Potash from straw

[neddaisy]

I've been offered a load of potash from a local stables produced by burning old straw bedding. I understand this should be high in potassium and be good for some plants.

Does anyone have any advice on:

Whether straw based potash is different from other forms
Where it it best used
How should it be used
Are there any no-nos

Thanks

[sewer rat]

Hi neddaisy and first off, welcome to the Vine.
Straw based potash is no different from any other kind of potash that is available in FYM, indeed FYM should be considered a valuable source of potash, containing on average about 8kg of usable potash per tonne of material though that figure relates to cattle manure. The full release of potash held in FYM can take up to a year to be completed, so in it's natural form, FYM is not the quick fix solution, though the ash residue should be much quicker, being more soluble..
For this reason, potash is likely to be easily leached in sandier soils as it is usually found in farly soluble forms such as the ash you refer to..
Crops that will either benefit from being fed potash, or suffer if there is a lack of potash include tomatoes, potatoes and beans (Broad, Runner and French).
Hope this helps a bit