Ash as a compost material?

[Socks]

Firstly, Hi all, im new here so be gentle!

Id like to know if i can use the ash from my fire to put on my compost heap?

I burn both wood and coal on my fire, and whilst im sure you cant put the remnants of coal on, could i sive out the wood ash and stick that on the compost?

hope so as i hate throwing anything away!

cheers all

[sewer rat]

Ash on the compost heap

Hi Socks and welcome to the 'vine.
As you will gather over your visits, there is a lot of discussion about what to and how to compost and numerous threads on the subject. There is one however that deals specifically with the addition of ash to the compost heap - enter "wood ash" in the search forums box and you will find all you need to know.
Cheers
Rat

[Socks]

cheers for that, ill have a look!

[Esther Greentree]

Wood ash

Hi Socks,

Wood ash is compostable but there are better things you can do with it. It is high in potash, so you can use it in compost mixes for anything which needs a lot of potash. I use it around my fruit trees.

The one thing to bear in mind is that wood ash is very alkaline. So don't use it around seedlings, but you can use that alkalinity as you would use lime to balance homemade compost if it's a bit on the acid side, or to prepare some ground for brassicas.

Coal ash, on the other hand, is toxic to plants because of its high sulphur contents, I believe.

Best regards,

Esther

[Socks]

in that case i may have to reconsider my use of sieved wood/coal ash.

or just experiment this spring.

cheers for the input

chris

[nick the grief]

Hi Socks,

If you let it weather for 12 months or so It's OK, good to use in the greenhouse to make a bed for ting cultured Toms or as a base for you coldframes,