Adherents of organic farming do not use chemicals on their plots to increase soil fertility and protect cultivated plants, but prefer natural substances. They do not act as quickly as herbicides and fungicides, but do not harm the environment or human health. Before using ash at your summer cottage, you need to figure out how to do it correctly in order to get the expected effect.
Types and composition
Ash is obtained by burning various natural substances; wood ash is the most popular. In addition to it, ash obtained from straw, sunflower stems, peat, shale and dung is used in summer cottages. The composition of the future fertilizer directly depends on the product from which it is obtained. In addition, the presence of useful components in the ash is influenced by the age of the plant and its variety.
Before using fertilizer, it is worth considering that it deoxidizes the soil, therefore, if the soil in the garden is already alkaline, you should not add a lot of ash.
The main elements in the composition of ash are:
- magnesium and calcium sulfate – necessary for cruciferous plants, has a prolonged effect;
- magnesium and calcium carbonate – activates metabolic processes in the tissues of cultivated plants, promotes the penetration of nutritional components into the cells, accelerates the ripening of fruits and increases productivity;
- potassium and sodium orthophosphate - helps in the regulation of fluid in the tissues of cultures and takes part in the synthesis of macronutrients such as nitrogen;
- magnesium and calcium silicate - especially necessary when growing onions, as it gives the heads a marketable appearance and extends shelf life in winter;
- sodium and calcium chloride - has bactericidal properties and allows plants to accumulate moisture, making it easier for them to tolerate extreme heat.
How do you get ash?
There are several ways to obtain natural fertilizer; everyone chooses the method that suits them best. If the house has a fireplace, and the owners use firewood to light it, you can gradually collect the amount of ash necessary to fertilize the soil over the winter.
They also collect straw and branches from their garden plot and burn them on a fire.It must be remembered that plastic bottles, bags, and rubber cannot be used to obtain organic fertilizer. When exposed to high temperatures, dangerous chemical compounds are released from them, which subsequently penetrate into the fruits, and from there into the human body.
Woody
In addition to the main macroelements, wood ash contains components such as boron, silicon, manganese and iron. If you burn spruce branches, the gardener will receive fertilizer with a high calcium content, and deciduous trees will provide fertilizer rich in potassium.
As a rule, wood ash is collected in the spring or autumn, when there is a free area on the site for making a fire, and sanitary pruning of trees has been carried out. If a potato field is chosen as the location, it is worth placing a metal sheet under the branches so as not to overheat the soil. The ashes can be collected and used 2 days after the fire has completely cooled down.
From fallen leaves, tops and straw
The concentration of useful components in fallen leaves is minimal, so ashes from this material are rarely used. It is more advisable to use for fertilizer the ash left over from burning the tops of sunflower and nightshade crops, which is rich in potassium. Straw from grain plants, which contains large amounts of phosphorus and potassium, is also suitable for obtaining useful fertilizing.
After harvesting, the plant residues are raked into a separate area and allowed to dry in the sun for several days. After this, a fire is made, observing safety requirements, and burned until ash is obtained.
From coal
Ash obtained from coal is rarely used as a fertilizer, since the useful components are found in it in a form that is difficult for cultivated plants. Coal ash is obtained by grinding burnt raw materials. If the house does not have a stove that is heated with this component, purchase ready-made ash, which is sold in gardening stores.
Peat
To obtain fertilizer from peat, briquettes are purchased in the store and burned in a fireplace and stove. The resulting ash is used to improve the composition of the soil and feed cultivated plants. Such ash contains phosphorus and potassium, as well as a small amount of lime. In terms of its characteristics, it is inferior to wood ash, but can also be used in gardening.
How to use as fertilizer
The use of ash on a personal plot is carried out in different ways, which depend on the goals pursued by the gardener.
The most common uses of ashes are as follows:
- After harvesting in the fall, wood ash is scattered over the entire site and dug up along with the soil. Over the winter, the earth will be saturated with useful substances.
- When sowing seeds or planting vegetable seedlings, pour a handful of ashes into each hole. It promotes rapid germination of the material and adaptation of seedlings in open ground.
- Make an aqueous solution and add it to the plants to replenish them with useful components.
Another way to use wood ash is to dip potato cuttings in it before planting.
A nutritious infusion is also prepared for feeding crops:
- Add a glass of wood ash to 10 liters of clean water.
- The liquid is kept under a closed lid for 24 hours, after which it is used to water the plants.Melons and cucumbers respond favorably to this fertilizer.
Use as protection against pests and diseases
The addition of wood ash helps fight insect pests that destroy fruit crops. In addition, organic fertilizing serves as a prevention of fungal plant diseases.
If there are a lot of snails and slugs in your garden plot, prepare a product from equal parts of tobacco and wood ash and scatter it around the garden at the rate of 300 grams per square meter.
When signs of a fungal infection appear on the leaves of young plants, prepare an infusion of 10 liters of water and 3 kg of ash, which is infused for 3 days, and then used to irrigate crops. If you add grated laundry soap to the infusion, its effectiveness will increase.
Benefits for plants and soil
The following points are highlighted as useful properties of ash:
- possibility of soil deoxidation;
- feeding plants with basic macroelements;
- strengthening the immunity of fruit crops;
- increasing soil fertility;
- repelling insect pests.
Common mistakes
When planning to use ash in your garden, you must remember that it is not suitable as a top dressing on alkaline soils. It is also important that the ash contains no foreign chemical impurities that can harm human health.
What plants should not be used for?
You cannot use ash in beds where radishes, blueberries, and sorrel grow, as these plants prefer acidic soil.