About Enriching Soil With Ash

Balancing pH

• Wood ash is an extremely alkaline material, which gives it the ability to lower pH or acidity in the soil. The natural pH of soil varies by area, as well as by what the soil has been used for in the past. Similarly, each type of plant prefers a different pH level for healthy growth. Some flowers and fruits (including blueberries) can only reach their full potential in highly acidic soils, but many vegetables and crops prefer basic or even alkaline soils in order to thrive. Wood ash can lower the acidity level and is often less expensive (and sometimes even made at home) than other soil amendments such as lime.

Other Benefits

• Wood ash also contains potash and phosphate, two ingredients commonly found in garden and vegetable fertilizers. As before, the wood ash is less expensive than regular fertilizer products. It can be especially beneficial if used to enrich the soil before planting, so that the newly-planted seeds or seedlings get an immediate burst of nutrition as soon as they are planted. Another advantage is that wood ash generally contains very few trace elements, including metals such as zinc and copper that can sometimes be found in professional fertilizers. This gives you better control of what's going into your soil.

Adding Ash

• Ash is a very dusty substance, so it must be treated in some way before it is applied to your soil. If you have an at-home compost pile, adding a little wood ash to the compost pile will give your compost the added pH and nutrition benefits when you use it to fertilize your garden. Many professional ash distributors will mix the ash into manure or compost and sell them commercially; be sure you check the information on the bag to know how much it will change the pH and nutrition value of your soil. If you purchase full strength wood ash, you will need to wet it down first to make it easier to spread. The amount of ash needed for your soil varies by your soil's properties.

Warnings

• Never use ash from any type of fire except a wood fire. With a charcoal grill or heater you may be tempted to throw all of your ash into your compost pile or soil, but do not use these types of ash. Charcoal and other such burning products are often treated with chemicals to enhance burning; you may even do this yourself by spraying down the charcoal with lighter fluid to help it catch. These chemicals, no matter how aged and composted they are, can stunt or ruin healthy plant growth. Natural wood ash is the only safe ash to use in your soil.