Putting ash in the soil???

[thepopela]

Hello, im a newbie to growing my own, i heard somewhere that adding ash from my wood burner to the soil will help feed the plants? im growing toms, q's, strawberrys, chillis and peas in the greenhouse and root veg outside.
My question, is it ok to add the ash to all the plants i am growing or just a selected few?
Many thanks in advance.

[Ems]

Ash

Hi thepopela,

I sprinkled asj from my wood burner and barbecue all over one of my borders frequently last year and it did no harm at all, although none of the plants were edible. I was reading an article last night which said that fruit in particular likes wood ash so they're definitely ok for you to put it on.

Hope this helps although I'm sure someone will come along with far more knowledge than me

Em

[piskieinboots]

Hang around T, there'll be plenty falling soon

Welcome to the Forum

[elsie-scot]

Hang around T, there'll be plenty falling soon

Welcome to the Forum

lol! I was suggesting to a friend, whose dad is in Shetland, that he should be collecting the ash and selling it as a souvenier, his dad left his crocs out overnight and they were full of ash and then I thought, oh, wonder if it would be any good for the garden. Know a few folk up there, maybe should get them to collect it and boat it down, next time friend's dad is sailing down this way

[Nicos]

We've had ash here too

OK- wood ash.
It's alkaline so you need to know what sort of pH your soil is first .
Acid loving plants won't like it- eg blueberries, potatoes, raspberries..here have a look at this chart Snadge found...

Acid or Alkaline? What pH Means in Gardenspeak

(Just think twice about what you use to get the fire started)

[jackyspratty]

I always put wood ash on my fruit trees they love it. I think you have to ensure that its just wood ash though? As I think I have read that coal ash can make soil sterile? Is that correct? My friend always chucks her coal ash on th borders, and I have to say that plant life is slowly diminishing, but this may just be coincidence? (I have told her by the way!)

[Nicos]

Coal ash is a no-no
It's full of lots of yukky chemicals- no wonder her plants are dying!

I remember as a kid there were cinder paths all over the place- and you'd never see weeds growing on them!

[Two_Sheds]

is it ok to add the ash to all the plants i am growing or just a selected few?

put it on your compost heap

[Paulottie]

Often used in the preparation of tomato beds.

It is (variably) high in potash so most fruits and flowers love it ('cept blueberries and straws as mentioned above)

[di]

I sprinkle some of our bonfire ash around my onions,afraid I'm not very scientific with soil types etc(I keep meaning to read up more),but we had great onions last year

[thepopela]

cheers

cheers for all the replys, nice one.