WOOD ASH

Dettagli

THE USE OF WOOD ASH

Ash is nothing more than the solid residue of wood combustion. It has the consistency of a very fine powder, and the color has shades of gray scale.
For home heating, wood cut from trees such as oak, beech, fir, pine, poplar, chestnut, acacia is usually used.

What elements does wood ash contain?

Wood ash contains these main elements which are:

• Football, in percentages varying from 25 to 40%, I remember that football is the expression or physical messenger of Libra

• Potassium, from 5 to 30% expression or messenger of Virgo

• Phosphorus, from 1.3 to 20% expression or messenger of Cancer

• Magnesium, from 1.3 to 16% expression or messenger of Sagittarius

• Silica in trace amounts under 1%, expression or messenger of Aries

• Carbonates, expression or messenger of Scorpio

• Oxides expression or messenger of Aquarius

• Sodium expression or messenger of the Vergne

• Iron, element of Mars

• Boron

• Copper element of Venus

These are substances that are appreciated by plants, as they come from living things, by most plants, this because they guarantee healthy and balanced development.
For example, phosphorus is needed during flowering periods, while potassium helps a lot in the ripening of fruits.
The nourishment that wood ash gives to the soil is not complete, in fact nitrogen and carbon are completely missing. In any case, a large quantity of calcium is present.
The other elements (potassium, phosphorus and magnesium) are mineral salts that the ash makes available gradually. This is thanks to its slow degradation period.

The effects of ash on soil and plants

Wood ash as the first element provides calcium, which has a basic action in the soil. This increases its alkalinity.
So, if you have slightly acidic soil, using ash in fertilization is advantageous and you can use higher dosages.
If, however, your soil is calcareous, alkaline and compact, using ash can create unfavorable conditions for plants.
Ash should be avoided, however, especially if we grow acidophilic species, which love acid soils (with a pH lower than 5.5).

This is a list of the main acidophilic plants and trees: Azalea, Camellia, Strawberry Tree, Erica, Gardenia, Magnolia, Mimosa , Blueberry, Hydrangeas, Rhododendrons, White Fir, Spruce, Japanese Maple, Birch, Chestnut. Beech tree

How to distribute wood ash on the ground

Never use the ash as it is but only after:

• having soaked it in water and dynamized it for 20 minutes and then sprayed it

• or use it in bd composting (1% of the total weight of bd compost)

For direct use in the soil it is recommended not to exceed 25 kg per 100 m2 of soil, approximately 200/300 g m2. It is useful to mix the ash with very fine cornflour in equal parts.
To fertilize the soil of winter crops it is useful to sprinkle a little ash and corn hoof before earthing. This is carried out on crops such as cauliflower , broccoli , cabbage and cabbage .
According to the community directive, the use of ash as a fertilizer is permitted in organic farming EEC Reg. 834/07.

Other uses of wood ash

In country life ash has always accompanied farmers and housewives. Very famous, for example, is lye, a natural cleansing soap, which is easily obtained from wood ash. In the past, this soap was used for laundry and more.

Ash can also perform an anti-parasitic function in the soil in the biological defense against slugs and aerial insects.

For slugs, use the ash as is as a border on salad beds or wherever we want to keep them away.

1 kg of ash left to soak one evening in 10 liters of water and with the addition of 200 grams of potassium silicate to make it more sticky to the leaves and then sprayed on the vegetables tends to create an "irritating" patina for insects and in the at the same time it becomes an excellent foliar fertilizer. To be repeated approximately every 20 days.