Wood ash, as a fertilizer, is used to enrich the soil with compounds of potassium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, phosphorus and other inorganic substances that are indispensable for improving soil quality. The peculiarity of natural mineral fertilizing is that it can be used throughout the development and growth of fruit, berry and flower crops, without fear of damaging the plants and reducing productivity. So what position do ash fertilizers occupy among analogues?
Composition and benefits of ash
For the convenience of dosing fertilizer from the stove, use standard scales, the dry matter content of which is characterized by the following indicators:
- 1 tbsp. spoon (heaped) - 5–6 g;
- glass - 95–110 g;
- 0.5 l jar - 240–255 g;
- 1 liter jar - 480–510 g.
The nominal composition of ash in its pure form is almost the same, despite the fact that the source of raw materials is not only wood logs and sawdust, but also leaves, grass, and coal. But the qualitative content of certain chemical elements will vary significantly, even depending on the type or age of the material being burned.
It is believed that the highest concentration of useful substances is found in the ash of plants such as sunflower and buckwheat, and among trees, fertilizer from the stem part of birch is endowed with similar usefulness. The least useful types include ash from burnt peat.
The composition of pure ash fertilizer includes the following required elements:
- phosphorus;
- potassium;
- calcium;
- sulfur;
- iron;
- zinc;
- magnesium;
- manganese;
- molybdenum.
Regarding the first two elements - phosphorus and potassium, it should be noted that the absorption of these substances by plants from ash concentrates is an order of magnitude higher than from industrial fertilizers. In addition, it is remarkable that there is no chloride content in the fertilizing base, which is unacceptable for caring for crops such as currants, grapes, gooseberries and raspberries.
The use of ash as a fertilizer meets most of the requirements of fruit-bearing and flower crops: saturating the soil with oxygen, loosening heavy loamy soil, reducing the acidity of the soil. It is recommended to add ash after enhancing its effect with biologically active additives such as peat, compost substrate or humus.In the absence of these nutrient mixtures, it is permissible to use undiluted ash fertilizers, adding them directly to the hole.
The benefits of leaf and flower ash
Fertilizer from ash of leaf or flower origin is obtained after burning wilted plant material, which is usually used to rot in a compost pit. To prevent the loss of valuable substances, a dry iron barrel is used for burning plant matter.
Leaf ash, like fertilizer for the garden, is represented by calcium, manganese, sulfur and zinc oxides, which are most found in fruit trees such as pear and walnut. Unfortunately, other beneficial substances that the organic environment of rotting leaves is rich in is burned.
Application of ash by soil type
Any soil needs periodic fertilizing with natural mineral fertilizers, of which an ash solution or a dry substance containing this element is considered the safest for soil and plants. However, using the fraction uncontrollably and, especially, without knowing the initial characteristics of the soil, you can get the opposite result and depersonalize the soil to an alkaline state with a pH gradation of 7.
Alkalinization of heavy, loamy and clayey soil with ash fertilizer is carried out twice a year, during seasonal digging, at a rate of 250–300 g of substance per 1 m2. Twice as much ash - up to 650 g per 1 m2, give to tight soil with a high level of acidity. Fertilizer application rates for depleted swampy and gray forest areas are about 500 g of fertilizer per 1 m2.
Sandy loam soil will require, with a single injection, no more than 150 g per 1 m2, and soddy-podzolic soils are fertilized with ash in minimal proportions - from 50 to 80 g of substance per 1 m2.
How to apply ash fertilizer correctly?
Regardless of how ash is used, as a fertilizer for plants or a remedy against pests, each crop will make its own adjustments to the methods of processing plantings. Ash for fertilizer is used in at least three ways: by foliar spraying of the tops of the plant, by introducing the prepared solution into the ground, and by directly putting the dry substance into the hole.
Application of ash fertilizer in the garden:
- Cucumbers require potassium fertilizing if there is a delay in flower formation or if it is necessary to improve the quality of the crop by accelerating the ripening of cucumbers. It is best to apply root watering of seedlings with ash infusion at the beginning of the growing season and repeat the procedure twice more, maintaining a pause of 10–12 days. In total, one plant requires 400 ml of infusion from burnt grass or wood.
- Tomatoes and sweet peppers tolerate fertilizing with dry matter well, and ash can be sprinkled on the soil both when planting seedlings in open ground - 50 g per hole, and before watering while the seedlings are blooming. Dry soil is simply sprinkled with a small amount of ash, and an hour or two after watering, deep loosening is carried out.
- All onions require good ash feeding, at least twice during the period of active growth. For abundant shedding of furrows, use a medium-concentrated infusion.
- Ash, as a fertilizer for potatoes, is used in several ways - first it is applied during planting, pouring a small handful under each potato, then during deep loosening, distributing at least 100 g of fertilizer per 1 m2. Next two feeding potatoes occur at the beginning and end of flowering, during hilling, during which they apply: for the first time - 30 g of fertilizer under the potato bush, for the second time - 70 g. Another way to feed potatoes with ash is to irrigate the tops with ash decoctions. And finally, the third way to use ash is to protect potatoes from pests by dusting the tops with crushed ash.
- When fertilizing cabbage with ash, it is important not to “overfeed” the seedlings and measure no more than 1 full tablespoon of dry fertilizer into each hole when planting seedlings. Later, when heads are formed, you should constantly keep the ash infusion prepared and use it for spraying as often as possible at the first sign of pests in the garden.
Ash can replace superphosphate and potassium sulfate, which have become familiar to many, and, if necessary, add phosphate fertilizers - even the popular nitrophoska. The only thing that cannot be avoided when using ash is the use of nitrogen fertilizers, because this is the element that this category of mineral composition lacks.
Ash fertilizers in the garden
You can also use ash as a fertilizer on trees and shrubs. For these purposes, coal ash is suitable, which is ground before adding to the soil with a small amount of peat. At 1 m2, which means per planting, at least 2 cups of this composition are applied per tree. Later, when the seedling gets stronger and requires stimulation of development, the same amount of ash is mixed 1:1 with manure and the mixture is introduced when digging the tree trunk circle.
Just like for trees, ash is useful for feeding shrub crops - black currants and gooseberries take it especially well.Coal ash, as a fertilizer, is not very suitable in this case, but light ash from grass or leaves is perceived by plants as a complete fertilizer that does not require additional feeding.
How to prepare ash solutions?
Where can I get ash for fertilizing? As you know, ash is a product obtained by burning parts of wood, grass, leaves and flowers. If you plan to use ash as a fertilizer, you need to take only unpainted and non-moldy material that does not contain fungal spores and traces of chemical treatment.
How to make liquid fertilizer from dry matter? A glass of ash, lightly rubbed in the palms of your hands to grind it, is poured into a 10-liter container of water, stirred and allowed to stand for a week. The result is an infusion of medium concentration, which can be strengthened or weakened by changing the amount of fertilizer applied.
It is good to water potatoes and other vegetables with this infusion immediately after thoroughly moistening the soil; in addition, it is also prepared for foliar feeding, that is, for irrigation of grape and nightshade crops.
How can you enhance the effect of ash? To add a nitrogen component to the fertilizer and make the fertilizing more complete, the preparation of a mineral-organic mixture of ash and moistened peat 1:3 will help. The resulting mass should also be allowed to brew, but no more than 2–3 hours, after which the fertilizer is distributed throughout the garden, combining the action with digging.
Quite often, all cold solutions and mixtures, like ash fertilizers, are replaced with a decoction, also called “base”. Based on it, multi-component mineral supplements are later prepared, but it is also quite suitable for independent use.For the decoction, take at least 8 full glasses of dry ash and dilute it in a bucket of water, after which the liquid is boiled for 15 minutes. Each liter of cooled broth must be diluted with 9–11 liters of water and only then used for irrigation.
How can I replace ash or properly make up for the missing amount? Most gardeners use dolomite flour and even fluffed lime for these purposes, but neither one nor the other corresponds to the ash structure and can impede the absorption of the main substance by plants - phosphorus.
The same categorical answer is given to the question whether it is possible to prepare mixtures based on ash and manure, or use chicken manure for a nutritional base. All these substances, classified as organic organic matter, of an aggressive type, when combined with a mineral substance, give an unfavorable and complex chemical reaction that can only harm the plant, but in no way contribute to its development.
