Wood ash, OK for compost?

Bob D

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Jan 29, 1998, 3:00:00 AM1/29/98

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Hello, I've just found this group and it looks great!
I've been heating my home with wood, for the past 4 years (mostly oak)
so I have an abundance of ash which I've been dumping in a big trough
outside. I've noticed it seems to be turning into something very dark
at the bottom, would this be useful as compost, or a soil amendemnt?
(I have very alkaline, clayey soil here. )
Thanks for any advice, and I look forward to reading the NG!
__
Bob D

Nick LaRocca

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Jan 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM1/30/98

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Bob D <wo...@capmediaREMOVETHIS.fr> wrote in article
<34d0dc5...@news.capmedia.fr>...

Wood ashes are high is potassium and can be mixed with leaves and other
materials in your compost pile, which is probably the best way to use them.

Although some gardeners apply wood ashes directly on the soil, ashes are
alkaline and will raise the soil's pH if used continually over many years.
Since you already have an alkaline soil, this would not be advisable.

--
Nick - NJ - Zone 7a

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Bruce Sorrell

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Feb 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM2/1/98

to Bob D

Bob D wrote:

Hello, I've just found this group and it looks great!
I've been heating my home with wood, for the past 4 years (mostly oak)
so I have an abundance of ash which I've been dumping in a big trough
outside. I've noticed it seems to be turning into something very dark
at the bottom, would this be useful as compost, or a soil amendemnt?

<snip>

Good Morning Bob !

At least the City of Long Beach Integrated Resources Bureau thinks your wood ash is
beneficial. They recommended the use of household compost and/or wood ash as a substitute for chemical fertilizer. "Farmer John" at the angelfire.com site suggests adding it to your soil when planting tomatoes. So do the folks at White Mountain Resource Management Inc. Quoting them on the subject:

"Wood Ash -Wood ash is the by-product from burning whole tree chips to make electricity. Like ash from wood stoves, farmers can spread wood ash on fields to "sweeten" their soils. Wood ash also contains important nutrients essential for healthy plant growth and is applied with conventional manure spreading equipment."

Essentially the same advice is provided care of the Georgia Wildlife Federation, i.e:

"What can be Composted? Yard clippings, spent plants, leaves, kitchen waste including
egg shells, coffee grounds, fruit and vegetable peelings, potassium rich wood ash from the fire place, newspaper, paper towels ..."

I apologize for the length of this message, but when I was searching on the subject, I turned up a quote from Colorado State University's Cooperative Extension that stated that wood ash should not be used on lawn's and gardens and that it would actually KILL
plants. Go figure :)

I'll close on this with a note that Scott Russell's excellent page on brewing your own beer at home (do visit http://byo.com/byo/Back/grow.html) states that proper hop culture includes the addition of wood ash to the soil. Not to run down Colorado State's expertise, but I have to trust the advice of anyone who's going to the trouble of growing the ingredients necessary for a home-made brewski !

Hope this helps,

vr,
Bruce