Ash as a fertilizer: 35 ways to use it for feeding and protection

Gardeners around the world have been using ash as fertilizer for their plantings for many decades. And its beneficial properties were studied in the 19th century. In this article we will tell you everything gardeners need to know about ash: how to get it, why it is so good, what plants it is suitable for and how to fertilize it correctly.

Ash gained its popularity due to its availability, ease of obtaining and ease of use. Moreover, add to this a composition rich in useful microelements. Why is feeding with ash so useful:

promotes alkalization of acidic soil;
helps speed up the adaptation of seedlings in the soil;
activates the growth of plantings;
has a preventive and therapeutic effect in the fight against pests and diseases;
improves the condition of the root system.

Composition and benefits of ash for plants (table)

In the table below we show the composition of wood ash as a fertilizer:

Component	% (percent)	Action
CaCO₃ (calcium carbonate)	17	Activates vegetation and flowering, helps ovaries to form normally. Accelerates metabolic processes and improves the absorption of beneficial microelements.
CaSiO₃ (calcium silicate)	16,5	It nourishes the roots, especially in bulbous plants, and helps to better absorb vitamins obtained from the soil.
CaSO4 (calcium sulfate)	14	Helps improve soil quality by activating the production of beneficial enzymes. Increases plant resistance to adverse conditions and diseases.
CaCl2 (calcium chloride)	12
K3PO4 (potassium orthophosphate)	13	Increases the endurance of plants and their resistance to temperature changes. Prevents the formation of ammonia in the leaves. Regulates water balance.
MgCO3 (magnesium carbonate)	4	Promote the formation of cellulose and starch by activating the process of carbohydrate synthesis. They regulate water balance, improve the passage of moisture to the roots and stems, and activate the formation of useful enzymes in the soil for the growth and development of garden crops.
MgSiO3 (magnesium silicate)	4
MgSO4 (magnesium sulfate)	4
NaPO4 (sodium orthophosphate)	15
NaCl (sodium chloride)	0,5

What is ash and what is its use?

The ash mixture is the product remaining after the combustion of plant residues: straw, grass, wood, etc. Burnt organic matter contains a whole range of useful substances that crops require for normal growth and development.

Useful material

Phosphorus. Activates the process of photosynthesis, regulates respiration, helps form root shoots, buds, and fruits. Its deficiency especially affects pumpkin, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
Calcium. Optimizes the delivery of nutrients, activates the growth of green mass, strengthens the immune system. All nightshades, strawberries, carrots, cucumbers, onions and others are sensitive to its lack.
Magnesium. Improves energy metabolism and metabolism, participates in starch synthesis. Magnesium deficiency negatively affects potatoes and tomatoes.
Potassium. Increases cold resistance, is responsible for the optimal amount of moisture in plant tissues. The deficiency is especially noticeable on chrysanthemums, lilies, grapes and roses.

The exact content of trace elements in the mixture is unknown. What is contained in ash is determined by the composition of the raw materials that are burned to obtain it. For example, burnt grass, vines or fragments of tops give a large amount of potassium, conifers give phosphorus, and all larch trees give calcium. The least useful elements are in the combustion residues of peat or coal, their maximum content is in the ashes of cereals, young branches, and straw.

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Thus, the mixture successfully replaces fertilizing with mineral fertilizers. You just need to calculate the dosage correctly. Another point: if the raw materials for combustion included plastic residues, synthetic materials and the like, the product cannot be used on the site. Burnt remains of painted boards, printed materials with impregnation and printing ink, and household waste are also not suitable. Chemicals are not destroyed by combustion; if they get into the ground at the dacha, they will poison it.

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What types of ash are there: types and content of substances in them (table)

Not all ash is suitable for use. If you are going to burn the garbage collected in the spring, where there is paper or old boards mixed with branches and leaves, then the resulting ash will be completely useless, and even completely destructive for the plantings.

But even when burning organic matter, the ash that comes out differs in its chemical composition depending on what exactly ended up in the fire. Calcium-rich ash is obtained from the combustion of soft wood; it is also present in hard wood, but in lower concentrations. Old wood contains much less potassium than young wood. It remains in sufficient concentration after burning buckwheat stems and sunflower stems, as well as grass rhizomes.

Ash is primarily a potassium fertilizer; it contains the most of it. In the second and third, phosphoric and calcium. Below we have given the average concentrations of the main mineral elements contained in ash of various origins:

Plant type	Potassium, %	Phosphorus, %	Calcium,%
Sunflower stems	35	18	From 18 to 20
Buckwheat (straw)	30	3	17
Rye (straw)	12	5	9
Wheat (straw)	From 11 to 18	From 4 to 9	From to 7
Potato tops	From 20	Less than 8	Less than 32
Birch	Less than 11	5	From 35 to 40
Spruce	3	3	24
Pine	11	Around 5	From 30 to 40
Peat	From 0.5 to 4.8	From 1.2 to 7	From 15 to 26
Dung	From 10 to 12	From 4 to 6	From 7 to 9

Properties and composition of ash

After the combustion of any fuel, an unburnable residue or soot remains. In agriculture, ash obtained from plant residues and peat is usually used. Coal ash is rarely used as a fertilizer. It is more suitable for tidying up saline lands and heavy loams.

What does ashes contain? About 30 micro- and macroelements in easily accessible form for plants, including:

potassium,
phosphorus,
calcium,
manganese,
magnesium,
boron,
sulfur

Important! There is no nitrogen or chlorine in the ash at all.

The content of the main elements depends on the feedstock. The table shows the maximum figures in percentage terms:

Combustible material (wood or plant residues)	Potassium,%	Calcium,%	Phosphorus,%
Birch	12	40	6
Buckwheat	35	19	4
Walnut	20	9	5
Spruce	4	26	3
Potato	20	30	12
Sunflower	35	20	4
Wheat	18	9	7
Rye	14	10	6
Dry cow dung	12	9	6
Pine	12	40	6
High peat	0,3	6	0,5
Lowland peat	1	20	1,2
Coal	0,2	3,5	0,2

Comment! When burned, walnut wood and leaves lose their allelopathic properties and do not harm other plants.

Non-burning residues from other crops can also be used in the garden. Even without having at hand a complete table indicating what the ashes of each burned plant contains, you can roughly navigate its composition:

the most potassium is in pre-dried young plants (for example, grasses, weeds, woody shoots);
the composition of ash from deciduous trees is much richer in nutritional elements than from coniferous trees;
There is more calcium in the ash of hardwood;
coal ash contains up to 50% silicon oxide;
the upper part of the trees (crown) provides more natural fertilizer than the lower part (trunk and roots);
ash yield after burning plants grown in arid conditions is higher;
If the combustion products of coal or peat have a red (rusty) color, it means there is a high concentration of iron.

Important! If you store ashes in the open air or in a damp room, leaching will occur - the raw materials will lose all potassium.

When you can and cannot use ash

Ash is a multifunctional product, but even it must be used wisely, based on the needs of your soil and plants.

To alkalize the soil, it is added to highly acidic soil when plowed in the fall or spring. When root feeding, dry ash added to the bed must be diluted by watering.

It is strictly not recommended to apply ammonia, nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers along with ash.

Ash can be used to treat plantings both in open ground and in a greenhouse in several ways:

Type of fertilizer	Components	Mode of application
Ash infusion (extract) for seeds	6 tbsp ash, 2 l. water.	The ash is poured with water and left for a week, shaking occasionally. The resulting infusion should be filtered and diluted with three volumes of water.
Low ash solution	2 tbsp ash, 1 tbsp. water, 25 g of garden green soap (if you don’t have it, you can use regular laundry soap)	Dissolve the ashes in water, then add grated soap. To dissolve it better, you can pre-soak it in a small amount of warm water. The planting solution is sprayed for the prevention and control of garden pests.
Powder	1.5 kg	Experienced gardeners sprinkle potato tubers before planting them in the garden. Ash powder is scattered at a short distance from the roots of the bush so that caterpillars and slugs cannot get through it. It also helps in the fight against various forms of rot.

It is strictly not recommended to introduce ash into the soil in the following cases:

if crops that prefer acidic soil grow on it (cranberries, blueberries, azaleas, hydrangeas and others);
the soil on the site contains a significant amount of alkali;
less than a month ago, nitrogen-containing fertilizer (manure, droppings, urea, saltpeter) was applied.

How to get ash for feeding

A special place should be allocated in the garden for the disposal of trees, dry grass and shrubs. There should be a distance of five to ten meters from the fire pit to the plantings. The material should be burned only in calm weather, and the strength of the fire should be controlled. Firewood or straw is added to the fire gradually.

Many gardeners, trying to minimize contact between fire and soil, burn wood waste on iron plates. This is not always effective. The remaining substance is collected cold, after a couple of days, and from an open space under a blowing breeze it can be sprayed throughout the garden. Iron barrels with a volume of 200 liters are more suitable here.

The resulting product is stored in tanks with lids. You should not collect it in plastic bags and close them tightly, as condensation may form. The wood powder itself must be dry and fine.

On what soils is ash used and on what soils is it prohibited?

Ash will be an ideal fertilizer for the following type of soil:

Low calcium soil.
Soil with a high level of acidity (pH - less than 5.5), since the use of ash increases the acidity level.

Ash can increase the acidity of the soil so much that the ability of plants to absorb nutrients will decrease and the plantings will wither and die.

Feeding with ash at different stages of development

During the growth process, the plant needs fertilizers of varying quantity and quality. You can feed cucumbers with ash solution at all stages of the life cycle. You can prepare solutions by following the following recommendations:

Seed dressing - 1 tbsp. spoon for 2 liters of water;
Feeding at the stage of two true leaves - 5 tbsp. l./5 l.;
Flowering period - 20th century. l./10 l.;
Beginning of fruiting - 5 glasses / 5 l.;
Pest prevention - 2 kg/8 l.

How to determine that plants need ash

The main components of ash are several types of magnesium salts, chemical compounds of potassium and calcium. In nature, they are found in almost every type of soil, but their concentration may not be enough for planted garden crops to grow and develop normally. How can you determine that your soil is lacking exactly these elements?

Signs of deficiency
TO	The leaves curl and lose color, the flowers and ovaries wither, darkening appears on the fruits, and plant growth is inhibited.
Ca, Mg	Deformation of leaves, drying out of their edges, loss of aroma in blooming roses

Signs of excess
TO	The leaves lose their bright color, fall off, and the flesh of the fruit becomes covered with brown spots.
Ca	The leaves fly away, young shoots die, and chlorosis appears.
Mg	Plant roots die, resulting in impaired nutrient absorption.

What is contained in ash

After parts of trees or grasses are burned, all the chemical elements they contain except nitrogen become an integral characteristic of the gray fine residues. Three dozen minerals, including potassium and iron, magnesium and calcium, manganese and phosphorus, take on a form that is easily absorbed by crops cultivated in the garden.

The specific impact of individual components of burnt wood on crops is as follows.

Calcium carbonate stimulates seedlings to grow faster, and in some crops it shortens the ripening period. Flowers become larger, inflorescences more pronounced.
Plants do not always absorb fertilizer elements. Calcium silicate helps improve this function .
Calcium sulfate affects the greening of seedlings, increasing it significantly.
Calcium chloride helps trees become more resilient and survive harsh winters . It also makes it possible to cultivate, for example, grapes in cold climates. This element “dries out” crops and soil. It is necessary to prevent tomatoes from turning black and carrots from cracking. Thanks to it, the grapes do not fall off prematurely and the strawberries do not become moldy.
If the summer is dry, rock salt will ensure the vital activity of vegetables and fruits: it is because of it that moisture is preserved and retained in the cells.
Potassium salt promotes winter hardiness of trees and is useful for garden flowers.
Magnesium is indispensable for rose roots ; it also has a beneficial effect on metabolism in cereal crops.
Sodium interacts with enzymes that do not come into contact with other elements. Because of sodium, enzymes begin to participate more actively in chemical reactions.

In what form is ash used as fertilizer?

Ash is a truly unique fertilizer. Without making material costs or investments, we get excellent nutrition with a balanced nutritional composition.

Liquid fertilizer

There are several ways to prepare an infusion of ash for feeding plants:

150 g of ash, 10 liters of water. The dry powder is poured with water and infused for 24 hours. It needs to be stirred from time to time. The resulting solution must be filtered.
150 g ash, 2 tbsp. boiling water The ash is brewed with boiling water, covered with a lid and left to infuse for a day. Before use, the substance must be diluted with three volumes of water. This composition can be used to feed perennial berry and fruit plantings, annual plants and ornamental flowers.

Dry fertilizer

Dry ash is used in the following cases:

The land is being prepared for future plantings.
Fertility needs to be increased.
Preventative treatment of crops against pests and diseases is planned.

When preparing a bed for planting, dry ash mixed with soil is added to the hole at the rate of 100-200 g per 1 square meter. m plot.
Coarse ash is ideal for pollinating a lawn in autumn or early spring.
Dry ash can replace light liming; it slightly neutralizes the pH level of the soil. The best alkalization of the soil is the ash remaining after the combustion of peat.

Ash fertilizer for pests

Ash is an ideal tool for controlling small invertebrates. Snails and slugs, moving through the ashes, receive powerful irritation of the mucous membrane, resulting in dehydration. This leads to the death of insects. Therefore, gardeners recommend sprinkling the space near the bush with ashes in a circle. But this product should be used only on low-alkaline soil, otherwise there will be excess calcium in the soil, especially after heavy watering or rain.

Dry ash is used to dust plants. For potato tubers, a two-liter container of ash per 40 kg of seed is sufficient. This will help in the fight against stick insects and the Colorado potato beetle; such plantings will be less attractive to them. Young shoots of cabbage and onions are powdered at the rate of 1 tbsp. per square meter.

Ash is an effective means of controlling ants. To do this, just pour a glass of ashes into the place where they accumulate.

Ash can save some cruciferous plants (radish, carrots, green onions, cabbage) from attacks by various flies and white flies. But cabbage will require additional treatment with an ash solution against caterpillars.

To protect berry and fruit crops from various types of pests, you can use the following composition recipe: For each liter of water used, take 100 g of sifted ash. The ash should be poured with water and boiled for 30 minutes, after which the solution should be cooled, settled and diluted with liquid so that the total volume of the substrate is 10 liters. Later you can add 40 grams. laundry soap, grated on a fine grater for better dissolution. Treatment of plantings is carried out either in the evening after sunset, or in cloudy weather in the absence of wind.

Another composition will help in the fight against aphids:

1 cup sifted ash,
bucket of water (10 – 12 l),
a tablespoon of grated laundry soap,
2 tbsp. l with a slide of urea.

All ingredients are mixed together and left for 48 hours, stirring occasionally. The resulting solution is sprayed onto the leaves of the plantings.

Ash from diseases

It is customary to fertilize plants that have been attacked by fungal diseases (powdery and sour mildew, blackleg) with ash. It is effective for radishes, radishes, rutabaga and cabbage. But in addition to ash, experienced gardeners recommend adding tobacco dust in a 1:1 ratio. You can start processing plantings when they have 2 full-fledged leaves.

The substrate made from ash and soap showed good effectiveness:

Two three-liter jars of sifted ash are filled with 10 liters of hot water and left to infuse for at least 48 hours.
For greater efficiency, water is replaced with a decoction of tansy, yarrow or tomato tops.
The finished solution is filtered, after which pre-grated 40 g of laundry soap are added to it.
The resulting mass is thoroughly mixed and placed in the sprayer.

Treatment by spraying can be carried out every two weeks.

In order to protect berries from gray rot, you can dust strawberries, victoria or strawberries with dry ash at the rate of 2 tbsp. on the bush.

For making compost

Many gardeners don't even realize that ash is an excellent composting agent. It activates the decomposition processes of organic compounds, so it will be useful to sprinkle a small amount of ash on each new layer of compost to increase its nutritional value.

Advice! When preparing a solution from ash, it is often recommended to add vinegar. The fact is that the latter, being an acid, helps calcium, which is slightly soluble in water, transform into a form that is digestible for plants. If you add ash, especially one that has been left in the air, to acidified water, bubbles appear: the slaked lime is converted into calcium acetate, water and carbon dioxide. The resulting calcium compound is better absorbed by plants. When using fresh ash, you may not see bubbles at all, but the longer it is stored, the more violent the reaction will be. Add 9% vinegar, about 200 ml per 10 liters of water and 1 cup of ash.

Plant nutrition

Despite the fact that the general principles for processing horticultural crops are the same, the approach for specific types of plants has its own nuances.

cucumbers

We feed either by scattering or watering with a solution. Cucumbers are capricious and delicate, so they should be treated with ash no more than 4-6 times during the entire season. Additional application of the substance can be done during the general autumn digging of the garden.

Liquid version - 2 tablespoons per liter of water (infuse and filter), dry - a glass per square meter. To combat aphids, you can spray the leaves by adding laundry soap to the solution.

Tomatoes

To fertilize the tomatoes, pour one and a half cups of the product from the stove into a bucket of water. One stem requires half a liter of mixture for full development. We dig shallow grooves around it, fill it with liquid and level it with soil.

To prevent diseases, prepare the contents of the spray bottle: pour 3 cups of wood dust with water, boil for 30 minutes, cool and leave for 24 hours. Strain and dilute in a 10-liter bucket of water. Add 50 g of laundry soap. This will not only protect the tomatoes from diseases, but will also repel pests. If the plant suffers from slugs, simply scatter the ash near the roots and loosen the ground. When fertilizing tomatoes, you should not combine the wood product with manure, since the ash neutralizes the nitrogen contained in the manure. Experts recommend fertilizing the soil with manure in the fall, and after winter with ash.

Pepper

An excellent food for peppers is ash mixed with nettle. Mix a tablespoon of powder and 10 tablespoons of burning shoots and add water. Leave for a day, strain, add to a 10-liter bucket of water and feed the seedlings.

If you are going to work with a spray bottle, you should reduce the concentration of the wood component so as not to burn the leaves. The water for spraying should be warm. Spray the mixture over the entire leaf - both on the outer and inner sides; the stem must also be treated.

In addition, “gold from the stove” is brought into the ground during autumn digging.

Onion

Onions respond especially gratefully to the product of burning birch, which has a high potassium content. This fertilizer increases the amount of vermicompost in the soil, particles of plant origin rot faster in it and the soil becomes more fertile.

If a wood product is used, onion heads last longer and do not rot. The ash contains potassium, which is extremely important for onions. If it is deficient, it turns yellow and dries, and yellow spots are visible on the arrows.

Onions are treated with a woody substance at the stage of preparing leek seeds (soak for six hours in a mixture of powder, 1 tsp, and water). Bulbs intended for planting are sprinkled with ash the day before.

Fertilizer is applied in the form of:

two-day infusion (250 grams per 10 liters of water - at the root);
daily infusion for spraying against pests (100 grams per liter of water);
dry sprinkles (100 grams per sq. m.).

Garlic

The fungus, which often attacks garlic heads, disappears if the bed is treated with a mixture of oven dust and soap diluted in plain water. This can be an elementary solution (100 grams of ash per 10-liter bucket of water), or it can be a decoction (pour 20 g of powder with water, boil for half an hour - and dilute it in the same bucket).

Treatment takes place twice a month or as needed when diseases, pests or signs of micronutrient deficiencies appear. To prevent powdery mildew, garlic is treated in the second decade of June with a decoction, to which an additional 50 g of laundry soap is added.

Let us remind you that, along with fertilizer, one of the most effective means of prevention is timely weeding of garlic.

Potato

When using a wood burning product, potatoes are less affected by the Colorado potato beetle, tubers contain more starch and are not susceptible to late blight. When the gardening season comes to an end and the potato patch has been harvested, it's time to think about the soil. If the soil is clayey, during autumn digging, 100 grams per sq. m are applied; if it is sandy, the procedure is carried out in the spring.

Before planting, sprouted tubers should be dusted with ash: a kilogram of granular product is scattered onto a bag of potatoes. At the time of planting, 40 g of suspension is added to each hole. When the first flowers appear on the stems, half a glass of the substance is poured under the root.

If fertilizing is done with a solution, dilute one and a half glasses in a bucket of water. We water in the morning so that moisture does not remain near the growing tubers overnight.

Cabbage

Cabbage seedlings will be less susceptible to slug invasion if you periodically apply an ash decoction or scatter dust from the stove around the plants. If the weather is not pleasant, the rains do not stop, treatment should be carried out more often than in the dry, hot summer.

When planting seedlings, 40-50 grams of the product are poured into each hole. This will protect the crop from diseases such as clubroot and blackleg. When digging up the soil at the end of the gardening season, add 100 grams per square meter to the cabbage bed.

Carrots, beets

Gardeners always have beets and carrots nearby: they are sown at the same time and harvested on the same day. Often the beds are nearby. It is not surprising that the proportions of fertilizers required here are almost the same. This is fully true for ash compositions.

When the bed is dug up in anticipation of sowing seeds, add a glass of powder per square meter. If you sprinkle the substance on already dug up soil, it may form a crust. In this case, it will be more than problematic for the seeds to break through to the light.

As soon as the first shoots appear, we again sprinkle the beds with woody substance. Immediately water the seedlings generously so that the fertilizing seeps into the root crops. This approach will not only fertilize the soil, but also protect the crop from pests.

Zucchini

If the land intended for planting zucchini has a high clay content, add washed river sand, a tablespoon of superphosphate and three tablespoons of ash per square meter.

Before planting, squash seeds are soaked in a liter jar of water, where 2 tablespoons of wood combustion product are diluted. When green peppers appear on the stalks, water the bushes with a mixture of urea (1 tablespoon), wood product (2 cups) and 10 liters of water.

If the leaves are affected by brown spots or begin to turn yellow, they can be poured with a solution of 200 g of powder in a 10-liter bucket of water. In dry form, the medicine is sent from the oven into the grooves around the root of the squash.

Strawberry

Wood fertilizer is allowed in the strawberry bed three times per season: at the beginning, when the snow melts and the top layer of the earth warms up a little in the early spring sun, after harvesting the berries, and in the fall, during the global digging of the entire garden.

When the first green leaves break through the layer of last year's foliage and gardeners begin to clean and loosen the bed, it's time to add sulfur suspension. Approximately 15 grams of the substance not only stimulates more active growth of greenery, but also prevents the occurrence of gray rot.

When the last strawberry has left the garden bed and the harvest is sent to be preserved in jars in the form of compote and jam, the bush does not cease to exist. It is during this period that the buds of the next harvest are born and the roots grow. Each bush should be spilled generously with an ash solution or infusion.

Traditional fertilizer in the autumn is no different from other crops: a glass of powder per square meter of soil will allow strawberries to survive winter frosts and snowfalls.

Grape

The climbing plant does not like frequent intrusion into its world: ash additives can be added no more than four times per season. The first - sprinkling - is carried out in early spring. The second - at the beginning of summer for preventive purposes. If signs of disease appear on the leaves, you can spray the plant in July.

Grape processing is carried out in the evening after sunset. 350 g of powder is diluted in a liter of water, infused for 24 hours and stored in a cool cellar. The infusion should be used within a month. Before spraying, dilute the concentrate in five parts of water and add grated laundry soap so that the spray lingers on the foliage.

The last treatment is carried out in the fall after the grapes are removed from the branches. Each root is shed abundantly with water in anticipation of wintering; we pour 350 g of ash into the last bucket for each trunk. It is enough to carry out autumn fertilizing once every three to four years.

Trees and bushes

At the time of planting the seedlings, a mixture of soil with 100 grams of woody matter should be added to the hole. This feeding allows the roots to quickly adapt to a new place, air flows freely to the root system.

If shrubs and trees have been growing on the site for several years, to prevent diseases and saturate the plant with potassium, phosphorus and calcium, it is enough to fertilize them once every three to four years.

This can be done either by adding a couple of kilograms of “gold from the stove” to the grooves around the trunk, or by generously spilling the area around the trunk, adding 450 grams of wood dust to the last bucket.

Flowers

Feeding flowers always has two goals: to grow a stem that will support the weight of the inflorescence, and to grow luxurious buds.

Annuals are fed a couple of times during the summer: 20 days after planting to strengthen the stems, and at the moment the buds appear, to stimulate their development and prolong the life cycle. Perennials are fertilized three times, including the application of ash before wintering the flowers. When planting, flowers are not fertilized.

Methods of feeding - sprinkling, watering with a 2-day infusion (10 g per liter), spraying (20 g per liter). Flowers are fed either early in the morning, before the sun has risen, or late in the evening, when it has already set.

Indoor plants are fertilized using the same methods, adjusted for the area occupied by the soil.

Multicomponent fertilizers with ash

Ash can be successfully combined with other substances and used to feed various plants in your garden:

Ash and salt . Well suited for fertilizing plants at the stage of fruit ripening (July, August). To prepare it, a glass of ash is mixed with 1 tbsp. salts and dissolve in 10 liters of warm water. The resulting substrate should be left for at least an hour, after which 0.5 liters of solution should be poured under each bush. It is strictly not recommended to spray plantings with it.
Ash with iodine and boric acid . This solution can be used as root and foliar fertilizer at the beginning of fruit set, at the end of June and in subsequent months. This fertilizing improves the quality of the fruit and increases the plant's resistance to disease. 1 kg of ash needs to be boiled in 10 liters of water, after which 30 drops of iodine and 1 tsp of boric acid are added.
Ash and yeast . This feed is prepared in two stages. First you need to make a mash of 10 g of yeast, a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar and three liters of water. The ingredients are mixed, after which the substrate is placed in a warm place for several days, depending on the temperature at which it will all ferment. As soon as the vigorous solution reaches, a glass of ash is poured in and the volume of the solution is added to 10 liters. Each bush at the root is “treated” to a half-liter glass of this heady cocktail. This fertilizer is effective for fertilizing seedlings in the spring (April, May), as well as the growth of young bushes until the end of June.
Ash and grass . Many weeds that are easy to find in every area will be an ideal addition to the ash solution (nettle, burdock, etc.). They are poured into a container, filled with double the volume of warm water and left for a week, stirring occasionally. 300 g of ash is added to the resulting herbal infusion. This type of fertilizer is used for root feeding based on the calculation of 600 ml per bush.

What and why to pour ash infusion

Water extracts from plant ash are a very useful remedy for the garden. Strained infusion of ash is an effective root and foliar feeding of all cultivated plants, rich in phosphorus and potassium salts, which are in a form bioavailable to the root system and above-ground parts of seedlings, as well as a whole complex of microelements.

Ash infusion should be used to enrich the following crops with nutrients: the nightshade family (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant); pumpkin (cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin); onion; cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, radish, radish); legumes (peas, beans, beans); greens (dill, parsley).

Ash is not suitable for crops that love acidic soil: rhododendron, azalea, hydrangea, conifers, sorrel.

You cannot combine fertilizing with ash (phosphorus and potassium predominate) and nitrogen fertilizers, as these substances neutralize each other. At least 20 days should pass between feedings.

And with the help of an ash solution, you can get rid of numerous pests of the garden and vegetable garden: aphids, spider mites, copperheads, cruciferous flea beetles, mollusks, flies, etc. Plants are sprayed with an ash extract with the addition of laundry soap, which improves the adhesion of the insecticide, from early spring to late autumn to prevent the appearance and destruction of the parasite population.

Using ash in the garden

Many garden plantings (lettuce, carrots, pears, etc.) do not tolerate the presence of chlorine in fertilizers, so ash will be an ideal fertilizer for them. But lovers of slightly acidic soils (cranberry, blueberry, mountain ash, juniper, etc.) will react poorly to adding ash to the soil.

Digging the soil mixed with ash in autumn and spring will help get rid of some annoying weeds (wheatgrass, woodlice, horsetail, etc.), since they do not like alkaline soil.

90% of those vegetables that grow in the average garden in Russia need such fertilizer, both in Moscow and in the Urals and Siberia.

General rules for fertilizing with ash in the garden

It is recommended to dig up the beds in which dill and onions will be planted next year in the spring, in the fall, along with ash at the rate of 1 cup per square meter. In this way, you will not only improve soil aeration, but also have a preventive effect against root rot.
Potatoes are one of the most popular plants on the site; to increase productivity in the spring, dig up the site of future plantings along with ash, adding a glass of ash per 1 square meter of field. Another option is to pour ashes directly into the dug hole, but a little, no more than 2 tbsp. It is important to remember that pure ash should absolutely not be used; be sure to mix it with soil. After it’s time to hill up the potatoes, you can dig 1 cup of ash into the bush for better growth.
For zucchini, squash and cucumbers, you can add 1 tbsp. ash when preparing the bed and digging the soil, or pour 1 tablespoon of ash into the hole, after mixing it with the soil.
For cabbage, dig up the soil in the future bed along with ash (1 tbsp per 1 sq. m). The same feeding method is suitable for various salad greens, radishes and peas. Twice as much ash will be needed for the soil where peppers, eggplants or tomatoes will be planted. When planting them in the ground, you can also add a handful of ash to the holes.
You can also water the beds with garlic with an ash solution (1 liter of ash per bucket of water, leave for two hours) at the rate of 5 liters of infusion per 1 sq.m.

Contraindicated components for fertilizers with ash are any nitrogen mineral fertilizers: ammonium nitrate, ammophos, ammonium sulfate.

Feeding seedlings with ash

Seedlings can be fed with ash fertilizers only when the plant has two full leaves. Otherwise, the substances contained in the ash may have a detrimental effect on the growth of crops.

By observing all the necessary proportions, you can prepare an excellent solution that is suitable for disinfecting the material used for sowing:

It is recommended to soak the seeds for 3-6 hours in an ash solution that has been strained and infused for a day or two under a closed lid (20 g of ash per 1 liter of water). Suitable for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants.
If the plant is propagated by tubers and bulbs, then this material is treated with a solution of the same concentration, but the dosage is tripled due to the increased volume.

cucumbers

Ash for feeding cucumbers can be used in different ways:

When preparing the bed: each square meter is dug up with the addition of 1 tbsp. ashes.
Before planting seeds: add 1-2 tbsp to each hole. spoons of ash mixed with sand.
Feeding the seeds after planting: the beds are dusted with ash, after which they are watered.
Treatment of the bush: prepare a solution of 1 liter of water and 3 tbsp. spoons of ash. It is infused for 24 hours, after which it is filtered. The liquid is used for irrigation at the rate of 0.5 liters per bush.
Pest control: dusting plantings helps fight rot.

Tomatoes and peppers

When preparing holes for planting tomatoes and different varieties of peppers, add 1 tbsp to each of them. l. ashes, dusting them with earth. If ash gets on the roots of plants in its original form, it will certainly cause severe chemical burns, which will lead to the death of the plantings.

When digging up the ground for tomatoes and peppers, you can add ash to it (1-3 tbsp of substance per 1 sq.m.). Repeated feeding with ash is carried out during the growing season, sprinkling ash on the ground, while making a retreat from the roots. After processing is completed, the bed must be watered. Another available option is to immediately spill the soil with an ash solution, avoiding contact directly with the plants themselves.

Cabbage

For cabbage, ash will not only be an excellent fertilizer, but also a good helper in resisting the attack of fungus and aphids. To do this, when digging up the ground, 1 cup of ash is added to each square meter of soil, and another handful of ash is placed in the hole immediately before planting, mixing it with the soil.

Mullein is also excellent for fertilizing cabbage plantings. The fertilizing is prepared as follows: 2 liters of mullein and ash are diluted in 10 liters of water. After 1.5 liters of the resulting infusion is diluted in another 10 liters of water. This is the fertilizer that is used to water cabbage.

Healthy! Ammonia is perfect as a feed for cabbage in the early stages of its growth, since at this time it needs nitrogen for growth and as protection against pests. By the way, ammonia deoxidizes the soil, and cabbage does not like acidic soil at all. Plantings need to be treated once every 14 days. Here's how to prepare fertilizer: 2 tbsp. 10% alcohol is diluted in 10 liters of water, for a better effect you can add 1 tbsp. liquid tar soap. Water cabbage leaf by leaf with this solution in the evening or when it is cloudy and the ground is wet.

Carrots and beets

Carrots and beets, like many other vegetables used in salads in our kitchen, can be easily managed by adding ash to the soil once before planting (1 tbsp per 1 sq.m.).

Zucchini

Fertilizing zucchini depends on the type of soil. For normal soil, it is enough to feed 1 tbsp. ash per 1 sq. meter before digging the ridge. Add 1 tbsp to the well. l. ashes. If the soil contains few nutrients, then additional fertilizing will be needed during the flowering period, calculating 1 tbsp. ash per 1 sq.m.

Potato

For potatoes, ash is needed in smaller quantities. This root crop, with an excess of certain microelements contained in the ash, becomes susceptible to certain root diseases (rhizoctoniosis, scab).

Before planting the planting material, pour no more than 2 tbsp into the prepared hole. tablespoons of ash, which should be mixed with the ground to avoid burns to the planting material. To prepare the field, 200 g of ash is poured onto each square meter of soil and dug up. As soon as the growing season begins, the potatoes can be fed during the first hilling with 1-2 tbsp. spoons of ash. During the second hilling, 100 g of ash is used per bush.

Fertilizing seedlings

It is worth starting to take care of the harvest long before the seedlings begin to delight the owner with succulent foliage. We disinfect them and stimulate the active development of seeds: soak them in an ash solution for five hours.

Then, before lowering the seed into the hole, add a mixture of ash and soil to it. In order not to damage the roots with a high concentration of wood dust, take a liter jar of soil, pour it into a container and add a tablespoon of our product there. This will avoid diseases that traditionally affect seedlings.

If the soil is not fertilized and the seedlings are already rooted, you can feed them with an ash solution. The first such watering is carried out a week after planting (12 grams of “gold from the stove” per 1 liter of water). Stir, leave for a day, filter and water at the root.

Spraying of young, just planted stems can be done with the same decoction. A surface spray will repel harmful insects from the leaves.

Using ash in the garden

You can fertilize garden trees and shrubs in your dacha with ash.

Before planting young seedlings in the soil, 1-2 kg of ash mixed with soil can be added to each hole; from the same calculation, ash is added before digging the ground.
Grape plantings can be fed up to 4 times per season (May, July, August, September). Treatment with ash solution is carried out in the evening, its concentrate is diluted in a ratio of 1:5.
Ash will be an excellent fertilizer for black currants. Under each bush you need to add 3 cups and immediately embed them in the soil.

Ash is great for feeding cherries, cherries, apple trees, pears, and plums.

If you plan to plant strawberries or wild strawberries in the garden, then in the fall you should add ash to the site of future planting at the rate of 1 tbsp. per 1 sq. m. And in the spring, before mulching the soil, you can sprinkle a little ash between the rows of berries before watering. This manipulation can be repeated during the period when the first berries appear. Before the strawberries bloom, it is recommended to feed them with an ash solution, to which it is recommended to add 2 g of potassium permanganate and boric acid, diluting it all in a large bucket of warm water. Spraying should be done in the early morning or evening.

Fertilizer methods

You can feed the soil, as well as use ash decoctions, powder or solution in the garden in different ways. Their choice depends on the ultimate goal of preventive measures.

Feeding the roots

Adding ashes directly to the roots is effective. The main rule here is not to pour pure powder and not to spread the roots on it. Be sure to mix the ash with soil or other ingredients, and only then start planting.

At the stage of planting seedlings, each hole requires from one to three tablespoons of the substance. A glass of gray “flour” is added to bushes at the time of rooting, and about a kilogram is added to fruit trees.

Foliar fertilizer for plants

Foliar feeding primarily includes sprinkling and spraying with bulk matter.

Sprinkles

You can scatter the remains from the fire in the garden throughout the season.

When fruits begin to set on trees and shrubs, wood suspension is not only scattered around the trunk, but also on the leaves to repel pests. In the fall, this substance is added to the soil during pre-winter digging.

Ash is also sprinkled on layers of compost to improve decomposition processes. Proportion – per 3 square meters of area – 1 cup of powder. You cannot sprinkle ash on top of the soil and leave it in that state. The earth becomes covered with a hard crust, preventing air access to the root system. Pollination can also be useful if the roots of the shrub are damaged. This approach will help them recover as soon as possible.

Spraying

The spraying process is carried out either with an ash solution or with a strained decoction. The object of spraying can be not only stems and foliage, but also tubers and seeds of garden crops. Spraying is done with a spray bottle, so the mixture must be filtered before use.

With direct access of the powder to the vegetative organs, its microelements are absorbed more quickly by the plant than when sprinkled under the roots. This method allows you to get a denser foliage cover, brighter bud colors and, at the same time, get rid of a number of pests and fungi. The inner part of the leaf is more susceptible to fertilizers, while the outer side of the plate has more protective functions. Therefore, when spraying, you need to treat not only the stem and top of the leaves, but also their underside.

Using ash for flowers and indoor plants

Ash is often used to feed indoor plants. To do this, dissolve 3 tablespoons of ash in 1 liter of water, after which the infusion is left for a week, stirring occasionally. Before use, it must be strained and diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3. A liter pot will require 100 ml.

If your indoor flowers are attacked by aphids or fleas, dusting the leaves with ash or spraying with the prepared solution according to the recipe above will help. The only addition is to add a few drops of liquid soap to it. After treatment, the flowers should be protected from direct sunlight for about a week.

It is also useful to treat garden flowers with ash. Roses will be especially grateful to you for this. They are either watered with an ash solution, infusing 100 g of ash in 10 liters of water. To prepare a solution for spraying ash for the same volume, you need to take twice as much liquid.

To feed lilies, clematis, peonies and gladioli, you can prepare an ash solution, as for indoor flowers.
For 1 sq. m of planting, 300 ml of substrate is sufficient. Before planting, you can place 10 g of ash in each hole, after mixing it with the soil. This feeding is suitable for orchids. Pour 3 tbsp into a 1 liter jar. ash, pour 1 liter of boiling water, stir. The jar is closed with a lid, wrapped in several layers of newspaper and left to infuse for two days. Afterwards, the infusion is filtered through cheesecloth twice. It cannot be used in this form; it must be diluted before application, namely: for root feeding - 100 ml of infusion per 1 liter of water; for foliar - 10 ml of infusion per 250 ml of water.

Fertilizing with ash and petunias is suitable. During flowering, petunia can be fed with a mixture of double superphosphate and ash: 500 g of ash is sifted through a fine sieve, poured with 10 liters of water and left to infuse for several days under a closed lid. Then add 30 g of double superphosphate to the ash infusion and mix. Water with this infusion at the rate of one liter per bush.

Feeding flowers with ash

Ash fertilizer is especially useful for roses, lilies, clematis, gladioli and peonies. When planting seedlings of flower crops, 5-10 g of ash are placed in each hole.

Flowers that have been attacked by pests are evenly dusted with an infusion of ash (with the addition of soap). Do this in the morning in calm weather due to dew or after rain. During drought, plants can be sprayed with water at room temperature before treatment.

Now you know how to prepare fertilizer from ash and how to use it correctly in the vegetable garden, garden and flower garden. This organic fertilizer is not only good for plants, but also safe for people and pets.

Proper storage of ash fertilizers

The ashes should be scooped out of the oven with a large scoop and placed in a dish without cracks to avoid the ingress of excess moisture. Gardeners recommend building a fire either on a sheet of iron or in a metal fireproof container. This way it will be as convenient as possible to collect ash. And the best thing is to place a metal mesh there, where you put all the organic matter before setting it on fire. After the end of combustion, large residues are easily separated from fine ash.

You should not delay collecting ashes. The longer it sits in the air, the more nutritional properties it will lose due to exposure to moisture. The collected ash should be kept in an airtight container to prevent it from becoming damp. It is advisable to choose a cool, dark place for long-term storage.

Ash obtained as a result of combustion of the following objects is absolutely not suitable for feeding:

Plastic, newspapers and magazines, polyethylene, rubber and other household waste. Such ash will not only not help the plant, but will also easily cause the death of the plantings.
Organic matter collected along major highways and industrial sites. Most likely, such ash will contain increased levels of lead concentration.
Wooden boards, furniture made of wood or chipboard. The ash will certainly contain remnants of varnish, paint and glue, which could have been used to connect the elements of objects.

Under suitable conditions, ash can be stored from 6 months to several years. The main thing is to prevent moisture from entering, otherwise some of the beneficial properties will be lost. Due to getting wet, potassium will evaporate first.

Ash from fuel briquettes, as a rule, can be used as ordinary ash to deoxidize the soil for planting vegetables. True, you definitely need to look at the composition, since sometimes unscrupulous manufacturers use glue to prevent the product from falling apart. In this case it cannot be used. Ash from briquettes should not be used as fertilizer.

Top dressing from nettles and ash

Fresh nettles are often used to make “green fertilizers”. An infusion of fresh nettle and other weeds (shepherd's purse, tansy) is prepared for 5-7 days, adding the Baikal preparation or a little yeast (fresh bread or crackers) to speed up fermentation. To enhance the effect of fertilizing, add ash to the container with grass, approximately 200 g per 15 liters. Before use, the finished infusion is diluted 7 times with clean water. It is used for feeding all vegetable crops, except garlic, onions, and legumes.

How can you replace ash?

Ash helps normalize soil acidity. But if your soil is highly acidified and there is no ash, then other fertilizers can be used, for example, lime or dolomite flour. To breed them, the following proportions must be observed:

Name	Medium acid soil	Acidic soil
Dolomite flour	400 g per 1 sq.m.	500 g per 1 sq.m.
Lime fluff	300 g per 1 sq.m.	500 g per 1 sq.m.

Preparation of ash solution

To improve garden crops, ash solution is most often used. It is diluted simply and is ready for use immediately after preparation. If we are talking about a solution for soaking seeds, then take 200 g of water and dissolve a teaspoon (2 grams) of sulfur suspension in it. The seeds are disinfected in it for two to five hours (depending on size), dried and sent to cups with soil.

To work on the scale of the entire garden, take one and a half glasses of powder (150 grams) per bucket of water and, without allowing solid particles to settle to the bottom, the contents of the bucket are poured under the trees.

Is it possible to fertilize citrus fruits with ash?

It is possible, and sometimes even necessary. Especially if the citrus plant grows in your orchard in an atypical climate. Ash will help him adapt better and increase his vitality.

Did you know? Estonia has begun to use granulated oil shale ash as fertilizer. The opportunity to granulate oil shale ash into fertilizer has been awaited for decades. A test batch of granules was produced in Germany, but by the end of 2022 it is planned to open a fertilizer plant in Ida-Viru County in Estonia itself.

Ash decoction

It takes more time to prepare the ash decoction. This is a more effective feeding with a prolonged effect on the root system.

You can prepare the decoction in this way:

Ash powder in a ratio of 1: 3 is poured with boiling water and left for several days;
Ash in a ratio of 1: 2 is boiled for 30-45 minutes over low heat;
Cool and dilute with cold water 1:10.

The decoction is used for root feeding and spraying of cucumbers. When spraying, you can add a pre-prepared soap solution to it.

Deposit at the right time

You need to add ash at different times of the year and depending on the composition of the soil on the site. If there is clay or loam, then in the fall; if there are light sandy or peaty soils, then it is better to do this in the spring. When ash is applied to the soil correctly, it will work for at least 2-4 years. It is very effective against fungal plant diseases. Therefore, it is good to sprinkle it on the plantings and add it directly to the hole when planting cabbage, cucumbers, and tomatoes. This will protect against root rot.

It is best to fertilize your site with ash in several stages:

During digging (100 grams, which is about one glass, per square meter);
Directly during planting of the crop - during planting, it is necessary to add ash in the amount of one or two matchboxes to each hole;
When hilling the beds - approximately two tablespoons for each bush of a cultivated plant;
During the budding period, when the bushes become quite large, you will need half a glass of wood ash for each bush of the plant.

Why fertilize seedlings with ash?

Ash is an economically justified and inexpensive means of complex action (fertilizer, insecticide, disinfection, soil deoxidizer), with a completely natural composition. It is easy to obtain by organizing a place for burning branches and grass without financial investments, and at the same time clearing the area of dead wood and branches cut from the garden.

When using ash fertilizers:

More intense metabolism occurs in the plant.
Plant growth is activated.
Biochemical processes are normalized.
There is no chlorine in the ash - this is good, since many crops are very sensitive to it and may die.
Repels pests.
Soil acidity decreases.

Rhododendrons, azaleas, blueberries and some others do not tolerate ash, so before fertilizing, you should become familiar with the characteristics of the crop.

Benefits for plants and soil

It is no coincidence that wood ash has been loved by gardeners and gardeners since ancient times. She:

loosens the soil structure;
reduces acidity;
contains macro- and microelements in a plant-friendly form;
creates a favorable soil environment for the development of microorganisms;
disinfects the soil, destroying fungal spores;
improves the quality of compost;
allows you to effectively combat different types of pests and plant diseases.

Universal recipes for ash feeding

Soaking the seeds

Use only the following solution:

the ashes are diluted with water in a ratio of 1 tsp. per 1 liter of liquid;
insist for a day;
soak the seeds for 5-6 hours before sowing.

Soaking seeds in an ash solution is considered a way to disinfect seed material and accelerate seed germination.

Adding to soil

Dry ash is mixed with soil to improve its quality composition. For this:

the soil is loosened and holes are made;
mix earth and ashes in a 1:1 ratio;
the resulting composition is poured onto the bottom of the hole.

Adding ash directly to the soil is one of the methods of soil deoxidation.

Fertilizer

Use an ash solution prepared according to the classic recipe for 3-5 hours. If the goal is to feed the plants without additional disease control, then you can prepare a “quick” solution:

sift the ash;
For 1 liter of warm water take 2 tbsp. ash;
mix well and pour under the root.

When should you not use ash?

Under certain conditions, feeding with ash is prohibited:

if it is mixed with manure;
if even before the first leaves appeared, the seedlings were fed with another fertilizer;
if ash and nitrogen fertilizers are combined;
if the ash is a product of burning painted wood or wood with debris;
ash is not used on alkaline soils.

Important: exceeding the recommended doses in ash fertilizer can negatively affect the condition of the plants.

Which ash is better?

Depending on what exactly was set on fire, the remaining ashes will contain different amounts of elements important for plants. Ash obtained from burning young trees and branches contains more potassium, old ones - more calcium. Firewood from soft trees (linden, spruce, pine, alder, aspen) will leave behind ash with a lower potassium content than hard wood (elm, oak, ash, poplar, larch). Ash from leaves, grass, and weed rhizomes (especially wheatgrass) is rich in potassium.

Carefully! Do not use ash from household garbage, painted wood, newspapers or magazines, as it contains chemicals harmful to plants and soil.

Sprinkle the beds

Ash is an excellent fertilizer. It reduces soil acidity, helps soil microorganisms more intensively decompose organic matter and convert it into compounds accessible to plants. It can be applied to any soil with the exception of carbonate soils that have an alkaline reaction.

Important !

It is not recommended to mix ash with fresh manure, slurry, bird droppings, feces, or ammonium sulfate. It should not be mixed with lime - this will reduce the availability of phosphorus for plants.

It is better to flavor clayey and loamy soils with ash in the fall before digging, light sandy loam and sandy soils in the spring, covering it to a depth of 6–8 cm.

“Kiln gold” can be applied to almost all crops. Root vegetables, all cabbage plants, and potatoes are especially responsive to it. On average, 1–2 kg per 10 m2 is applied to crops.

Ash shows its most magical effect on podzolic and heavy soils. Clay soils consist of small particles that have a large surface area that actively absorbs water. When saturated with water, the clay sticks together into lumps. Wood ash (up to 4–7 kg per 10 m2) makes such soil looser and reduces acidity. The effect of application lasts up to 4 years.

How to prepare an ash solution

In order not to harm the plants, but to help them develop properly, you need to know how to dilute ash for feeding. This is not at all difficult to do: 1 glass of ash should be stirred in a bucket (10 liters) of water. This liquid is usually watered at the roots of plants instead of industrial mineral fertilizer. Before use, the resulting solution must be thoroughly shaken, since a precipitate will form in it. How to prepare an infusion of ash

To prepare a fertilizer that is beneficial for plants, the ash can be infused. To do this, fill the bucket 1/3 with ash, fill it with hot water to the very brim and leave for two days. After which the infusion is filtered and used for root feeding or spraying of garden crops.

Sowing

An infusion of ash is a good growth stimulator when soaking seeds before sowing (we are talking about regular seeds, not coated or granulated. 2 tablespoons of the infusion are poured into 1 liter of hot water, infused for two days, filtered. The seeds are soaked for 6–12 hours.

Disinfection of divisions

It is useful to sprinkle ash on sections of fleshy rhizomes of flowering plants when dividing them.

Growing seedlings

When planting seedlings in the ground, 1-2 tablespoons must be added to each hole. dry ash. This fertilizing will fertilize the soil and help the plants take root better. It is mixed with soil and humus. The supply of nutrients for adaptation and “start” of these plants is provided!

To speed up the growth of seedlings, they need to be pollinated with a thin layer of ash every 8-10 days. This procedure will also protect the plants from pests. When 2-3 true leaves appear on the plants, they should be dusted with a mixture of ash and tobacco dust (in equal proportions). This way you will scare away the cabbage fly, cruciferous flea beetle and other insects from the seedlings.

Ash prevents the development of pathogenic microorganisms in the soil - root rot, cabbage clubroot. Before sowing seeds of vegetable and flower crops for seedlings, it is useful to powder the surface of the substrate with ash sifted through a sieve to protect young shoots from blackleg.

Spraying seedlings: Plants should be sprayed in the evening in calm weather. This treatment can be done 2-3 times a month.

Foliar feeding with ash: Foliar feeding can be carried out not only with an infusion of ash, but also with a decoction. To do this, sift 300 g of ash, pour boiling water and boil for 25-30 minutes. After which the broth is cooled, filtered and diluted with 10 liters of water. To make the fertilizer stick to the leaves better, you need to add 40-50 g of laundry soap to it. Spraying with ash decoction helps protect crops from diseases and pests, in particular from wireworms, aphids, cruciferous flea beetles, nematodes, slugs, and snails.

Slugs are not allowed: If your lettuce, pepper, tomato and other crops are overpowered by slugs and snails, you need to generously sprinkle the soil under the plants with ash. Gastropod pests do not like to crawl on it.

Chemical composition of wood ash

Ash is actively used in growing plants due to the content in it of a large number of micro and macroelements, useful for most crops.

Chemical composition of 100 g of ash:

calcium carbonate – 17 mg;
calcium silicate – 17 mg;
sodium orthophosphate – 15 mg;
calcium sulfate – 14 mg;
potassium – 13 mg;
calcium chloride – 11 mg;
magnesium – up to 4 mg;
sodium chloride – up to 1 mg.

Important: in its pure (dry) form, ash does not contain chlorine.

The chemical composition of ash depends on the type of wood :

deciduous trees contain a lot of calcium;
conifers - phosphorus;
herbaceous - potassium.

Young shoots contain many times more micro and macroelements than old trees.

Feeding with ash: features of use

The quality of the ash is selected depending on the purpose of the product. It is worth understanding that the combustion product of coniferous trees contains a significant amount of trace elements and phosphorus. Old oak contains huge amounts of calcium. And sunflower stems, young shoots, and grass contain a significant amount of potassium. Depending on the deficiency of minerals and trace elements in the soil, it is necessary to choose a certain type of ash. However, almost any of the varieties is well suited as a top dressing.

Feeding with ash, features of use:

Any plant residues, as well as grass that was obtained after removing weeds, have a good effect on the yield of vegetable and garden crops. It is worth remembering that ash is a dry residue that contains salts and various oxides of alkali and earth metals.
Accordingly, in no case should this product be combined with organic fertilizers, as well as fertilizers containing phosphorus and nitrogen. Ash can react with these components to form insoluble salts. Therefore, there will be no benefit from using a large amount of minerals that are used together with ash.
Ash is a fertilizer containing mineral components, so the soil only needs it if there is a deficiency of the components. The ash contains potassium, calcium and magnesium. Only when there is a deficiency of these components is it recommended to apply fertilizer.
However, understanding the deficiency of these minerals is quite simple. If there is a deficiency of potassium, then brown spots appear on the foliage, the upper part of the plant dies, and the leaves fall off from the top. With a lack of calcium and magnesium, the leaves curl into a tube and dry at the tips. Rosebuds stop smelling nice. If you observe similar symptoms in garden plants, it is recommended to apply this mineral fertilizer. It is advisable to use ash fertilizing to improve the growth of potatoes, squash, eggplant and bell peppers, tobacco, and onions. Cabbage responds well to fertilization with this substance.

Advantages and disadvantages

When using ash fertilizers, to obtain a healthy crop and a good harvest, take into account all the features of using ash.

The benefits include:

Efficiency - used not only as a top dressing, but also as a protective agent against numerous pests. Serves as a prevention of fungal diseases.
Natural - fertilizer is obtained by burning natural materials. There are no toxic substances in the composition.
Economical - the cost is lower than other fertilizers and the storage period is long, independent of temperature or humidity.

Flaws:

Long wait for results.
Sharing with nitrogenous types of fertilizers and superphosphate is not allowed.
Not suitable for all crops.

Ash collection and storage

The composition of the ash directly depends on what was in the fire. To obtain good quality ash material, it is advisable to use metal barrels with a hood; in this case, complete combustion of the material occurs. But ash from a fire is also suitable for household use.

To obtain ash:

make a fire, adding the necessary crops to it, depending on what type of ash you want (wood, straw or peat); when the fire goes out, let it cool; sift the ash, as a result you will get a nutritious fertilizer rich in microelements. Store ash in a dry place in a closed container. When preparing ash, infected and diseased plants and household waste (plastic, polyethylene, painted boards) should not be thrown into the fire.

Ash from diseases and pests

To remove insects that harm plants, for example, aphids, flea beetles, and slugs, the affected bushes are treated with a decoction for spraying with the addition of laundry soap. If necessary, the course is repeated several times. For ants that have multiplied in the area, dry ashes are used, sprinkled on the anthill, or used in concentrated liquid form. Using wood ash against a wide variety of pests is a proven and harmless method of exterminating them. In some cases there is no need to use ash.

It is undesirable to apply it to soils with an alkaline reaction, as well as immediately after applying phosphorus and potassium mineral fertilizers, so as not to oversaturate the soil with elements.

Spot application

When feeding vegetables with ash, the first thing you need to consider is the acidity level of the soil. Alkaline soil is not fertilized with ash, because this will lead to even greater alkalization. But adding ash to acidic soil makes its reaction close to neutral. Ash can also be scattered around plants and between rows. Ash solution is most often used for watering vegetables (primarily cucumbers) grown in a greenhouse. In protected soil, root feeding is usually carried out: 0.5-1 liters of liquid ash fertilizer are used per plant.

On a note:

Ash in a compost pile will speed up the decomposition of organic matter. To do this, pour it over each new layer of fresh ingredients (up to one glass per 2–3 m2 of surface).

For fruit or ornamental trees and shrubs, 1–2 kg of “furnace gold” is added to each planting hole: this is how they are fed once every 4 years.

When planting young seedlings of fruit trees and shrubs in the soil to a depth of 8-10 cm, 100-150 g of ash per 1 sq.m. is embedded. This fertilizing promotes rapid adaptation of plants to new conditions and rapid development of the root system. In order to prevent diseases and pests, it is useful to spray fruit and berry plants with ash infusion on the leaves.

Potato

You can dust seed potato tubers with ash before planting (1 kg per 30–40 kg of tubers) - this will protect them from wireworms.

When planting potatoes, you can add 2 tablespoons under the tuber into each hole. ash. When digging the soil, use 1 cup of ash per sq.m. During the growing season, when the potatoes are first hilled, 1-2 tablespoons are added to each bush. ash, and during the second hilling (at the beginning of budding) the rate is increased to 1/2 cup per bush. It is also useful to spray the leaves with ash decoction.