Wood ash is often used in agriculture. It is used as a means of improving the structure of the soil and enriching it with phosphorus and potassium. It gives strength to plants and helps fight pests that eat delicate seedlings. Furnace ash is the most readily available fertilizer, containing several different trace elements necessary for plant growth.
What chemicals does ash consist of as fertilizer
Wood ash is used as a fertilizer at the beginning of the summer cottage season, when planting of vegetable crops begins. It contains inorganic minerals that are found in trees and herbaceous plants and are not burned in a fire. Ash is very useful for fertilizing the soil. Its use is beneficial in that it does not contain chlorine, which is harmful to nightshade and berry crops.
Ash belongs to phosphorus-potassium fertilizers, enriched with many trace elements that are easily soluble in water. If the soil is poor in potassium or the plant needs it in large quantities, then it is good to use the ash remaining after burning the stems of sunflower and buckwheat straw. They are also rich in ash formed after using birch and pine firewood, which is well suited as a fertilizer.
Wood ash contains a large amount of calcium, which has the ability to neutralize the acidity of the soil. If horsetail grows on the site, then the introduction of dry ash for spring digging will effectively affect not only soil fertility, but also neutralize acidity.
Ash as a fertilizer contains various micro- and macroelements that increase fruiting several times. It:
- boron
- iron
- magnesium
- sulfur
- manganese
- molybdenum
The presence of these chemical elements in wood ash makes it one of the most popular fertilizers in agriculture, which is safe and convenient to use.
Under what crops, when and how ash is applied
Fertilization with ash is used when transplanting currants, raspberries. It is used when tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are planted in the ground. If fertilization with plant ash occurs by adding it to the holes, then take half a glass of wood ash and mix thoroughly with the soil so that the young root system does not burn.
Since potatoes greatly impoverish the soil over the season, annual fertilization is required on the land that was used for its cultivation. Good results are obtained by using wood ash. The average application rate is 50 g / m2. Processing potato tubers with ash before planting allows you to increase the yield of root crops and the starch content in them. It is best to powder the tubers a few days before planting so that the trace elements penetrate under the skin of the potato. This will greatly improve the quality of the planting material.
When ash is added to the compost heaps, the process of its maturation is accelerated and the compost is additionally enriched with minerals. Ash is taken in an arbitrary amount, evenly scattered over the ripening chernozem, alternating its layers with grass and household waste.
If you are using wood ash as fertilizer, then you do not need to use nitrogen with it. It will turn into ammonia and evaporate, and phosphorus, as a result of chemical reactions, will turn into an inaccessible form for plants. Fertilization with ash helps summer residents to get good annual harvests of vegetables without extra money.
