Ash as a fertilizer for your garden beds

Ash is often used as a fertilizer in agriculture. This method is very simple and environmentally friendly. Preparing it is as easy as harvesting, storing, and treating plants with it.

The microelements it contains provide the soil with various beneficial substances, allowing many trees and flowers to grow better and stay healthy. The composition of ash often differentiates its different types from each other.

Types of ash:

• Peat ash is ideal for highly acidic soils, but only if it contains sufficient potassium and phosphorus. While it's high in calcium, it lacks other elements. Therefore, it's best not to use it on clay soils, as it will only cause harm.
• Wood ash is the most commonly used and popular option. It can be obtained simply by burning wood. However, the type of wood used plays a significant role. Its age is also important. Wood ash, however, contains the most minerals. Deciduous trees, such as birch, produce ash with a higher potassium content. Conversely, conifers add more phosphorus. If your soil requires ash with a high potassium content, choose hardwoods. And if potassium is absolutely essential, burn elm. The older the tree, the less potassium its ash will contain.
• Coal ash is rarely used. It has few minerals, but it does contain sulfur. This type of ash actually increases soil acidity. It also contains a lot of silicon, so it is more often used for soils with a high clay content. However, in these cases, it acts not as a fertilizer, but as a soil softener. Therefore, it should not be used in sandy or overly acidic soils.
• Ash from burnt grass is suitable if you have a lot of plant debris. It doesn't have to be any specific grass. Straw, leaves, grass, and tops will all work. This ash contains the most potassium, slightly less potassium, and then phosphorus. However, it doesn't contain more potassium than tree ash.

Useful properties of ash

Ash contains microelements that determine its usefulness. These include:

• calcium;
• potassium;
• phosphorus;
• magnesium;
• sodium.

Calcium in ash is usually found in various chemical salt compounds (sulfates, chlorides, etc.). Calcium enables plants to grow and develop well. It is especially essential for young plants that are growing rapidly. It aids in carbohydrate and protein metabolism. It is equally important for the development and function of the root system. Calcium binds soil acids, making it less acidic. Calcium also plays a role in plant assimilation, helping them absorb more minerals.

Plants need to be fed potassium slightly more frequently than other minerals, as it tends to be quickly leached from the soil and plant cells during heavy watering or rain. Plants need it for proper photosynthesis and high-quality fruit. It's also essential for carbohydrate metabolism and improves enzyme activity.

Phosphorus is a unique energy source for all plants. It is needed for both photosynthesis and metabolism. Phosphorus is also a component of ATP. It's important to have sufficient phosphorus to ensure normal seed and fruit ripening, improved yield, and improved fruit quality.

Ash contains less magnesium and sodium than other elements, but they are just as important. Magnesium is involved in photosynthesis because it's present in chlorophyll. If it's deficient, leaves turn yellow and fall off. Sodium, on the other hand, helps plants cope with cold and other adverse environmental conditions.

How to prepare an ash infusion and how to use it later

Ash can be used in a variety of ways. It's often used to improve soil composition and to protect against pests and diseases. To achieve this, it needs to be properly prepared.

Application for soil improvement

Soil isn't always ideal for a particular plant species. But it can be improved with ordinary ash. For heavy clay soil, fertilize it not on the surface, but at a certain depth, about 0.2 m. Any ash can be used for this, but not peat. To neutralize the soil, add wood ash. It should be applied in the fall. This will make the soil less acidic, making it easier for the plants to survive the winter.

To improve the soil, ash can be added dry or as a solution. For a solution, mix 50 grams of ash per 5 liters of water. Since ash doesn't dissolve, you'll need to stir it constantly as you pour it into the soil. However, keep in mind that this will provide slightly fewer minerals. In dry form, plants will absorb the beneficial elements through their roots. The amount of dry ash needed will vary depending on your soil type, but the average is 250 grams per square meter.

One drawback is that ash is quickly washed away by heavy rainfall. Therefore, it's best to add it either just before planting or in late spring.

Ash can be prepared and stored for a long time. Dry ash should be stored in a dry place, otherwise the concentration of beneficial minerals will decrease. Don't stock up too often; the ash's effectiveness lasts for 4 years.

If you also add nitrogen fertilizer, do so no sooner than about a month after adding the ash, as its effectiveness will be significantly reduced. Don't burn artificial materials to obtain ash. Burned trash isn't the ash you need. It's also best not to burn painted or varnished wood.

Application for disease control

Ash can also be used to combat common diseases. For example, you can spray strawberries with a solution of ash and water if you notice they're starting to suffer from gray mold. 15 grams is enough for one bush. To make this solution, dissolve 100 grams of ash in 1 liter of water and let it steep for 6 hours. Then add soap and more water. In total, you'll get about 3 liters. This solution should be applied twice in the early stages of the disease, two weeks apart. For later stages of the disease, it's better to choose more effective treatments.

How to use ash against pests, beetles, larvae and slugs

Plants are always susceptible to various diseases, weeds, and pests. While weeds can be removed mechanically, various insects require chemical spraying, which isn't good for the fruit. Many gardeners abandon this method in favor of ash. In fact, ordinary ash can even help get rid of horsetail.

If your plants are plagued by slugs, snails, and other similar pests, ash is your savior. Simply sprinkle it around the plants. You can also protect yourself from ants and wireworms, but you'll need to treat their trails.

You can add other ingredients to the ash, such as 10 grams of laundry soap per liter of solution. This will improve the spraying effect. Tobacco ash can also be added to dust onions, radishes, cabbage, and other plants. This mixture protects against cruciferous flea beetles and flies.

Which plants can be fertilized with ash?

Ash is beneficial only when selected correctly. It is often used for fruit trees, berry bushes, vegetables, and flowers. As a fertilizer, it is commonly used for potatoes, tomatoes, and cucumbers, in vineyards, and for strawberries.

Ash is very beneficial for vegetables, as it contains nutrients essential for these plants. To get a large harvest of cucumbers, pumpkins, or squash, add a cup of ash to the soil, then add a couple more tablespoons for each plant. To nourish the roots, water the plants after sprinkling with ash.

For nightshades, 3 cups per square meter is sufficient. You can add a little more ash after planting the seedlings. For brassicas, before the gardening season begins, add about 2 cups per meter of soil, and another half cup in the holes themselves. For greens (dill, parsley, herbs), just 1 cup is enough; they already get enough micronutrients from the soil.

For garlic and onions (winter crops), the soil is fertilized in the fall.

Is it possible to sprinkle potatoes that are blooming?

Potatoes are often sprinkled with ash, both as a fertilizer with a high potassium and low chlorine content and to protect against diseases and bugs. Approximately 200-400 grams are added to the soil per hole per plant, which can significantly increase the yield. Gardeners and potato enthusiasts have long noted this. You can also dust the tubers. However, to achieve this, you need to distribute the ash well. It is usually added during the budding stage. Wood ash is commonly used. If you decide to use peat ash, increase all proportions by a third. This will ensure strong, healthy, well-developed potato tubers. Spraying the potatoes can also prevent and treat late blight, a common problem for those who frequently work with potatoes. Coal ash is the best choice in this case, as it contains significantly more copper.

Spraying ash on potato leaves can even kill the Colorado potato beetle. It will gradually die. However, this doesn't always apply to its larvae.

Ash is ideal for just such purposes, because when potatoes are blooming, you can't spray them with any chemicals. You can't just remove them by hand. Entire potato fields are often covered. And by the time you've cleared the Colorado potato beetles from one half, they've already appeared on the other. You can also try dusting the bushes with cornmeal. But it's better to sift the ash, add a kilogram to ten liters of water, and boil the solution. After it cools, add half a bar of laundry soap. It's best to grate it.

This way you can spray the potatoes once a week, even when they are flowering.

Using ash as fertilizer correctly

Don't scatter ash on seeds. It's needed for the roots, unless you're spraying it on plants for other purposes. Mixing it with other fertilizers is also undesirable. You can't fertilize the soil with everything at once. This applies to ammonia-based fertilizers, nitrogen-based fertilizers, and potassium-based fertilizers, as they simply lose their beneficial properties. The same applies to phosphorus-based fertilizers.

For summer fertilizing, these rules can be ignored, since fertilizers are absorbed more quickly.

Excess calcium is also bad for plants. Therefore, it's best not to add ash to limed soils. Plants begin to behave rather strangely, for example, showing signs of metal, zinc, and boron deficiencies, even though they have sufficient levels. And when adding ash with a high potassium content, plants behave as if they have a calcium deficiency.

You can never have too much ash. Therefore, you may need a dedicated area for ash production. This can be done in metal barrels. This will reduce the need for fire control. Covering the barrels will also prevent charcoal particles from appearing in the ash, and the material will burn completely.

Is it possible to replace ash and with what?

If you can't use ash, you can substitute it with other ingredients. However, it can't be completely replaced, so choose based on your goals. To adjust soil acidity, ash is sometimes replaced with dolomite flour. You can also use slaked lime. If you need to mineralize the soil, use various mineral fertilizers that are most similar to ash in composition. We described the necessary elements at the beginning of the article. Such fertilizers are usually diluted in water, and the dosage is specified on the packaging.

When ash is prohibited to use

Ash should not be used in highly alkaline soils. Since ash makes the soil less acidic, adding it can lead to excess alkalinity and negatively impact crop growth. The appearance of your plants can also indicate that ash is unnecessary. With too much calcium, grapes and apple trees increase the growth of leaf rosettes. Tomatoes show excess calcium by dying shoots, and garden flowers shed their leaves. Roses, in particular, begin to suffer from interveinal chlorosis. The leaves of all plants become lighter and whiter.

Excess potassium manifests itself slightly differently. Apples and pears turn brown and bitter. Smaller plants, including indoor ones, lose their leaves prematurely.

Recommendations and reviews about ash

Summer residents, gardeners, and large farmers often share their opinions on gardening, and, naturally, on fertilizers. Some don't want to bother with ash, while others consider it a panacea for all ills. This leads to constant debate about which is better: regular ash or store-bought fertilizers, or ash with or without additives. But everyone agrees that wood ash is the best, and everyone recommends using it. Most people make their own ash, but some don't know where to buy it. The usual advice here is to avoid buying untested fertilizers and instead burn wood yourself. It can be found in the forest or purchased cheaply.

Ash inspires more confidence than various chemicals and chemical additives. Their effectiveness is undeniable, but the price of their use is a poisoned crop.

Some gardeners recommend adding other organic matter to the ash to enhance its fertilizing effect. However, not all at the same time. For example, you can first fertilize the soil with compost, and a little later with tree ash and other types of ash. Gravel can be added as backfill. It doesn't contain acidic elements, but it does contain a lot of the key ash minerals: calcium and potassium. Therefore, it can be added to almost any soil. And many crops benefit from this type of fertilizer.

It's suggested to mix ash with urea. To do this, mix half a cup of ash with a teaspoon of urea and dilute it in 5 liters of plain water. Stir gently until it dissolves. This fertilizer should never come into contact with plant leaves. Stirring constantly, pour it directly under the plant's roots.

To prevent plants from becoming accustomed to the same fertilizer, it's recommended to alternate them. This means using the same ash and water as a base, but adding, for example, mullein or bird droppings. Onions and garlic are believed to grow much better with this type of fertilizer.

You can also find very helpful advice about adding ash to the compost itself. Compost can be very acidic and slightly harmful to plants and soil, but ash neutralizes this acid, preventing the release of ammonia, allowing various beneficial organisms to continue to exist in the soil and enrich it.