Ash: useful components, when to add, methods of use. What plants need ash

wood ash has been used since ancient times as an organic fertilizer. It is a valuable source of potassium, calcium, sodium and magnesium, as well as other useful substances necessary for the growth and development of plants.

What is useful wood ash for the garden? What is its composition? How to apply it? We will try to answer these and many other questions in the article.

Ash composition

It is quite difficult to accurately determine the composition of this natural substance, since it changes depending on the age and type of plant that was burned. Nevertheless, even D. I. Mendeleev presented the general formula for ash, which indicates percentage elements contained in 100 grams of this fertilizer.

Ash Formula

The properties of wood ash are due to its chemical composition, which includes many various trace elements. Some of them have a beneficial effect on the growth and development of plants, others help in the fight against various diseases. The concentration of these constituents may be higher or lower than shown. However, the list below general idea about what substances and in what ratio are contained in the ash:

calcium silicate (CaSiO3) - 16.5%;
calcium carbonate (CaCO3) - 17%;
calcium chloride (CaCl2) - 12%;
calcium sulfate (CaSO4) - 14%;
magnesium carbonate (MgCO3) - 4%;
potassium orthophosphate (K3PO4) - 13%;
(MgSO4) - 4%;
magnesium silicate (MgSiO3) - 4%;
sodium chloride (NaCl) - 0.5%;
sodium orthophosphate (NaPO4) - 15%.

Gardeners successfully use wood ash as a source of lime and potassium. The word "potash" comes from the expression potashes ("ash from the boiler") and has English roots. This name is explained by the old way of making this fertilizer. Previously, the ash was washed and then the resulting solution was evaporated. The resulting precipitate contained potassium carbonate and other salts.

All the mineral elements that were in the plant are contained in unwashed wood ash. The use of this substance in the garden contributes to the saturation of the soil with potassium, which strengthens the stems of plants, makes them more stable. In addition, potassium significantly increases the vitality of the plant, increases its resistance to disease.

The use of wood ash in the garden allows you to restrain the excessive growth of the plant, which is caused by an excess of nitrogen, to prevent too early fruit ripening, which is usually provoked by phosphoric acid. Potassium is actively involved in photosynthesis and in the formation of green pigment in stems and leaves.

Ashes from softwoods contain significantly more potassium than softwood fertilizers. There is a misconception that it is more caustic and can harm the plant. In fact, both ash is suitable for incorporation into the soil in flower beds, gardens and orchards.

Cooked ash can be stored in a dry place for later use, or immediately applied to beds or compost heaps. It is better to store it in paper bags. If you confirmed that your site is too acidic, add ashes in the fall, winter and in early spring. Fertilizer is applied at the rate of 2.5 kg per 10 m 2.

Potassium deficiency

The fact that there is not enough potassium in the soil is indicated by a change appearance plant leaves. Since potassium moves upward from the lower leaves, when it is insufficient, the edges of the lower leaves first turn yellow, then acquire a brown tint. In addition, on lower leaves mottling or yellow spotting appears.

How often should ash be added?

Wood ash deoxidizes the soil. It is twice as effective as limestone, which is often used to neutralize too acidic soils. However, this does not mean that this fertilizer must be used every year. Moreover, agronomists do not recommend adding it to the soil without first checking the acidity of the soil.

Soil analysis is desirable to be carried out once every two years. Quite a lot of plants develop well on slightly acidic soils, so the use of ash in large quantities is allowed only for very acidic soils.

A simple soil acidity test can be done on your own. To do this, you need to take a soil sample, moisten it with a small amount of rain, deionized or distilled water and dip litmus paper into the soil mixture. Its color will change immediately. It remains only to compare it with the color chart that is attached to each set of litmus paper.

Use of ash

Today, many vegetable growers use wood ash. Application in the garden involves adding it to the compost heap, in which organic materials contain a large amount of various acids.

Excessively acidic compost heap material decomposes more slowly. The introduced ash effectively neutralizes this environment. If this is not done, a lot of ammonia will be released from the compost, which can harm and even kill earthworms and other beneficial soil organisms living there.

Ashes should be scattered on every layer of soil, lawn mowed grass, food waste. By combining organic material and ash, the compost is enriched with various beneficial organisms that promote decomposition. Experts recommend spreading about a kilogram of ash per 1 square meter compost.

Wood ash is a real pantry of nutrients for all plants. You need to know that in regions with a humid climate, the soil on lawns, in gardens and orchards is gradually acidified, and wood ash will help neutralize it. The use of such organic fertilizer in the garden will help increase the yield on your site.

Ash as fertilizer: how to apply?

It can be used in dry and dissolved form. Wood ash solution is a source of minerals. Often it is used instead of water when seeds are soaked to speed up their germination. seeds vegetable crops kept in such a solution for about six hours, then dried and planted in the ground.

To prepare such a composition, it is necessary to pour two tablespoons of ash with a liter of water and insist for two days, then it can be filtered. This solution can be used to feed indoor plants and seedlings. Clay heavy soils on the lawn, in the garden or in the kitchen garden can be lightened by adding wood ash to them. Saturated with water, clay soil sticks together, forming lumps. Add wood ash to it at the rate of 5 kg per 10 m 2, and the soil will become looser.

Effective for roses and fruit bushes How to apply it in this case? Dry powder should be spread in spring and autumn. Under the roses, you need to add about 500 grams of ash under the bush. During rainfall and watering nutrients from the fertilizer enter the root system of plants.

Beneficial wood ash hard rock and for the lawn. It contains as much lime as ground limestone, which is necessary to improve the appearance. lawn grasses develops more actively on soils with almost neutral acidity (pH from 6 to 7). With this indicator, the nutrients in the soil become more accessible to plants, they are more easily absorbed by the root system.

Lawn grasses that have received a large portion of wood ash are more aggressive than those on acidic soil, so they do not allow weeds into their immediate environment.

Ash as fertilizer for strawberries

Juicy, fragrant and sweet strawberries are grown all over the world, on the most different soils, in different weather and climatic conditions. According to agronomists, a good strawberry crop cannot be obtained without top dressing. But every gardener, having heard about fertilizers, thinks about how harmful they can be to health. For this reason, many people use folk methods, organic preparations, one of which is wood ash.

How to use it to fertilize the bushes of your favorite berries? Strawberries are fed either with an infusion of ash or with a dry variety, bringing it under the bushes in early spring. Such top dressing increases the number of peduncles and, accordingly, berries. Ashes are usually added to the holes when creating a new strawberry bed. A feature of this fertilizer is its long-term effect. It saves beneficial features within two years after application to the soil.

Ash solution

A solution is most often used to fertilize strawberries. To do this, a glass of ash is poured with a bucket of water, the solution is well mixed before use so that the ash is evenly distributed, and the soil is watered. In this composition, there is no nitrogen, since it disappears during the burning of wood. But experts do not recommend bringing it along with it.

When should you not use ash?

Excessive use of fertilizers (including organic) leads to at least negative consequences than their complete absence. Wood ash as a fertilizer should be completely eliminated in areas with high soil acidity.

An increased pH is indicated by external changes in plants. With an excess of calcium, there are:

Too much explosive growth leaf rosettes in apple trees and grapes.
Dying off along the entire length of the shoots of tomatoes.
Falling leaves of garden flowers.
Chlorosis with whitish spots on roses.
Change in leaf pigmentation (they turn white).

With excess potassium:

The pulp of pears and apples turns brown.
Bitter pitting of the fruit appears.
Falling leaves of plants.

Advantages of fertilizer

A wonderful fertilizer of organic origin is wood ash. The use of a dry substance or solution in the garden will not harm the health of your loved ones. This is the main argument in favor of choosing ash for plant nutrition. Ash fertilizers correct use very efficient. They help not only to increase the yield of vegetables, fruits and berries, but also significantly save on the purchase of ready-made formulations. Ash is easy to make yourself.

The modern market of goods for gardeners and gardeners offers a wide range of chemical fertilizers. Many people opt for such products, and even 50 years ago, natural fertilizers were used and it was quite possible to do without chemistry. A popular fertilizer used by our grandfathers and great-grandfathers is manure. Also, along with it, wood ash was widely used. It was received different ways, therefore, there may be several names for this natural fertilizer - straw ash, wood and stove ash.

Now it is unlikely that anyone will be interested in advertising natural fertilizers, since the cost of wood ash will be much higher than the price of chemical powder fertilizers.

In addition to the fact that wood ash was previously widely used, it is also worth remembering such a useful natural fertilizer as shale and peat ash. All types of natural fertilizers perfectly cope with their tasks, namely, they provide proper care for plants and soil.

What is natural fertilizer

Ash is the residue that comes from burning organic materials. For example, wood ash can be obtained by burning wood and old wood. To obtain ash, you can take infected branches that cannot be put on a compost heap to form natural fertilizer.

Straw ash is also obtained by burning dry plants and dry grass.

"Furnace" ash is obtained from wood, dry branches, knots and construction waste of wood (without paint). Thus, one can get useful fertilizer for soil and plants. When plastic burned in a fire at the same time as wood, household waste and newspapers, then such ashes will not be considered useful. Such a "dirty" fire will only harm the soil and plants by adding even more heavy metals.

The ashes are collected immediately, as soon as the ashes cool down, so that it does not have time to absorb moisture. Wet ash does not have useful properties, therefore, immediately after cooling, the ashes are collected and placed in containers or laid out in bags. It is important to store the ashes in an airtight container and prevent moisture from entering.

Composition of wood ash

The chemical composition of the ash is rich in potassium. Depending on the plants from which the ash is obtained, its composition may vary. So, the main elements in wood ash are phosphorus, calcium and potassium. In addition, if you burn hardwood trees, the ash will contain a large amount of potassium. Sunflower is rich in potassium carbonate (potash), and peatlands are rich in calcium.

In addition to the main elements, wood ash contains:

iron;
manganese;
molybdenum.

All these components allow you to enrich the soil and make up for the lack of trace elements. Thus, it is possible to simultaneously fertilize the land and get a good harvest.

Compared to wood ash chemical fertilizers, it is worth noting that it does not contain chlorine. Since crops such as strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes and potatoes can die even from a small content of potassium salts and potassium chloride in the fertilizer.

In addition to the advantages, the ash also has disadvantages: the powder lacks nitrogen, which accelerates plant growth. Special fertilizers will help to replenish the supply of nitrogen - they can be bought in specialized departments along with wood ash.

It is necessary to add natural ash along with chemical fertilizers according to the rules so as not to get the opposite effect.

Ash as fertilizer

They introduce ashes into neutral soils to feed vegetables, perennials, fruit and ornamental trees.

To protect cabbage from the fairly common black leg disease, wood ashes should be applied to the soil. In addition, by fertilizing the soil with ash, you can get a good harvest of zucchini, cucumbers and squash. Add ash 2 tbsp. l. in each hole or in a seedling box. You can also fertilize before planting, during digging - a glass of wood ash is added to 1 m 2 of land.

When planting seedlings of eggplant, sweet pepper or tomato, prepare wood ash in advance and add 3 tbsp to each well. l. ash, and it must be well mixed with the soil. You can fertilize the soil in advance and add 3 cups of ash per 1 m 2.

Natural top dressing has a good result on plant growth. It is necessary to add ash to the planting pit, mix it with the soil and plant fruit trees. For perennial fruit trees(cherries, apples, pears and plums), you can make good feeding and once every 3 years, add ash to the tree trunks.

How to properly apply natural top dressing:

prepare small grooves (depth 10 cm);
pour ash into the recess (at least 2 kg is required for one "adult" plant);
prepare a solution scientific term"ash"), consisting of 2 glasses of ash and a bucket of water;
after fertilizing, the ditch must be covered with a layer of earth.

A good harvest after feeding with wood ash gives blackcurrant. Under each bush, add 3 cups of fresh ash, immediately cover it with a layer of soil.

Can cook liquid fertilizer Thus, fertilizer and moisture are simultaneously introduced into the soil. No more than 100-150 g of ash is taken per bucket of water. Top dressing is introduced into the water and gently mixed. Without stopping stirring, the liquid is poured into previously prepared furrows and immediately sprinkled with earth.

Each plant "requires" a certain amount of fertilizer. For example, to feed tomatoes, cabbage and cucumbers, it is enough to apply 500 g of liquid fertilizer per plant.

In addition to enriching the soil and obtaining good harvest, ash can be used as a spraying of plants from diseases and pests. It is advisable to sprinkle the plants with ash at dawn, when the dew has not yet "left" (effective in the fight against aphids). If there is no dew, then before processing the plants, it is advisable to spray them well with a spray bottle clean water. How to prepare the solution: 300 g of ash is taken and sifted through a sieve. The powder is poured into a glass of boiling water and the container is put on fire. From the moment of boiling, the solution is kept on fire for about half an hour. Then the liquid is removed from the heat and wait until the ash is infused (8-10 hours), after which it is filtered. Water (about 10 l) and 50 g of laundry soap ground on a coarse grater are added to the resulting solution.

Wood ash repels snails, ants and slugs well. It is necessary to scatter ash on the ground or sprinkle some ash near those plants where snails are usually found.

Dense, heavy soil is fertilized 2 times a year - in early spring and late autumn. It is enough to fertilize light sandy loamy soils once a year - with the onset of spring. The norm for such soils is no more than 200 g per 1 m 2. Since the introduction of ash into the soil, its action is active for 2-4 years.

How to find out how many grams of ash to add:

a tablespoon contains 6 g of ash;
in a standard glass (faceted) - 100 g of ash;
in a 500 g jar - 250 g of ash;
in a 1000 jar (1 l) - 500 g of ash.

Wood ash is stored only in a dry room, since moisture will lead to the loss of useful trace elements.

wood ash as fertilizer

If we compare wood ash with other natural fertilizers, then the effectiveness of natural fertilizer increases significantly if the ash is mixed with humus and peat.

You need to know that not all plants can be fed with wood ash. These include crops growing on acidic soils: cranberries, camellias, blueberries, azalea and others.

Feeding rates for different garden crops:

Cucumbers - one handful of ashes (2-3 tablespoons) is poured into a prepared hole for seeds or seedlings.
For pepper, cabbage, blue and tomato, the norm of ashes in one well is 2 tbsp.
Red and black currants are best fertilized in early spring. 1 glass of powder is brought into the hole under the bush, the ashes are covered with earth from above.
To fertilize strawberries and strawberries, the ash is distributed between the beds, then the soil is loosened. 1 glass of ash is taken per 1 m 2 of land.
The rate of top dressing for fertilizer can be used for growing radishes, beets, carrots and parsley.
Before planting potatoes, a quarter of a glass of ash is added to each well and mixed well with the ground.

It is also very dangerous to oversaturate the soil with wood ash. If you apply fertilizer in excess, then you can get the opposite reaction - an excess of trace elements in the soil and the occurrence of an alkaline reaction. This causes severe damage to the soil.

A good example of the effectiveness of wood ash is potatoes. If you add only 1 kg of ash per 100 m 2 (1 weave), then you can increase the yield by 8 kg.

What else do you need to know

It is impossible to apply ash to alkaline soils, since the plants will not be able to receive nutrients and will quickly die.
To perform alkalization of compost, it is better to replace lime with ash. It will help maintain a good environment for microorganisms.
Do not use ash with urea, saltpeter and manure (fresh).
Nitrogen is allowed to be applied to the soil a month after fertilizing with ash.
When working with wood ash, all safety measures should be observed - protect your eyes, mouth and nose from dry dust.
When collecting ashes from fires, it should be remembered that even ash that has cooled down at first glance can be deceptive. Therefore, in order not to get burned and not to spoil the garden tools, it is best to collect the ashes with gloves and only in metal containers. It is better not to use plastic buckets, the ashes can burn through the plastic.

Article content

Without a doubt, ash residues are the oldest type of fertilizer offered to the once observant farmers by nature itself. After all, blackened forest and steppe conflagrations by spring are invariably covered with lush greenery of grasses, seeds that have fallen from trees rush to hatch behind them. On the incinerated earth, after the first rains, all living things start growing together. In this sense, only natural forest compost from fallen leaves and twigs can compete on equal terms with the fertile product of fire.

Good old wood ash as a fertilizer will easily and naturally replace any artificial potash-phosphorus mixture with the same natural ingredients. It has a high calcium content. There is a rich palette of trace elements: magnesium, molybdenum, sulfur, copper, boron, iron. Has almost everything you need cultivated plants, only nitrogen is missing. This is the uniqueness of ash as a fertilizer.

This natural product is especially valuable due to the complete absence of harmful chlorine.

Leave to rest on the shelves garden centers branded mineral mixtures created at chemical plants. Agricultural technologies of the Stone Age in this case are not a vector of regression. Today, in the 21st century, the use of ash as a fertilizer is again widely practiced. This old-fashioned technology is now respectfully called organic farming.

Invisible differences

It's interesting that Full description The composition of the ashen remains was once compiled by an inquisitive young scientist Dmitry Mendeleev. It was he who determined that organic substances, when burned, form very different compositions of microelements. For example, incinerated clover and the ashes of burnt oak firewood differ greatly in their structural content.

Agronomists use this work of the great scientist to this day.

Further research on the verge organic chemistry and botanists sorted out the information - how to fertilize with ash, which plants are most useful for one or another type of it, and which plants do not accept it at all. Ash top dressing can be harmful to them.

firewood used in stoves, fireplaces, barbecues; green and dry vegetation (weeds, shrubs, cut grass, leaves).

It is this treat that will be loved not only by garden plantings, but also by fruit trees.

The product richest in trace elements is from burnt vines of grapes, quinoa, sunflowers. Such ash as fertilizer is most accessible to the roots that seek food. It has a unique structure resembling the smallest dust.

In the product left on the fire after the burning of willow, pine, poplar, potassium is several times less than in the ashes from wood fruit trees.

The ashes of the burnt hard coal also rich in potassium, phosphorus and calcium. Some people consider these oven products useless and even capable of causing harm. This is an incorrect judgment. After all, coal ash is not so poor. It is dominated by silicon oxides. It is good to use it as a nutritional and loosening additive in heavy soils, in which there is a lot of dense clay.

For some plants, wood ash as a complete top dressing may not be enough. For example, raspberries also require nitrogen.

Recipe for ash dressings

Here is a recipe for top dressings of some common on summer cottages plants:

Potato

When planting: one glass per tuber hole. You don't need to mix. Just put the material on the ashy base and bury it.

Two weeks later, when hilling, apply 2 kg per 1 sq. m. It is useful to repeat the procedure in a month. Powder the leaves after every rain.

What is the result? Great benefit:

the colorados will perish or the damage caused by beetles will be minimal; potatoes will add several record kilograms per bush to the harvest; there will be a lot of starch in the tubers.

Tomatoes and cucumbers

Preplant processing. A couple of weeks before planting seedlings, loosen the beds, dig holes. In each, add half a glass of fertilizer, mix with the ground, pour. If the soil is heavy, add a glass of sand.

Surface dressing. During the period of growth of the bushes, regularly free the root space from weeds. Once a month, top dressing with ash is necessary (half a cup per bush). Loosen carefully (the roots are superficial), water the powder.

Root watering. Prepare a solution of ashes and water (1:1). Leave the container in a sunny place in the garden, leave for two weeks. Then water the tomatoes and cucumbers under the root in the evening. Dilute the concentrate warm water(1:10). After "vitamin" watering, cover the beds with mulch from mowed grass.

Onion

Powder the furrow for the seedling generously. Young bulbs love ashes. Arrange the onions - seedlings, water and sprinkle with earth 2-3 cm.

Peas, beans

It's a good idea to use the ashes as fertilizer for legumes. They love ash top dressing and respond gratefully to them. When planting seeds, add 100-150 g of ash to the holes, mix with the ground, water, mulch. In a few days, friendly shoots will appear. For climbing varieties, install supports immediately so as not to tear the roots later.

Grape

Grapes are a child of the sun and ashes. The best varieties grow on the slopes of dormant volcanoes, covered with a multi-meter ash layer formed by ancient eruptions. Feel free to add this substance and you (on a well-developed bush - three kilos).

This method is universal. Its use is not limited to the full nutrition of plantations. The soil becomes friable, unwanted fungi and other bacterial living creatures are oppressed. And yet - the resistance of plantings to frost and disease is noticeably increased.

Gardeners and gardeners use the ashes and how effective tool plant pest control.

What is the soil like in your area?

Any fertilizer serves, first of all, to enrich and structurally change the depleted soil, from which the root system draws the necessary substances.

Therefore, for a competent, conscious process of enriching the earth with ash, it is necessary to determine what kind of soil in your garden and under garden trees, "like" whether it is one or another plant. In various soils, ash fertilizer lasts from two to four years.

You can carry out a fairly accurate analysis yourself, without resorting to the services of specialists.

Koloboks, sausages and rings

Sandy and peaty soils are light, crumbly. They are easy to identify by touch and by eye.

Here is an easy way to identify other common soil structures.

Moisten the lump of earth, form a ball. Then, in your palms, roll the bun into a thin sausage (about the thickness of a pencil or even thinner). Try rolling it into a ring. Now compare with the list - the determinant. The brackets indicate what your soil needs:

Sandy loam. The gingerbread man turned out, but the sausage fell apart. Root crops develop well, ground vegetables - poorly. (Enrich with peat, clay, compost).

Loam. The sausage rolls into a ring, but it is covered with cracks. This soil is from the category of heavy, it is quite productive, but requires constant replenishment with organic matter. (Add compost, coarse sand, coal ash, peat, humus).

Alumina. The ring rolled up without cracks. The substance is dense, heavy. Water and air do not penetrate well to the roots. Root crops develop poorly, grow small. (Dig up regularly, add sand, peat, ash, other organic matter, cover with mulch).

Acidity

Few garden and garden plants(cranberry, sorrel, turnip, radish, ornamental heather, boxwood) develop well on acidic soils. Most vegetables are contraindicated. For example, cabbage under such conditions will certainly get sick with clubroot. Knowing how to use the ash can effectively reduce acidity. Peat ash is especially good for these purposes. It is rich in lime, perfectly deoxidizes and alkalizes the soil. But there is little potassium in it.

There are clear rules for the introduction of wood ash.

If the site has heavy soil, it is brought in in the fall, for digging. If it is light, work is carried out in the spring so that snow and rain do not carry away trace elements into porous layers that lie below the near-surface root system of most vegetable crops.

Ash additives are often added when digging a garden. But it is better to fill them in already formed beds or holes for seedlings. In this case, the components must be thoroughly mixed with the ground.

These wonderful additives are suitable for all types of soil and for all types of vegetable and berry crops. But their overabundance can be harmful, follow the recommended proportions. Plants love moderation.

Beware, dangerous poison!

Some summer residents are too lazy to take out the garbage and burn it right on the plots. Into the fire are sent plastic bottles, foam packaging, plastic bags, construction and household waste. They also put cardboard and newspapers there - so that it burns better.

This barbaric practice not only poisons you and your neighbors with highly toxic smoke. Combustion products contain extremely dangerous substances - carcinogens. Once in the lungs, they are quite capable of provoking cancer.

Carcinogenic compounds at a relatively low temperature of the fire flame are not destroyed, but only multiply when heated. There is no need to talk about useful substances in the burnt remains of garbage.

Of course, nothing can be “fertilized” with such poison. It will cause irreparable damage to the crop.

How to prepare and store

Carefully collect the contents of the ash pan or fireplace insert and store in a dry place with a draft. Moisture deprives valuable food for garden residents of many trace elements: they are either destroyed or washed out.

Use waterproof bags for storage. It is convenient to use large plastic water bottles with screw caps for storage.

Ashes for the garden are collected and stored separately: wood, grass, straw, grape, peat. It is useful to sign each package used, indicating the origin and composition of the ash.

A specially built brick hearth for burning wood residues will regularly replenish stocks. You can adapt an iron barrel for a capacious "potbelly stove".

Avoid burning firewood affected by fungus, mold. In general, it is better not to use low-quality wood. In the city, dried tree branches are often cut down, but they should not be collected either: such firewood is thoroughly saturated with toxic exhaust from car engines.

Weight and volume

Finally, for the convenience of gardeners, we present some useful metric data. They will come in handy if you need to more accurately measure the amount (weight or volume) of an ingredient to “nourish” tender seedlings or create a complex fertilizer with your own hands.

So, how much dry ash is contained in common improvised measures:

in one tablespoon with top - 7 grams; in 250 grams glass beaker- 100g; in a half-liter jar - 250 grams; in a liter container - exactly half a kilo.

The use of ash as a fertilizer for large areas is conveniently planned in buckets. But now it is very different in terms of capacity.

Weigh the selected empty bucket on the steelyard, and then fill it and weigh it again. Subtract the first number from the second. The result is the weight of the contents of your bucket. Now the ash fertilizer will be accurate and verified.

Wood (furnace, vegetable) ash for many gardeners and gardeners is a natural organic fertilizer No. 1. One that not only fertilizes, but also structures the soil. The source of potassium compounds changes the acidity of the soil, loosens it and, which is very important, has a beneficial effect on the state of soil microorganisms. Zola is the champion among natural fertilizers according to the composition of the elements: phosphorus, lime, manganese, boron, etc. However, coal ash is practically not used as a fertilizer.

wood ash as fertilizer

Wood ash is traditionally considered a source of potassium, phosphorus and calcium. But there is almost no nitrogen in it. Wood ash contains trace elements: boron, iron, magnesium, manganese, copper, molybdenum, sulfur and zinc. All this (about 30 elements) is contained in a form easily accessible to plants. Ash does not contain chlorine. Importantly, wood ash is a “long-lasting” fertilizer, the duration of which in the soil is quite long. It stimulates the activity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The advantages of wood ash is that the elements contained in it are easily absorbed by plants.

Many gardeners in own experience noticed that the quality and efficiency of ash depends on many circumstances. First of all, the raw material is important, i.e. kind of wood burned in a fire. deciduous trees give ash, in which there is a lot of calcium. Conifers lead in terms of the amount of phosphorus. herbaceous plants(and grape vine) - for potassium. If peat has burned down, then its ash (peat ash) contains a lot of lime, but little potassium. Sometimes such ash contains a large amount of iron, so it is useful for fruit trees. One of the most valuable is wood ash, which is obtained after burning birch firewood. Experts note the value of the ashes of burnt stems of Jerusalem artichoke and sunflower. They must be dried well beforehand.

Is it possible to use the ashes left over from cooking kebabs on purchased coal? It is possible if it is written on the packages with coal that it is woody, for example, birch or oak (I.V. Osnach " living earth. Biodynamic farming is the secret to abundance in your area.

In the book of Pavel Steinberg ("Everyday recipe for a gardener. Golden book of a gardener, time-tested. Real recipes that are over 100 years old") there are good tips on using ash. So, wood ash of hardwoods (oak, beech, etc.) prevents the appearance of rot on fruits. It is useful to water the trees with liquid fertilizer, which is prepared from fermented bird droppings or manure, to which a bucket of stove ash is added to the barrel the day before watering. Just before watering, you need to dilute a bucket of liquid fertilizer with two buckets of water. The author notes that in adult trees, such a liquid fertilizer is applied, stepping back about 1 - 1.5 m from the trunk.

Wood ash is best applied with humus (compost) and peat. But the simultaneous introduction of it with nitrogen mineral fertilizers, manure (bird droppings) or superphosphate leads to a partial loss of nitrogen. However, a fairly common liquid top dressing is a mixture of ash, slurry, rotted manure and microfertilizers, which is poured with water (volume ratio 1: 2). After infusion for 5 - 8 days (with daily stirring and dilution with water), the fertilizer can be used for root dressing.

I apply wood ash to the soil at any time: in autumn, early spring and summer. If you add ash to heavy clay soils in autumn, then by spring the earth will become looser. Heavy soils retain useful substances from ash longer than sandy ones, in which they are washed out with water much faster. On sandy soils, it is recommended to make ash for digging even in summer. The effect is observed within 2 - 4 years.

How to use wood ash

I fertilize with ashes many garden and horticultural crops. These are potatoes (the starch content of tubers and productivity increase), garden strawberry, cucumbers, zucchini, raspberries, currants, grapes, etc. I bring ash into landing pits for roses, clematis, etc. I use ash as a fertilizer for many indoor plants. I noticed that zonal (room geranium) reacts very quickly to the introduction of ash into the soil. In addition, I often drain in flower pots from coals that I find in wood ash. I noticed that this is an excellent tool that protects against the appearance of earthworms. They willingly climb into the soil through holes in the bottom of the pots when houseplants exhibited in the summer in the garden.

Wood ash is a valuable product that I use against all "rules". For example, several times a season I bring it under. Once I heard this advice from a very smart and experienced florist. Since then, every season I always pour wood ash on the soil under the hydrangea bushes and immediately mix it with the soil or pour fresh earth on top. Hydrangeas (all types) instantly respond to such a treat and bloom more magnificently.

I recently read a wonderful piece of advice in P. Steinberg's book. In order for the hydrangea flowers to become blue, it is worth using coal ash.

To obtain the same results, it is enough to grow a plant in the soil of the following composition: for a given amount of ordinary garden soil, equal amounts of heather earth and ash from coal are taken. All these substances must be thoroughly mixed. According to Bar's experiments, coal ash plays the main role in coloring, which gives the hydrangea flowers the purest blue color that can be obtained.

Wood ash is an excellent prophylactic against plant diseases and pests. Potato tubers are dusted with it before planting, the shoots of plants from aphids are sprayed with an aqueous infusion of ash (with the addition of green or laundry soap). Try this way. The aphids will be done away with in a matter of hours. True, immediately after such processing in the garden, you can shoot a horror movie. But soon, when the ashes are washed away by rain or water from a hose, flowers, bushes and trees will become beautiful and healthy.

Ash helps in the fight against earthen flea.

With the appearance of a flea in large numbers, seedlings should be pollinated with dew in the morning with oven ash so thickly that the greenery on the leaf blade is not visible. This is repeated 3-4 mornings in a row, as the ash is washed off the leaves every day by watering. In the north, where seedlings can be left without harm for a longer time without watering, each dressing can last 3-4 days, and this measure can be limited. 3 - 4-fold sprinkling of stove ash significantly promotes the growth of seedlings, while repeated sprinkling, obviously due to overfertilization with it, slows down the growth of seedlings, which is why the nursery has to be fumigated from the leeward side with smoke, which instantly drives fleas from seedlings. (Pavel Shteinberg "The gardener's everyday recipe. The gardener's golden book, time-tested. Real recipes that are over 100 years old").

Slugs are also chased away with ash. Her water infusion with the addition liquid soap spraying the plants powdery mildew. For prevention, cabbage is powdered from keel, potatoes from wireworm, gooseberry and currant leaves - from powdery mildew. Seeds are soaked in ash infusion. In the old days, stove ash freed vegetable gardens from horsetail.

Wood ash can be harmful

There are plants (heathers, rhododendrons, blueberries, etc.) that require acidic soils, and wood and peat ash significantly alkalize the soil.

To collect ashes from a fire (fireplace, stove), it is better to take a metal bucket or a metal basin. I messed up a few plastic buckets, picking up ashes that looked cool on the outside. But it was a hoax. Ash, even the next day, often retains heat and instantly burns through plastic.

How to store wood ash?

Wood ash can be stored for a long time if it is not exposed to moisture. Before laying the ash for storage, it is sieved.

A teaspoon contains 2 g of sifted wood ash. Tablespoon - 6 g, glass (faceted) - 100 g.

Throughout the summer season, vegetable waste accumulates on the plot - dry stems and leaves left after harvesting, as well as branches cut from trees and shrubs. The best way to dispose of waste is by putting it in a compost heap. This method already allows next year get the perfect organic fertilizer.

But, unfortunately, not all plant residues are suitable for compost. Large branches and parts of plants infected with diseases and pests will still have to be burned. Well, the ash obtained from the burning of plant residues can also be used, and not only as fertilizer, but also for plant protection.

It is necessary to collect ashes immediately after burning waste, preventing it from getting wet. Wet ash loses its useful properties very quickly, so it should be stored in bags or containers under a canopy or in a utility room free from dampness.

Ash chemical composition

Probably everyone knows the fact that ash is a source of potassium. But in fact, the chemical composition of the ash is much richer, and it depends on what plants or wood residues the ash was obtained from. Potassium, calcium and phosphorus are the main chemical elements in the ash. But at the same time:

- in deciduous trees (and especially in burnt birch wood) there is more potassium

- Jerusalem artichoke and sunflower ash consists of potash (K2O)

— there is a lot of calcium in the ashes of burnt peat bogs.

In addition to the main three elements, ash contains trace elements of boron, iron, manganese, molybdenum. The lack of trace elements, as a rule, negatively affects the quality of the crop and plant health. The introduction of ash is able to make up for this deficiency in the best way.

An important feature of ash is that it does not contain chlorine. After all, some crops, such as potatoes, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, react poorly to potash fertilizers, which in different quantities contain chlorine (potassium magnesia, potassium salt, sylvinite, potassium chloride). The ash and potash will help restore the mineral balance to these crops.

The lack of ash as a fertilizer can be considered the absence of nitrogen, which promotes plant growth. Other nitrogen-containing fertilizers will help to make up for this deficiency. Only the use of ash in combination with other fertilizers also needs to be done correctly.

Ash as fertilizer - how to apply, what to mix with

Wood ash can be applied to the soil of any composition, both in autumn for digging, and in spring, directly into the holes. However, on the lungs sandy soils the application of ash fertilizer is effective only in spring period. The effect of the fertilizer is noticeable for 3-4 years after being applied to the soil. Application rate - 100-200 g per sq.m. If you add ash when planting potatoes directly into the holes, then you need to take about 2 tablespoons per bush, be sure to mix it with the ground. For tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, take 3 tablespoons for each bush.

Acidic soils respond especially well to the introduction of ash: it decreases, favorable conditions for the development of beneficial microflora, the structure and physical properties of the soil improve.

Good results are obtained by mixing ash with peat or humus. If you add it to the compost heap, decomposition will occur faster. But it is categorically impossible to mix ash with fresh manure and bird droppings, because this leads to a loss of nitrogen and inhibition of plant growth. The same applies to ammonium nitrate: when mixing ash and saltpeter, a strong smell of ammonia is immediately felt.

Using Ash to Control Diseases and Pests

dry ash

Amazing disinfectants and medicinal properties Ashes have been known to people since ancient times. Strawberries are pollinated with dry ash powder immediately after flowering, which can greatly reduce its infection with gray rot. You can pollinate with ashes and other crops: cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, berries and fruit plantations. Do this in the early morning, until the dew has gone, or after spraying the plants with water.

Potatoes intended for storage are powdered with ash to prevent the development of late blight. In this case, the disease will not be transmitted from diseased tubers to healthy ones, and rodents also do not like such powdered potatoes. If the tubers must be divided into several parts before planting, then these parts are dried in the open air and sprinkled with ash.

To prevent disease and treat plants from dry ash mixed with charcoal and calcined sand in equal proportions. Powder the plants with this mixture and sprinkle the soil.

Dry ash is also used as a deterrent. In the evening, it is generously scattered around those plants that so attract uninvited guests.

Ash solution

To prepare an ash solution used as a fertilizer, you need to take 100-150 g of ash per bucket of water. Stirring continuously, the prepared suspension is poured into the furrows or holes and immediately sprinkled with a layer of earth. For seedlings of tomatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, it is necessary to apply approximately 0.5 liters of solution per plant.

Ash extract, intended for the treatment of plants from diseases and pests, is prepared at the rate of 300-400 g per 10 liters of water. First, the ashes need to be poured with a small amount of boiling water and boiled for another 30 minutes. The settled solution is drained, 40-50 g of soap (dry shavings or liquid) are added and diluted with water to a volume of 10 liters. You need to spray the plants in the evening, in dry weather. An ash extract is used to protect against aphids and powdery mildew.

How to determine how much ash to take for the solution? - In a 0.5-liter jar there will be approximately 250 g, in a faceted glass - 100 g, in a tablespoon - 6 g.

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