Find out how to use wood ash to improve plant growth. | February 10, 2025

After a pleasant evening in front of the fireplace or your stove, remember to collect the ashes around for recycling. Rich, among other things, in phosphorus, potassium and magnesium, ash has cleaning and degreasing properties, useful in home maintenance, but also beneficial for the garden and vegetable patch. Find out how to use wood ash in cleaning and gardening.

Formerly used for laundry, wood ash has proven to be a biodegradable natural product, useful for both the home and the garden. In fact, it is effective in cleaning and removing stains, but it is also used in the garden to improve plant growth.

What are the uses of wood ash in the home and garden?

• For the garden

– Natural repellent against slugs and snails

Plant enthusiasts, snails and snails can wreak havoc on your garden and vegetable patch by attacking the leaves, fruits and vegetables and even the tubers, bulbs and underground roots of your plants. To protect your greenery, spread dry ash around plants you want to protect, such as lettuces. The ash will then act as a barrier for these harmful gastropods.

– As a fungicide

The ash tree has fungicidal properties, that is, it allows the destruction of parasitic fungi on vegetable plants, fruit trees, but also seedlings. The ash thus prevents the dampening of the seedlings and the white rot that covers some vegetables such as onions.

– As an amendment

Wood ash is rich in minerals and trace elements. However, it is considered a soil improver and not a fertilizer and has the role of improving the state of the soil while maintaining its good structure. That said, ash doesn’t help your plants grow because it doesn’t contain nitrogen. Ash, on the other hand, will strengthen your plants. Use it in addition to natural fertilizers. To do this, spread thin layers of ash on the soil to provide your plants with the potassium, phosphorus or even calcium they need.

– In the compost

Ash is alkaline, meaning its pH is greater than 7. Therefore, it neutralizes the compost when it is too acidic due to the organic waste used, such as coffee grounds or citrus peels. Use ash in limited quantities because, being rich in limestone, it risks compromising the correct aeration of the compost and consequently slowing down the activity of the microorganisms involved in the decomposition of waste.

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