Is wood ash benificial for trees

[peatff]

I put the ash from our log burner round the bottom of the two apple trees and it's done them no harm over the last 20 years. It's only a bucketful per week between two small trees and I water it in after applying it.

[cornish wood burner]

Thanks for the info guys. Certainly more than I was expecting but all useful.

[openspaceman]

If every farmer knew how to make charcoal and sourced the timber from their un managed hedgerows then put the end product back in the ground there would be no need for pesticides, but guess what the big companies have too much power and the chemicals keep their wallets full. the answer is yes it is beneficial

 

 

I'd not go as far as you as extolling the benefits is all cases but I did successfully make a high ash biochar by running a chip stoker on low primary are and speeding up the grate.

 

The biochar was well cooked and high pH as a result so would have worked better on acid soils growing veg rather than horticultural stuff like rhododendron.

[sandspider]

Wood ash (never coal ash) is supposed to be good for fruit trees (high potassium content IIRC). Though it can also increase soil alkalinity, so don't do it round acidic soil loving trees.

 

I've put it on my plum tree for a while (and other areas of the garden when I have too much) and everything seems to be growing well. Good crops on the plum tree too.