How To Properly Use Ash As Fertilizer

Ash fertilizer

Ash from burning wood, leaves, grassy residues is an excellent potassium-phosphorus fertilizer. Moreover, the potassium and phosphorus contained in it are in a form readily available to plants.

The ash also contains some trace elements necessary for vegetable plants (magnesium, boron, sulfur, etc.). Ash does not contain chlorine, so it is good to use it for plants that react negatively to chlorine: strawberries, raspberries, currants, potatoes.

Ash of birch firewood is especially useful for potatoes. The tubers grow better, contain more starch, which means that they are more boiled, and the plants themselves are less damaged by late blight. Potassium from ash is absorbed better by potatoes than from any potash fertilizers.

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For potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, root crops, it is better to bring ash into the holes and grooves, mixing it with the soil. It is advisable to do this during planting and immediately cover with soil. A good effect is given by adding half a glass of a mixture of ash and peat (1: 1) to the holes. Ash can also be used for fertilizing, adding it dry when loosening the aisles of potatoes, vegetables, strawberries.

To prepare liquid fertilizers, take about 100 g of ash per bucket of water. The solution, stirring continuously, is carefully poured into the grooves and immediately covered with soil. Stirring is necessary to bring the insoluble residue containing phosphorus to the plants. For tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, add about 0.5 liters of solution per plant.

Three glasses of ash are brought under each blackcurrant bush, scattering it around the bush, and immediately embedded in the soil. It is useful to add about 2 kg of ash to the hole when planting currants. This will provide her with mineral feeding for a long time. The introduction of ash into the planting pits and tree trunks of cherries and plums is very beneficial. After application to the soil, the effect of ash lasts from 2 to 4 years.

Wood ash is also used for dusting and spraying plants from pests and diseases. Pour boiling water over 300 g of sifted ash and boil for 20-30 minutes. The broth is defended, filtered, diluted with water to 10 liters and 40-50 g of soap is added. Used for spraying against various pests.

It is necessary to store the collected ash in a dry place, as moisture leads to the loss of potassium and trace elements.

Ash can also be added for digging the soil. On heavy soils, this is done in autumn and spring, and on light sandy soils - only in spring. Application rate - 100-200 g per square meter.

Ash fertilizes and deoxidizes the soil, creates favorable conditions for the life of soil microorganisms, especially nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The introduction of ash into the soil increases the vitality of plants, they take root faster during transplantation and are less sick.