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Record cold has fireplaces working overtime. Should those ashes be put to use in the garden?
Homeowners should test soil pH annually and avoid ashes from treated or polluted wood to safely benefit plants like tomatoes with potassium and calcium nutrients.
- The AP gardening desk's Jessica Damiano noted this winter that fireplace ashes can be beneficial for soil health if cooled, sifted, and used properly, avoiding contaminated types.
- Because wood ashes raise soil pH, gardeners should test soil pH before adding ashes since high pH can harm acid-loving plants like rhododendrons, azaleas and blueberries, and soil testing through a county cooperative extension office or master gardener clinic is essential.
- Let ashes cool completely, collect into a metal bucket, sift through a window screen, apply no more than one 5-gallon bucket per 7 days, and work ashes 4-6 inches into soil with a stiff-tined metal garden rake.
- Because contaminants can enter soil and water, avoid ashes from treated wood and trees from polluted areas, and never use coal ash and charcoal briquette ash to protect garden soil, fish, and other wildlife.
- Springtime applications should be made no less than two weeks before planting, and gardeners should retest soil annually and follow soil-test dosing recommendations.
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19 Articles
The Morning Sun+18 Reposted by 18 other sources
Record cold has fireplaces working overtime. Should those ashes be put to use in the garden?
By JESSICA DAMIANO With record cold gripping much of North America this winter, many who find themselves with an abundance of fireplace ashes are wondering whether they can use them in the garden. Wood ashes from burned untreated wood can be beneficial for your plants — but with a few caveats. Ashes contain nutrients like potassium, which supports the overall health of plants, phosphorus, which promotes strong root systems, and calcium, which fa…
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Total News Sources19
Leaning Left1Leaning Right2Center14Last UpdatedBias Distribution82% Center
Bias Distribution
- 82% of the sources are Center
82% Center
C 82%
12%
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