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Ash to soil?

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pakidaho

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Over the years I have heard from various sources that tobacco likes ash. I have tried adding ash to my garden soil but have no clue as to how much I should be adding.
A couple of years ago I must have added too much and things didn't work out well.
I have recently fertilized my tobacco, added a bit of iron and thought I would like to add ash but sure would like to know how much or if it really is all that important.
So far for this season my tobacco is looking very nice, perhaps better than most years, so then is it a matter of why fix something if it ain't broke, or add ash because it will make great plants greater :)

After asking several folks who I consider mentors this question, to date I have yet to receive any answers. Anyone help answer this?
 

skychaser

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Wood ash is about 7% Potassium by weight. So 100 lbs of ash is equal to applying 7 lbs of Potassium. We heat our house with wood and all the ash goes on the field.
 

DonH

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I do the too and it works really well. The only downside to adding too much is that it can make the tobacco burn faster and it will also raise the pH of the soil, so you may have to add stuff to bring it back down to below 6.5.
 

Jitterbugdude

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Get a $20.00 soil test and take all the guess work out of adding or not adding fertilzer to your garden. Too many people make growing tobacco harder than it is.
 

Bigdog

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For best results, do the test. But if you just putter around, love gardening and play it by ear like I do, add the ash. It's natural and wil help with drainage. I put in one cupful per 9 sq feet. Judging by the numbers Skychaser has it can do no harm. If you are woried about ph you can ad a woody compost, wood tends to be more a cidic.
 

vinconco

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Hello guys, new poster here....but a long time gardener.
Wood ash also has a liming effect and can raise PH levels very quickly so go easy or the soil will be to alkaline for growing good tobacco.
 

CT Tobaccoman

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Hello guys, new poster here....but a long time gardener.
Wood ash also has a liming effect and can raise PH levels very quickly so go easy or the soil will be to alkaline for growing good tobacco.

That's good to know, that it raises PH. Does potash raise PH too? I would think that wood ash might provide the benefits of potash. Tobacco doesn't need a lot of potash--it builds up over the years in the fields of commercial growers. A lot of potash in the soil might be what gives a nice white ash to a cigar--or is that phosphorous?

CT
 

vinconco

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That's good to know, that it raises PH. Does potash raise PH too?
CT

Wood ashes contain between 6 and 10 percent potash and around 1.5 percent phosphorous depending on species of wood with hardwoods producing more. As far as the liming effect, I know from experience that you can over do it because I spread my ashes on a 3000 sq ft garden one winter and raised the PH from 6.5 to 7.8 in one winter. It took a few years of green manure crops to bring it back down. If your soil tests at anything above 6.5 PH you should avoid wood ashes.

other natural sources of potash are;
granite dust @ 3-6%
greensand marl @ 7%
Fly Ash @ 12%
 

Bex

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Interesting article, but it doesn't make me keen on putting my coal ash into my garden, frankly. I have even noticed that, when using my wood ash, if I don't mix it in extremely well, it seems to form a hardened paste/cement on the soil which is pretty difficult to work in, once it gets wet.
 

vinconco

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Very good article Bigdog. Not that many people burn coal to heat anymore (I do occasionally) but fly ash is different than what comes out of the bottom of a coal stove so I wouldn't misinterpret the article by emptying the ash bucket into my garden. Just sayin'
 

vinconco

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I understood it that way, but thought that the same nutrients should be left in stove burnt coal ash?

Although coal ashes will lighten heavy soils, there is serious danger of adding toxic quantities of sulfur and iron from this material. Some ashes do not contain these chemicals in toxic quantities, but the coals from various sources are so different that no general recommendations can be made. The safest procedure is to regard all coal ashes as injurious to the soil.

Here is another article that sheds more light on fly ash http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_ash
here's one from the American Coal Ash Association http://www.acaa-usa.org/About-Coal-Ash/CCP-FAQs
Here is a product made from coal ash for agriculture http://www.gypsoil.com/
 
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