I live in northeast GA, my soil is acidic and ash definitely helps here. I do raised beds mostly so my beds are becoming super healthy, and a good bit of my knowledge has come from your videos, reading, and my own trial and error. I love your videos brother
Growing up in SW PA 76 years ago almost everyone heated with coal and all those coal ashes went on the gardens. Fast forward to present day and learning what all is contained in coal ash could give someone my age group and location nightmares.
My grandfather would always add wood ash to his garden so I did it also because he was the best gardener I ever knew. With my small garden it has work well. One year I gave extra tomatoes seedlings to several co-workers. My tomatoes plants shot up and was 5ft tall in a month. I had tomatoes weeks before my coworkers and some of my coworkers plants never set fruit.
Very interesting prospect in this. Do create an adapted soil you need to consider all the constituent matter that would contribute to real soil conditions. It's a bit like baking in that regard.
My grandfather used to empty the wood ashes from his fire place into the chicken coop and pen. The birds would take dust baths in it and it was a free pesticide to keep the mites off the birds. I never saw him add it specifically to the garden, south east Colorado has poor nutrient soil so anything is a plus. At the end of the growing season he would let all the plants dry out and die then he would burn all the dead crops and rototill it into the soil preparing it for spring planting.
I grow red wigglers. My suggestion is to feed the ashes to the worms first. They will break the nutrients down to a simpler form. Also, they will add microbiology and growth hormones.
Worms can be great at moderating and improving soil conditions. Red wigglers live best with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Most worm bins tend to be acidic so the addition of wood ash may balance the pH, but too much can harm the worms. A simple pH meter can help know how much ash to add.
It makes a decent mortar and will bind gravel paths and metal drives reasonably well. Spread it over 4mm thick on your garden soil without thoroughly mixing it in it'll effectively make a layer of concrete which will inhibit most growth for a couple of seasons.
What a great presentation. Thanks a lot. I use the ash very selectively based on the ph preference of the plants that I intend to fertilize. I live in a very acidic soil area and I use it for the soil of my vineyard that proved to have a very low ph according to the test. Thanks for a great video.
Add a shitton of sh*t and straw/grass if you cant get anything to grow - give it 6 months - and it will be composted enough to use as a garden finally - also use a shtton of compost tea and food scraps - and get a bunch of worms - add it all in the bed. Sawdust if you can as well to keep the entire mix moist to keep the temps up.
@@sp7951 Peppers need more nitrogen - and the woodchips if there was some in it still - or char - soaked up all the nutrients - i bet this year they do perfect since it's been 9 months
This is the first time that i got correct and logical information regarding wood ash. For quite long i was very much confused about usage of wood ash and most of the time i got confusing replies from experienced gardeners without any logical explanations but now most of my confusion has been cleared and i can use wood ash accordingly if needed. Thanx for sharing this detailed informative video 👍
Unknowingly, I have a small garden ring (6ft diameter) around my tree and I dumped a ton of wood ash and chunky burnt wood pieces in there and my plants (all hostas) love that garden bed more than all my other beds. They thrive in there and after many years, it's still my best bed with visible wood coal that still exists. I did no soil testing and with this video, I am unsure if I should redo the soil but then again, my plants are very-VERY happy. I am halting another wood ash/coal added garden bed until I further understand the risks and benefits.
Great video. I do not believe wood ash is not necessary in my soil. I definitely do not recommend using it in a dust bath area for chickens. As many posts recommend it. They must love fried chicken I guess, or trying to figure out why their chickens aren't well. Sad. But I have needed an in depth study which your video has helped. Ty again.
I saw this one just in time. We just built our fire pit... And I was so excited to start using the ashes... I think I would be better off adding the ashes to my compost, just to be safe until I know my soil better.
Thanks Scott. I do exactly what you said. I add ash to my compost pile. It always seems to turn to great compost. Same as seaweed. I have easy access to seaweed because I live less than a mile from the beach. Seaweed hurts my garden when I add it directly, but man when I compost the seaweed it makes an amazing soil amendment.
I used wood ash in Daytona beach , FL and the result was catastrophic on my potatoes. Thank you for your advice. I appreciate the expertise. I share your videos. God Bless !!!!
I had a pecan tree go down during a Texas storm..cut it up and burned the tree stump below the soil line. Planted a avocado tree in its place, its fruiting this year. I Posted a video of how I did it.
Great video. I hadn't thought of this and had used the ash at another home of mine here in the Phoenix area. The soil here is very high PH. Makes sense now why my shrubs kept dying.
@@GardenerScott the ph neutralizes as it compost. I compost it with my weeds. Sense I have done this I have not had a problem. My soil is neutral to slightly alki ph
@@maryjane-vx4dd It's not a good idea to compost your weeds as the seeds mix with the soil your going to spread on the garden, better to incinerate the weeds with the woody cuttings.
Dear Scott, thanks for clear and understandable video. It is important to tell people and make them understand the importance of using non treated wood because paint and oils degrade in thousands of fractions that are poisonous like dioxin. In Belgium we have acidic soil and use it as fertilizer for Gras and walnut trees. Where I have most succes is in the greenhouse. It never rains there and a wall of ash around your salads is what you want. Snails hate going true and over ash. My salads are delicious and bug free thanks to dual function of wood ash. Succes with your channel and much gardening love from overseas! Bye Reza
I didn't know slugs hate ash, they are the bane of my garden and decimate the plugs and tender plants, i've tried coffee grounds to no avail so it's ash next year.
we are alkaline here and I use ash, I even burn a large bunch in the garden to eliminate weeds and bugs in a new area, but I use citric acid to balance my soil and water. Yes, the water comes out at around 8.1, so I drop it first, then pour it on.
I’ve been adding clean wood ash and char strictly to my compost pile. I’m relieved to hear you endorse this practice. As I sit through your videos, I don’t have to wait long before all my questions are answered. I only just discovered your channel and have listened to about a dozen of your videos, each one clarifying whether or not so much of the garden hype out there is reputable. I only wish the ads accompanying your videos were half as interesting!!!😉
Took a gamble and on a small stretch of my garden (3ft×40ft strip) I dumped my wood stove ashes with chunks of charcoal. Early in the spring I tilled it in deep. 1ft. Probably close to 50 gallons worth of ashes. That particular stretch has been out producing the rest. Flowering earlier and much more vigorous growth.
Excellent video and a must watch for farmers and gardeners, whether or not one is using wood ash, the information on the pros and cons is worth knowing.
Makes sense, but of course, no one ever mentions how buffered soil pH is (typically not much) or how easily an acid pH can be achieved. Specific to wood ash, I am not aware of people adding so much that it impacts the soil pH all that much. My first thought would be if you are worried about the pH, then dissolve the ash and adjust to whatever pH makes you happy with whatever acid makes you happy... and be happy. :)
The key is actionable with C:N balanced blends , Like Crop waste, livestock waste (high in nitrogen/ acidic quality) mixed with the carbon of the wood ash to make a balanced compost.
I personally use wood ash in my compost pile. It works out pretty well. I think i've got a high quality compost due to all the materiales I trhrow into the pile. My plants are green, growing very well and looking good all around. Must say though, that I have used ash directly in my plants from time to time. Thanks for this very educational video.
Even if high pH is a concern, you can also spread sulphur along with it to bring the pH back down. I've always used ashes in my soil mixes for planters of dawn redwoods and typically still end up with soil pH from 5.5 to as low as 3.8, even with the ashes. Using MirAcid or Hollytone will help bring the balance down as well.
I have a wood burning pottery kiln, and acidic soil. So the trees and the lawn always get some ash on their feet. Also, I try to go off-grid with fertilizers for my orchids, a collection of around 200 of them. So I prepare their fertilizer with chicken manure and ash. I allow the chicken poop to totally decompose in water (rain water in a covered and aerated container) for more than 6 months at a time, then pass that water through a very fine mesh, to render it proper for a sprinkler. Finally, I neutralize it's PH using the wood ash. That mix will get further diluted in water before I spray it onto the orchids! I has been working well.
I am a compost maker by trade. I have always used a small amount of wood ash in my compost heaps.I have noticed if more than a light sprinkling is used, the surface of the compost heap will experience a very rapid decomposition, if watered, leaving a slimy surface. This tends to block transpiration. I imagine it is the ash producing sodium or potassium hydroxide, lye, which is highly alkaline to the point of being corrosive. I use one to three sprinkles of ash as I build my heaps, but even a five ton heap will have less than one half of a bucket of ash added in total.
Thanks for this information. I will check my PH level in the soil first. This is the first time I have heard of this... saved me a potential catasttophy
Here in the desert, gypsum is the key to lower ph and unlock the soils nutrients and of course compost, peat and mulch on top to preserve water. I use ash and gypsum at a 1:1 ratio twice a year.
My tomato plants have done the worst they ever have since I put wood ash in the soil. My plants planted in compost are doing amazing. Never again. The ash is getting thrown in the woods where I used to throw it.
If there are bits of charcoal in the ash, it can absorb nuttrints from your soil until the charcoal gets charged( or activated to start releasing what it has absorbed ) . When i herd charcoal was good for the garden I started using it, didnt have much luck with it the first year. So I sugest seperating charoal from the ash and charging it first in the compost, seems to be ok with the worms so far, in moderation anyhow.
Yeah, this is very important to keep in mind. You're basically creating a water filter by adding in the charcoal remnants. Not great when you want the nutrients to reach the plants. Likewise activated charcoal is only really good as a dark food coloring in foods, but it pretty much ruins your nutrient uptake if you consume food with it.
One solution might be to add coffee grounds to increase acidity. Thanks for the video. One humble suggestion, there were a number of moments when points you already made were repeated, so please consider being less repetitive. But this was helpful. Thank you, again!
I have heard that wood ash contains a concentration of the heavy metals a tree absorbs from the ground as it grows. These metals don’t burn off and as a result they concentrate in the ash. Food producing plants will pick up these metals from ash added to the growing soil. Ash is great for flowers though that aren’t used as food.
That would be a function of where the wood was grown, a lot of the carbon in trees is actually drawn from the CO2 in the air. Which makes of a large portion of a tree's physical mass. While it does need and pickup nutrients from the soil, those won't be present in the ash if they simply weren't in the trees growing condition.
Our soil is limestone the last thing we need is wood ash. I live on a farm so the soil is tested. In the garden we put peat moss every 3 years and roto tiller it in after it sets for a couple of days. LOL we use wood ash to make soap.
I am reminded of potash every time I see a bag of lawn weed and feed, and see that the numbers (ie: 2-2-8) on the bag are usually accompanied by the words "kills broad leaf weeds"... I can think of a few other broad leaves, like corn... or squash... even grapes... But whenever I think of using potash, the words "broad leaf" certainly come to mind...
We've been using wood ash for generations in our area of Western MA. We spread it all Winter long over the garden one bucket at a time on the snow. That way it gets slowly leached into the field by the occasional early melts. Come Spring our garden is readied by broad forking the shredded Fall leaves from our bin, fresh compost, and the chunky wood ash (biochar) left on top into the soil as deeply as we can.
Thanks for putting out the knowledge. I watched your video to make sure I wasn't missing any info. The native soil here is very acidic. Easy way to tell is look around to see what grows best in the wild. Around here there are tons of wild blueberries, pine trees, and native rose growing everywhere. All are acid loving plants. Everyone in my area uses wood ash in their gardens so we can grow more than strawberries & blueberries and lime on their lawns so we can grow grass instead of moss.
Author hits all the pertinent things. in this great video. Addition should be made most evenly as a solution, filtered if needed for sprayer nozzles etc.
Very well done. I’m a botanist and restoration ecologist in the inter mountain west where our soils ph are often 7.5 to 8.4. Not a good idea to add ash in those conditions. However we can observe an increase in growth following range fires, but that is most from reducing competition.
Good informational advice with a solution; cultured humus from a compost pile. Wood ash is especially high in soluble minerals, which I have heard is attributed to the longest lived people on the planet. One can see how obviously fine wood ash becomes.
The alkilinity is no joke... When I was just 5 I always wanted to play in the ash pile. Dad would tell me no because it would "burn" me. Being a child I assumed he meant there might be hot coals in it. So one day after a heavy rain I figured any remaining embers/coals would be extinguished... And I played in those wet ashes... Barefoot. There was enough potassium hydroxide in those wet ashes to give me a nice chemical burn on the top of my right foot. Big giant yellow scab on top of my foot. And it hurt. I probably got a few licks with the belt for my troubles too... Probably, but I don't remember for sure. But I remember the burn quite well. Plenty enough alkilinity to burn your skin... I reckon that's enough to swing the pH of your soil. Use it in moderation.
I love the minerals in ash. Greens are so delicious. Our soil is neutral. Ct. zone 6b. Getting cold again for a few days. Garlic is up from November. Peas are planted yesterday. Had success saving purple basil and bell peppers. Having too much fun. Sucks we spent 35 bucks on seeds. Small back yard garden and buckets. No dig. Thanks for your comment.
I'm in south jersey, where we have very acidic soil do to the pine trees that are EVERYWHERE around here. I always use the ashes from my wood burning stove in my Gardens. Great video!
Good tip. I'm investigating biochar as soil amendment understanding it needs to be precharged but the efforts are longstanding. Searching for the answers always.
I heard that ash in a compost pile wreaks havoc with proper bacterial growth, not certain on that though. For sure just add a little and not buckets full.
NW GA with acidic red clay soil. I just added a couple of shovels of wood ash to a compost bucket. Will add it when mixing my soil in a few months. For now Im just allowing it to simmer. Ty for the tips and tricks. I love your Bob Ross vibe😊
use it as a medicine to control fungus and moss near the plant and not as a fertilizer. it also controls over watering in pots. if you are a experienced Gardner then you can use this as fertilizer and manage the soil ph by adding another fertilizer at the same time like coffee grounds, tea compost and other acidic products.
My garden is surrounded with bush and fruit trees had been vandalised annually by wildlife. Pigs, deers, etc. I have uncovered by chance putting wood ashes around the trees and miracle happened. Wildlife doesn’t visit here for a year now. I don’t even have to worry about fixing the fences anymore!
Wow great to know. Thanks. Spotted a groundhog earlier. Flood light caught it. I've been putting organic scallion root ends rehydrated in water 3 inches long. around the garden to stop deer and rabbits but they are not in the ground yet.
Very informative, at first i thought this video was the same old same obvious stuff but later answers a lot of the questions most new gardeners wouldn't know to ask
I used wood ash heavily in a bed of summer squash. It was a disaster. I got no green leaves but a ton of flower and premature squash that wouldn’t grow to any size. I put out more nitrogen and clipped the fruit until I got enough green leaves to support photosynthesis. Learned a lesson. But I have acidic soil so no problems there.
Thanks for highlighting, I didn't know this, will check ph of my soil and tell others too, is vital we all do what we can to help look after God's green Earth, Gaia, mother nature .
Thx this is one of the very few cautions i know of. If i may add to this. Most gardens in town or city gardens in Belgium have a pH raised by use of lime or the use of (coal) ash on or the presence of 100 years of building residu accumulation. The presence of PAH is another potential problem. So take care. Make sure you only use ash of fully burned clean wood. No coal, plastics, treated wood.
I live in Clearwater Florida and the soil here is awful. It is mostly sand. I have added horse manure, composted mulch in several layers and I heard that if you put two cups of wood ash under your tomato plant at planting time and put an inch or two of soil on top of the ashes before you plant the tomato plant it will double your production. Well i have an orange rousilini tomato plant. These tomatoes will end up about the size of a baseball. On just one of my 36 tomato plants i have 80 tomatoes and another 40 blossoms. For me it has worked wonderfully. the complete method i used in planting the tomato was as follows. Dig a larger than normal size hole. Put down the ashes and cover with about 2 inches of soil, Then strip off all the leaves from the tomato plant except the top two courses of leaves and bury it deep. I also set up a drip irrigation system to give it regular watering. Then i also build a berm around it to hold the rain that comes close to the stem. This berm was made with composted horse manure. When the tomato grew about a foot to a foot and a half i pushed the berm in against the tomato plant so it could produce more roots on the stems. I did not single stem it. I did use some wood lathe to create a cage to hold some of the tomato plants up but they have grown over the top of the lathe so quickly and because I planted them too close they are supporting each other as they have no choice. I do pull off the suckers but some of the suckers that got large do have blossoms on them so why am i pulling them off? i stopped doing that. I have added some blood meal once or twice over the last 3 months. i think the tomato plant is over loaded and can't pull enough water right now to grow the tomatoes in size quickly because there are so many. My next step is to increase the drip irrigation setting on the emitters. i credit the production to the wood ash as i have two tomato plants planted earlier before i knew about the wood ash and they have not grown as well nor do they have as many tomatoes. Oh the soil here is so bad i still have not seen an earth worm and my neighbor that has been gardening here for years has never seen one. This is the start of my second year of gardening here. i think its time to buy some earth worms
I spread plenty of woodash a few years ago and ended up raising pH to 7.4. . was recommended to apply sulfur to bring down. Got last soil test year later pH came down some to 7.0. . better.
Rotting stuff produces acid you can actually just till living matter into the ground even weeds choped up. Also dandy lions is the natural replacement for using ash they can root feet down and they pull up potassium.
I learned this the hard way...and lost a pine tree that I'd spent 5 years growing back from one branch which had been left when the previous house owners had chopped the tree down to nothing!
Needed advice; When I was not home my wife thaught she would be helpful and put the wood ash around the rhododendrons. I screen my wood ash and spread it with a drop spreader on mossy areas of the lawn and fields. The carcoal I put in the compost to make biochar.
Get some garden sulfur,miracid and ask your local nurseryman what else to do about your wifes well intentioned addition of wood ashes around the Rhododendron.The rise in pH may kill them if you don't bring the pH down swiftly.@Hans Quistorff
No one should ever look at a single amendment and say "everyone should" or "everyone should not". There are more than 14,000 soil series that have been classified in the united states by USDA. Get it tested, read about soils science foundational principals and then amend what your soil is missing
Josh Tosh. Yes! Great dust bathing for the feathered friends. Earlier today i placed a long shallow bin full of woodburner ash in my coop of 24. Once they realize what it is they'll be standing in line for their turn.
Yeah kinda killed my raspberries a bit (theyve grown back now) the first year throwing ash on them as I didnt think about them being acid loving. So will probably just stick em on vegetables now and use something else for those and the fruit trees.
I have a wood stove, plenty of wood ash I spread around and in the compost. but, I've never soaked the wood ash in water for fertilizer, which I will do come next garden season
SJ R if you do - look into what type of water to use. There appears to be a lot of discussion on using tap water or municipal water vs rain or purified.
I live in northeast GA, my soil is acidic and ash definitely helps here. I do raised beds mostly so my beds are becoming super healthy, and a good bit of my knowledge has come from your videos, reading, and my own trial and error. I love your videos brother
Growing up in SW PA 76 years ago almost everyone heated with coal and all those coal ashes went on the gardens. Fast forward to present day and learning what all is contained in coal ash could give someone my age group and location nightmares.
My grandfather would always add wood ash to his garden so I did it also because he was the best gardener I ever knew. With my small garden it has work well. One year I gave extra tomatoes seedlings to several co-workers. My tomatoes plants shot up and was 5ft tall in a month. I had tomatoes weeks before my coworkers and some of my coworkers plants never set fruit.
It sounds like you may have inherited your grandfather's green thumb, Tammy. 🙂
To neutralize the alkalinity of wood ashes, mix in shredded oak leaves (pH 4-4.5) or pine needles (pH 3-4) to produce a neutral combo.
Great advice and "merci" for providing the PH indices for pine needles and oak leaves. I assume cedar needles/foliage would have a PH of 2-3.
Very interesting prospect in this. Do create an adapted soil you need to consider all the constituent matter that would contribute to real soil conditions. It's a bit like baking in that regard.
My grandfather used to empty the wood ashes from his fire place into the chicken coop and pen. The birds would take dust baths in it and it was a free pesticide to keep the mites off the birds. I never saw him add it specifically to the garden, south east Colorado has poor nutrient soil so anything is a plus. At the end of the growing season he would let all the plants dry out and die then he would burn all the dead crops and rototill it into the soil preparing it for spring planting.
I grow red wigglers. My suggestion is to feed the ashes to the worms first. They will break the nutrients down to a simpler form. Also, they will add microbiology and growth hormones.
Worms can be great at moderating and improving soil conditions. Red wigglers live best with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0. Most worm bins tend to be acidic so the addition of wood ash may balance the pH, but too much can harm the worms. A simple pH meter can help know how much ash to add.
Have you done that with sucess?
I agree also use it with the bokasi compost
If you put wood Ash on the lawn and water it the worms Will come up out of the ground everywhere you apply it.
@@phildimick3219 great info . Is It because they LOVE it or is It because they are running away from it ?
It makes a decent mortar and will bind gravel paths and metal drives reasonably well.
Spread it over 4mm thick on your garden soil without thoroughly mixing it in it'll effectively make a layer of concrete which will inhibit most growth for a couple of seasons.
What a great presentation. Thanks a lot. I use the ash very selectively based on the ph preference of the plants that I intend to fertilize. I live in a very acidic soil area and I use it for the soil of my vineyard that proved to have a very low ph according to the test. Thanks for a great video.
Well I just dumped a metric shitload on my garden last week haha.. I'll be sure to test the soil next time
Hahaha... A metric shitload...
But have you tried growing anything in it?
@@mibi2999 well the tomatoes absolutely exploded, they're still producing fruit
@@mibi2999 capsicum and squash didnt like it though
Add a shitton of sh*t and straw/grass if you cant get anything to grow - give it 6 months - and it will be composted enough to use as a garden finally - also use a shtton of compost tea and food scraps - and get a bunch of worms - add it all in the bed. Sawdust if you can as well to keep the entire mix moist to keep the temps up.
@@sp7951 Peppers need more nitrogen - and the woodchips if there was some in it still - or char - soaked up all the nutrients - i bet this year they do perfect since it's been 9 months
This is the first time that i got correct and logical information regarding wood ash. For quite long i was very much confused about usage of wood ash and most of the time i got confusing replies from experienced gardeners without any logical explanations but now most of my confusion has been cleared and i can use wood ash accordingly if needed.
Thanx for sharing this detailed informative video 👍
I'm so glad I could help. I agree that it's often difficult to get accurate gardening information. Thanks for the nice comment.
The very word "potassium" very literally comes directly from the old term "pot ash."
, ,
@@tschmath yea it do
3:57 is a perfect summary for the whole video
Thank You.
Ah! Several minutes of life back. Thanks
i had nearly given up, thanks
Didn't get that far.
THANK YOU. This guy is way too slow
For me i mix ash with vinegar and compost tea = ph 6.5 and spray it to my plant, its very helpful.
You just confirmed why my garden in the Sonoran desert failed miserably last year!
Unknowingly, I have a small garden ring (6ft diameter) around my tree and I dumped a ton of wood ash and chunky burnt wood pieces in there and my plants (all hostas) love that garden bed more than all my other beds. They thrive in there and after many years, it's still my best bed with visible wood coal that still exists. I did no soil testing and with this video, I am unsure if I should redo the soil but then again, my plants are very-VERY happy. I am halting another wood ash/coal added garden bed until I further understand the risks and benefits.
Great video. I do not believe wood ash is not necessary in my soil. I definitely do not recommend using it in a dust bath area for chickens. As many posts recommend it. They must love fried chicken I guess, or trying to figure out why their chickens aren't well. Sad. But I have needed an in depth study which your video has helped. Ty again.
I saw this one just in time. We just built our fire pit... And I was so excited to start using the ashes... I think I would be better off adding the ashes to my compost, just to be safe until I know my soil better.
In MA I pour it on by the buckets every fall and veggies love it.
Here in NH we do the same because we have acidic soil, too. BUT: never put it near your blueberries or other acid-loving plants.
Lol here in Vermont too.
Thank you for the reminder. I have collected lots of wood ash from the fireplace and was about to blow it into the garden. I will do a soil test.
Thanks Scott. I do exactly what you said. I add ash to my compost pile. It always seems to turn to great compost. Same as seaweed. I have easy access to seaweed because I live less than a mile from the beach. Seaweed hurts my garden when I add it directly, but man when I compost the seaweed it makes an amazing soil amendment.
What a great idea! I'll have to remember this next time I visit the Ocean (30 minute drive) ... free seaweed laying around everywhere! :D
@@AA-zq1sx fyi seaweed has salt in it, accumulation of salt over long-term will permanently destroy the soil
be sure to rinse, soak, the seaweed then rinse again. This helps in removal of salts.
@@narinthebeardedalien2994 thanks
Very accurate. Well done. Know your PH before you apply ash.
I used wood ash in Daytona beach , FL and the result was catastrophic on my potatoes. Thank you for your advice. I appreciate the expertise. I share your videos. God Bless !!!!
Do a SOIL test. Test the PH. and You'll know what you need. END of STORY.
most ma soil is under 6.5
Otahu Rice I was thinking the same thing.
Yes, this could have been less painful.
A Texas ag extension was caught doing "soil analyses" according to Zip Code...send it to a private lab...
Brian Crane I'm in Texas what do you mean? I've been wanting to test my soil personally can not find anyone
I had a pecan tree go down during a Texas storm..cut it up and burned the tree stump below the soil line. Planted a avocado tree in its place, its fruiting this year. I Posted a video of how I did it.
Great video. I hadn't thought of this and had used the ash at another home of mine here in the Phoenix area. The soil here is very high PH. Makes sense now why my shrubs kept dying.
Thanks. You're not the only one to make that mistake because so many gardening sources recommend ashes with no regard for pH. Glad I could help.
@@GardenerScott the ph neutralizes as it compost. I compost it with my weeds. Sense I have done this I have not had a problem. My soil is neutral to slightly alki ph
@@maryjane-vx4dd It's not a good idea to compost your weeds as the seeds mix with the soil your going to spread on the garden, better to incinerate the weeds with the woody cuttings.
Dear Scott, thanks for clear and understandable video. It is important to tell people and make them understand the importance of using non treated wood because paint and oils degrade in thousands of fractions that are poisonous like dioxin. In Belgium we have acidic soil and use it as fertilizer for Gras and walnut trees. Where I have most succes is in the greenhouse. It never rains there and a wall of ash around your salads is what you want. Snails hate going true and over ash. My salads are delicious and bug free thanks to dual function of wood ash. Succes with your channel and much gardening love from overseas! Bye Reza
You raise a good issue. In areas with acidic soil, ash has many benefits. Thanks.
I didn't know slugs hate ash, they are the bane of my garden and decimate the plugs and tender plants, i've tried coffee grounds to no avail so it's ash next year.
@@bertieschitz-peas429 Slugs disastrous here too in N.W. Pennsylvania. Some suggest beer too.
@@karenwillison3987 I use my home brew dregs poured into jars half buried in the ground, had good results many drowned slugs
we are alkaline here and I use ash, I even burn a large bunch in the garden to eliminate weeds and bugs in a new area, but I use citric acid to balance my soil and water. Yes, the water comes out at around 8.1, so I drop it first, then pour it on.
for years I have been putting wood ash on a Paeony bed and they love it.
I’ve been adding clean wood ash and char strictly to my compost pile. I’m relieved to hear you endorse this practice.
As I sit through your videos, I don’t have to wait long before all my questions are answered. I only just discovered your channel and have listened to about a dozen of your videos, each one clarifying whether or not so much of the garden hype out there is reputable.
I only wish the ads accompanying your videos were half as interesting!!!😉
Took a gamble and on a small stretch of my garden (3ft×40ft strip) I dumped my wood stove ashes with chunks of charcoal. Early in the spring I tilled it in deep. 1ft. Probably close to 50 gallons worth of ashes. That particular stretch has been out producing the rest. Flowering earlier and much more vigorous growth.
That's great, Donald. You might have acidic soil in that spot and ashes were exactly what you needed.
Excellent video and a must watch for farmers and gardeners, whether or not one is using wood ash, the information on the pros and cons is worth knowing.
Makes sense, but of course, no one ever mentions how buffered soil pH is (typically not much) or how easily an acid pH can be achieved. Specific to wood ash, I am not aware of people adding so much that it impacts the soil pH all that much. My first thought would be if you are worried about the pH, then dissolve the ash and adjust to whatever pH makes you happy with whatever acid makes you happy... and be happy. :)
The key is actionable with C:N balanced blends , Like Crop waste, livestock waste (high in nitrogen/ acidic quality) mixed with the carbon of the wood ash to make a balanced compost.
I personally use wood ash in my compost pile. It works out pretty well. I think i've got a high quality compost due to all the materiales I trhrow into the pile. My plants are green, growing very well and looking good all around. Must say though, that I have used ash directly in my plants from time to time. Thanks for this very educational video.
Even if high pH is a concern, you can also spread sulphur along with it to bring the pH back down. I've always used ashes in my soil mixes for planters of dawn redwoods and typically still end up with soil pH from 5.5 to as low as 3.8, even with the ashes. Using MirAcid or Hollytone will help bring the balance down as well.
Add it to your compost...great,thanks
Nice video thank you for your patient words
I have a wood burning pottery kiln, and acidic soil. So the trees and the lawn always get some ash on their feet. Also, I try to go off-grid with fertilizers for my orchids, a collection of around 200 of them. So I prepare their fertilizer with chicken manure and ash. I allow the chicken poop to totally decompose in water (rain water in a covered and aerated container) for more than 6 months at a time, then pass that water through a very fine mesh, to render it proper for a sprinkler. Finally, I neutralize it's PH using the wood ash. That mix will get further diluted in water before I spray it onto the orchids! I has been working well.
I am a compost maker by trade. I have always used a small amount of wood ash in my compost heaps.I have noticed if more than a light sprinkling is used, the surface of the compost heap will experience a very rapid decomposition, if watered, leaving a slimy surface. This tends to block transpiration. I imagine it is the ash producing sodium or potassium hydroxide, lye, which is highly alkaline to the point of being corrosive. I use one to three sprinkles of ash as I build my heaps, but even a five ton heap will have less than one half of a bucket of ash added in total.
Interesting insights. Thanks for sharing.
use it as fongicide on your fruits trees : just blowing dry ashes on leaves every two weeks
Thanks for this information. I will check my PH level in the soil first. This is the first time I have heard of this... saved me a potential catasttophy
Here in the desert, gypsum is the key to lower ph and unlock the soils nutrients and of course compost, peat and mulch on top to preserve water. I use ash and gypsum at a 1:1 ratio twice a year.
I've never used gypsum, Bryon, but it sounds great. I'm glad you've found a nice way to mitigate a problem.
Informative video an presented in such an absorbing way, Thank you.
Thank you.
Thanks for the information. Have a good evening.
My tomato plants have done the worst they ever have since I put wood ash in the soil. My plants planted in compost are doing amazing. Never again. The ash is getting thrown in the woods where I used to throw it.
This video made me a better gardener thank you
You have a very soothing voice. Thanks for the tips!
I like how Scott begins with, it may be the best or it could be the worst.
Great video. I grew the best cannabis plant (Northern lights) ever with the ash during the flowering stages. Its legal up here in Canada now.
I wasn't aware of that (using the ash). Thanks for sharing.
If there are bits of charcoal in the ash, it can absorb nuttrints from your soil until the charcoal gets charged( or activated to start releasing what it has absorbed ) . When i herd charcoal was good for the garden I started using it, didnt have much luck with it the first year. So I sugest seperating charoal from the ash and charging it first in the compost, seems to be ok with the worms so far, in moderation anyhow.
Yeah, this is very important to keep in mind. You're basically creating a water filter by adding in the charcoal remnants. Not great when you want the nutrients to reach the plants. Likewise activated charcoal is only really good as a dark food coloring in foods, but it pretty much ruins your nutrient uptake if you consume food with it.
Thank you for this post...I was doing some research on potash for my garden.
You're welcome. I love the picture of your kale flower.
I use wood ash every year but sparingly, so far so good. 4 years in a row now. Indiana
One solution might be to add coffee grounds to increase acidity. Thanks for the video. One humble suggestion, there were a number of moments when points you already made were repeated, so please consider being less repetitive. But this was helpful. Thank you, again!
I only use it one way I save it all winter and The Following fall I throw it everywhere in the garden by Spring everything's good to go
I have heard that wood ash contains a concentration of the heavy metals a tree absorbs from the ground as it grows. These metals don’t burn off and as a result they concentrate in the ash. Food producing plants will pick up these metals from ash added to the growing soil. Ash is great for flowers though that aren’t used as food.
That would be a function of where the wood was grown, a lot of the carbon in trees is actually drawn from the CO2 in the air. Which makes of a large portion of a tree's physical mass. While it does need and pickup nutrients from the soil, those won't be present in the ash if they simply weren't in the trees growing condition.
Our soil is limestone the last thing we need is wood ash. I live on a farm so the soil is tested. In the garden we put peat moss every 3 years and roto tiller it in after it sets for a couple of days. LOL we use wood ash to make soap.
A good soap sounds like a good choice.
Definitely consider Woodchips to mulch. The breakdown provides a better PH
Where do you get peat moss from?
@@oneministries4878 Only if you add a nitrogen source like alfalfa since wood absorbs nitrogen as it breaks down.
@@fitrianhidayat We get it from our local garden supply store We have a lot of limestone in our area so most of them carry it.
Thanks Scott. I t is about time someone talked some sense about this controversial subject.
I am reminded of potash every time I see a bag of lawn weed and feed, and see that the numbers (ie: 2-2-8) on the bag are usually accompanied by the words "kills broad leaf weeds"... I can think of a few other broad leaves, like corn... or squash... even grapes... But whenever I think of using potash, the words "broad leaf" certainly come to mind...
That's because weed and feed has herbicide not because of the potash.
We've been using wood ash for generations in our area of Western MA. We spread it all Winter long over the garden one bucket at a time on the snow. That way it gets slowly leached into the field by the occasional early melts. Come Spring our garden is readied by broad forking the shredded Fall leaves from our bin, fresh compost, and the chunky wood ash (biochar) left on top into the soil as deeply as we can.
Luckily you live in an area that can benefit from the ash. Glad to hear it.
Thanks for putting out the knowledge. I watched your video to make sure I wasn't missing any info. The native soil here is very acidic. Easy way to tell is look around to see what grows best in the wild. Around here there are tons of wild blueberries, pine trees, and native rose growing everywhere. All are acid loving plants. Everyone in my area uses wood ash in their gardens so we can grow more than strawberries & blueberries and lime on their lawns so we can grow grass instead of moss.
Glad a novice gardener like myself checked this video. Soil ph test coming up. Thanks Scott
Good decision.
Author hits all the pertinent things. in this great video. Addition should be made most evenly as a solution, filtered if needed for sprayer nozzles etc.
Very well done. I’m a botanist and restoration ecologist in the inter mountain west where our soils ph are often 7.5 to 8.4. Not a good idea to add ash in those conditions. However we can observe an increase in growth following range fires, but that is most from reducing competition.
Thank you. That's an interesting observation of the increase in growth.
Good informational advice with a solution; cultured humus from a compost pile. Wood ash is especially high in soluble minerals, which I have heard is attributed to the longest lived people on the planet. One can see how obviously fine wood ash becomes.
Thanks. The minerals are important garden amendments when the pH can be managed.
Wow! This is good information! Thank you! I'm gonna test my soil.
The alkilinity is no joke...
When I was just 5 I always wanted to play in the ash pile. Dad would tell me no because it would "burn" me. Being a child I assumed he meant there might be hot coals in it.
So one day after a heavy rain I figured any remaining embers/coals would be extinguished... And I played in those wet ashes... Barefoot.
There was enough potassium hydroxide in those wet ashes to give me a nice chemical burn on the top of my right foot.
Big giant yellow scab on top of my foot. And it hurt.
I probably got a few licks with the belt for my troubles too... Probably, but I don't remember for sure.
But I remember the burn quite well.
Plenty enough alkilinity to burn your skin... I reckon that's enough to swing the pH of your soil.
Use it in moderation.
I water with 8.5ph well water and I use wood ash as the base of my top dressing. My Cannabis plants love it.
I live in Colorado with alkaline soil, been using tons of ash, never a problem, plants grow big and green
I love the minerals in ash. Greens are so delicious. Our soil is neutral. Ct. zone 6b. Getting cold again for a few days. Garlic is up from November. Peas are planted yesterday. Had success saving purple basil and bell peppers. Having too much fun. Sucks we spent 35 bucks on seeds. Small back yard garden and buckets. No dig. Thanks for your comment.
you can add lemon juice or vinegar to to balance out the PH then you can use it in any soil/garden .
From NZ, thank you. A very clear explanation.
I'm in south jersey, where we have very acidic soil do to the pine trees that are EVERYWHERE around here. I always use the ashes from my wood burning stove in my Gardens. Great video!
Thanks! You have the ideal location for them.
Good tip. I'm investigating biochar as soil amendment understanding it needs to be precharged but the efforts are longstanding. Searching for the answers always.
Here's my video that explains biochar more: ruclips.net/video/LWg1fm6Ss1M/видео.html
I think wood ash is best added to compost piles for application.
Yes
Hmm! I have seen an advice in composter manufacturers instructions, not to use ash in compost. They recommended to mix it to soil instead.
Do not add it to compost, it will create ammonia
I heard that ash in a compost pile wreaks havoc with proper bacterial growth, not certain on that though. For sure just add a little and not buckets full.
NW GA with acidic red clay soil. I just added a couple of shovels of wood ash to a compost bucket. Will add it when mixing my soil in a few months. For now Im just allowing it to simmer. Ty for the tips and tricks. I love your Bob Ross vibe😊
You sir have a nice quality camera
I absolutely love these videos, so much information explained in a way a noob like me can easily understand, thank you gardener Scott!!!
Thanks. So glad you find them helpful.
use it as a medicine to control fungus and moss near the plant and not as a fertilizer. it also controls over watering in pots. if you are a experienced Gardner then you can use this as fertilizer and manage the soil ph by adding another fertilizer at the same time like coffee grounds, tea compost and other acidic products.
thanks a lot for the useful sharing
Thank you
My garden is surrounded with bush and fruit trees had been vandalised annually by wildlife. Pigs, deers, etc.
I have uncovered by chance putting wood ashes around the trees and miracle happened. Wildlife doesn’t visit here for a year now. I don’t even have to worry about fixing the fences anymore!
Wow great to know. Thanks. Spotted a groundhog earlier. Flood light caught it.
I've been putting organic scallion root ends rehydrated in water 3 inches long. around the garden to stop deer and rabbits but they are not in the ground yet.
Very informative, at first i thought this video was the same old same obvious stuff but later answers a lot of the questions most new gardeners wouldn't know to ask
Thanks, Dominic.
I used wood ash heavily in a bed of summer squash. It was a disaster. I got no green leaves but a ton of flower and premature squash that wouldn’t grow to any size. I put out more nitrogen and clipped the fruit until I got enough green leaves to support photosynthesis. Learned a lesson. But I have acidic soil so no problems there.
Thanks for highlighting, I didn't know this, will check ph of my soil and tell others too, is vital we all do what we can to help look after God's green Earth, Gaia, mother nature .
Thx this is one of the very few cautions i know of. If i may add to this. Most gardens in town or city gardens in Belgium have a pH raised by use of lime or the use of (coal) ash on or the presence of 100 years of building residu accumulation. The presence of PAH is another potential problem. So take care. Make sure you only use ash of fully burned clean wood. No coal, plastics, treated wood.
I live in Clearwater Florida and the soil here is awful. It is mostly sand. I have added horse manure, composted mulch in several layers and I heard that if you put two cups of wood ash under your tomato plant at planting time and put an inch or two of soil on top of the ashes before you plant the tomato plant it will double your production. Well i have an orange rousilini tomato plant. These tomatoes will end up about the size of a baseball. On just one of my 36 tomato plants i have 80 tomatoes and another 40 blossoms. For me it has worked wonderfully. the complete method i used in planting the tomato was as follows. Dig a larger than normal size hole. Put down the ashes and cover with about 2 inches of soil, Then strip off all the leaves from the tomato plant except the top two courses of leaves and bury it deep. I also set up a drip irrigation system to give it regular watering. Then i also build a berm around it to hold the rain that comes close to the stem. This berm was made with composted horse manure. When the tomato grew about a foot to a foot and a half i pushed the berm in against the tomato plant so it could produce more roots on the stems. I did not single stem it. I did use some wood lathe to create a cage to hold some of the tomato plants up but they have grown over the top of the lathe so quickly and because I planted them too close they are supporting each other as they have no choice. I do pull off the suckers but some of the suckers that got large do have blossoms on them so why am i pulling them off? i stopped doing that. I have added some blood meal once or twice over the last 3 months. i think the tomato plant is over loaded and can't pull enough water right now to grow the tomatoes in size quickly because there are so many. My next step is to increase the drip irrigation setting on the emitters. i credit the production to the wood ash as i have two tomato plants planted earlier before i knew about the wood ash and they have not grown as well nor do they have as many tomatoes. Oh the soil here is so bad i still have not seen an earth worm and my neighbor that has been gardening here for years has never seen one. This is the start of my second year of gardening here. i think its time to buy some earth worms
Thanks for the thorough description of your efforts. You've obviously found something that works in a tough growing area.
I spread plenty of woodash a few years ago and ended up raising pH to 7.4. . was recommended to apply sulfur to bring down. Got last soil test year later pH came down some to 7.0. . better.
Rotting stuff produces acid you can actually just till living matter into the ground even weeds choped up.
Also dandy lions is the natural replacement for using ash they can root feet down and they pull up potassium.
I learned this the hard way...and lost a pine tree that I'd spent 5 years growing back from one branch which had been left when the previous house owners had chopped the tree down to nothing!
That's a tough lesson. Thanks for sharing.
Good video. I never thought that this would be a problem.
Thank you.
right on !
Wow great video. Thank you. I like to spread mine but have acidic soils here.
Thanks. You sound like you have the right garden for ashes. That's what it's all about. 🙂
Me , too.
Needed advice; When I was not home my wife thaught she would be helpful and put the wood ash around the rhododendrons. I screen my wood ash and spread it with a drop spreader on mossy areas of the lawn and fields. The carcoal I put in the compost to make biochar.
Thanks, Hans. I'm glad it's helpful.
Get some garden sulfur,miracid and ask your local nurseryman what else to do about your wifes well intentioned addition of wood ashes around the Rhododendron.The rise in pH may kill them if you don't bring the pH down swiftly.@Hans Quistorff
Wood ash also helps with getting rid of slugs
I use wood ash on the snow around mailbox and paths instead of sand to keep my feet from slipping, just wipe your feet before going indoors
Excellent video very informative and well explained. Well done and thanks.
I wish you were my neighbor. You could teach me a lot. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
No one should ever look at a single amendment and say "everyone should" or "everyone should not". There are more than 14,000 soil series that have been classified in the united states by USDA. Get it tested, read about soils science foundational principals and then amend what your soil is missing
Thanks, your video is very informative.
I add wood Ashe to my chicken coop. They love to bath in it.
I've heard that works well. Thanks.
Josh Tosh. Yes! Great dust bathing for the feathered friends. Earlier today i placed a long shallow bin full of woodburner ash in my coop of 24. Once they realize what it is they'll be standing in line for their turn.
Thanks for the great video
I always use to be confused about this topic your explanation is so clear and understandable
Thanks. I'm so glad to help.
Yeah kinda killed my raspberries a bit (theyve grown back now) the first year throwing ash on them as I didnt think about them being acid loving. So will probably just stick em on vegetables now and use something else for those and the fruit trees.
I have a wood stove, plenty of wood ash I spread around and in the compost. but, I've never soaked the wood ash in water for fertilizer, which I will do come next garden season
SJ R if you do - look into what type of water to use. There appears to be a lot of discussion on using tap water or municipal water vs rain or purified.
Lucky I saw Ur video just in time.