Using wood ash in the garden

A few weeks ago I was walking the garden with a friend. My friend happens to be from Kenya and I’ve learned so much from her over the few years she and her family have been in the US. My large kale plant had an aphid infestation and I don’t know about you, but aphids are hard for me to get rid of. Partly because I’m not as diligent as I should be and partly because I’m scared to use anything on my plants that *might* hurt the bees. So, I usually do nothing.

I asked my friend what they do in her country for aphids and she said they sprinkle wood ash on the plants. Really??? Using wood ash in the home garden was new to me. So the next evening, I got some ash from the smoke belly of our smoker and sprinkled some on the kale and the green beans that were next to them. I noticed that the pill bugs – we have an infestation right now – didn’t like the ash and were running from it. The next day, there was a noticeable reduction in aphids on the kale and green beans. I don’t know if they just left and took up residence somewhere else or if they died but my interest has been piqued.

Want to know what I’ve learned?

Let’s start with the Don’ts….

• Ash is alkaline so don’t use it on acid loving plants like blueberries, azaleas, mums, pecans, oak, mountain laurels, sweet potatoes
• Don’t use wood ash on regular potatoes – it might encourage potato scab
• Don’t use ash on seedlings because there is too much salt in it for them
• Don’t use ash if you already know your soil is alkaline – if you’re unsure you can have it tested
• Don’t use ash from anything other than just wood – no charcoal or briquettes, no plastic or styrofoam, no fake wood from the fire place, etc.
• Don’t use ash from burning treated wood

Now the Do’s…

• Sprinkle ash on and around plants to deter pests. The ash tends to suck the water out of the insect, they don’t like that
• Put a ring of ash around plants to keep slugs away
• There are some plants that just LOVE wood ash; plants like tomatoes, broccoli, collards, lilacs and roses
• You can add wood ash directly to the compost bin – just don’t overload it or you’ll mess up your mix
• Sprinkle over your lawn as a fertilizer

Obviously, I wouldn’t go around just burning tree limbs to get wood ash, but most of us have a fireplace – either inside or out- that we can get wood ash from to use in the garden.

Another thing to point out is that when it rains, the wood ash has to be reapplied to deter pests.

One last thing, my son read that wood ash will help keep algae from growing in water. A little goes a long way here, you only need 1 Tablespoon to treat 1000 gallons of water.

So, as you’re cleaning out those fireplaces or having campfires this summer, don’t throw away the ashes, use them to have a great garden this year.

Lastly, it’s a good idea to keep notes on your observations of using wood ash in the garden. I keep a gardening notebook that is now full of information about what has worked and what hasn’t in our garden.

Do you you use wood ash in the garden? Let us know in the comments so we can all learn.

Thanks for sharing with your friends!