Good afternoon, my reader. Ashes left after burning firewood, foliage, cut branches contain substances useful to plants. This top dressing provides the soil with the necessary potassium and phosphorus. Which plants need ash fertilization, and which crops is it contraindicated?
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Wood ash application
Wood ash not only enriches the soil with nutrients, but also deacidifies the soil. It is alkaline and is a good alternative to dolomite flour and chalk if necessary to neutralize acidic soil. This will come in handy for the following crops:
- in the beds where cabbage grows: top dressing will prevent keela, one of the most common diseases of this plant;
- for onions and garlic: thanks to the addition of ash powder, the bulbs will be larger and dry spots will not form on them;
- root crops will be uncomfortable in acidic soil, they will not be able to form a long central root, for this they need a slightly alkaline or neutral soil.
In addition to being applied to open ground, ash should also be used for feeding seedlings in a ratio of 1 glass to 1 bucket of earth.
Ash powder feeding methods
- Berry bushes (all types of currants, gooseberries, cherries) need annual feeding with wood ash. It is customary to apply fertilizer in a dry form, under each shrub about a kilogram, while embedding the substance into the soil with a hoe. When it rains, moisture will transfer beneficial trace elements to the root system, and they will give the desired result. To feed the strawberries, use a suspension by adding 2 handfuls of ash to 1 bucket of water. This volume is enough for one square meter of planting.
- Fruit crops also do not interfere with feeding with wood ash. For this, dry fertilizer is applied according to the crown projection. Then the soil in the near-trunk circle must be loosened or dug up.
- Vegetable crops and greens need potassium at the time of the formation of flower brushes and ovaries, this substance can be provided by feeding them with ash. When the first clusters have formed on cucumbers, tomatoes and other garden crops, it is time to add wood ash. 2-3 glasses of powder per 10 liters of water is enough to fertilize 1 m 2 of soil. The optimal frequency of fertilization is once every 2 weeks.
- Potatoes and other root vegetables are prone to scab disease if they grow on acidic soil with excess nitrogen. Growths of the skin are formed on root crops, and small lateral roots are formed in carrots instead of one large one. To prevent such a problem, use the same solution as for fertilizing garden crops, watering the root crops every 2-3 weeks.
- Top dressing of cabbage and cucumbers is carried out to enrich the soil with potassium and phosphorus. This will prevent the development of keels on cabbage and will be a good substitute for chlorine fertilizers for cucumbers.
Conifers, raspberries, blackberries should not be fertilized with the studied substance: they prefer acidic soils. Such a measure will not be beneficial for flowering shrubs and sorrel.
Do you know which crops need to be fertilized with wood ash?
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