells]

yes that's worth considering coldandwidy as the wood ash is free  we use  white lime at present so Il have to look a bit deeper into using wood ash on brassicas but  it does sound a good idea

[8doubles]

basically what's been said is true you can over due it we have been using wood ash for several years now and the way we do it is on plot rotation

as we burn only wood in the wood burner we usually make sure our onion beds get  the wood ash prior to planting and some on our blue berries

the only downside to our wood ash is if we burn wood with nails in it like pallet wood have to sieve the ash to get the nails out as I could end up with a nail in the tractor tyre 

A couple of magnetron magnets from an old (fully discharged and safe) micowave on a broomhandle is a good tool.
Put a breadbag over the magnets and go though the ashes with it then pull the bag off nails and all.
Also useful in the workshop for picking  up dropped screws and nails .

[rowlandwells]

yes 8doubles I got my magnet out of an old radio as you say on a piece of wood but I never thought about the bread bag a good idea and one I must try many thank for that 

[Grubbypaws]

you could be rite there Yorkie as I was told to put wood ash  on the blue berries by a fellow gardener I hope your wrong our ells I'm in for a B    or telling off from my other half

and following your advise I think in the future I'm going to stick with wood ash on the onion beds 

Can you remove the ash from your blueberries? If has made the soil alkaline they will hate it. You could remove some of the affected soil and add some ericaceous compost. However if the ash is well dug in it might be worth testing the pH or just empirically adding some sulphur chips to lower the pH back down.

There are far better ways to add potassium. You could use an ericaceous fertilizer or if you dont want that expense or you prefer a more organic approach how about adding banana skins? Potassium is important to blueberry growth as it is used for photosynthesis and moving water through the bush. Phosphorous is needed for root development and fruit production. Banana peels contain high amounts of both of these nutrients, as well as calcium and magnesium, which blueberry bushes need as well. Adding banana peels to the soil is a good way of adding these nutrients to the soil.

[Omega]

Or put it on the bed that's going to be brassicas, instead of buying lime. 

Some of the research suggsts that increased calcium ion concentration is also important for preventing clubroot so it's not just a simple pH effect. Wood ash is potassium hydroxide. Excess potassium, being the K in NPK, may well not be suitable to feed brassicas when they are young plus potassium is highly water soluble so will get washed out of the soil taking the hydroxide ion and pH increase with it. Lime is much less water soluble and so will not get washed out of the soil as quickly. Calcium ions are doubly charged and so stick more than the singuarly charged K ions.
 

[Subversive_plot]

Or put it on the bed that's going to be brassicas, instead of buying lime. 

Some of the research suggsts that increased calcium ion concentration is also important for preventing clubroot so it's not just a simple pH effect. Wood ash is potassium hydroxide. Excess potassium, being the K in NPK, may well not be suitable to feed brassicas when they are young plus potassium is highly water soluble so will get washed out of the soil taking the hydroxide ion and pH increase with it. Lime is much less water soluble and so will not get washed out of the soil as quickly. Calcium ions are doubly charged and so stick more than the singuarly charged K ions.

Wood ash contains potassium, but contains much more calcium:  https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2279e/
See the following on use of wood ash for it's liming potential and potash, including advice on knowing soil pH before using:  https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/lawn-garden/wood-ashes-for-lime-and-potash/

[jezza]

Hello my grandad and his neighbour use to use wood ash on their onion beds and chrysanthemums ,they also used old lime mortar if they could get hold of it for their Carnations ,check pallets before burning they have lettering on them indicating what they have been treated with ,most are kiln dried nowadays but there are some that have nasties in them,I'll have to check the symbols one treatment contained cyanide that was used for overseas food imports, remember blue pallets belong to a trading organisation and are chargeable unless the name is blanked out theres also red ones about both are treated with friendly stuff  jezza