Back at the start of spring I was needing to dispose of our woodfire ash and plonked some in my compost bin and sprinkled quite liberally across the garden bed which I had reserved for my tomatoes. Only half the length of the garden received the ash. I really wasn't *too* sure I was doing the right thing. This was the trench which was completely sand before I worked on it. I dug it out to about a foot deep and layered the sand with my own compost and a store-bought compost to try and build up the nutritional value of it. However, it can't have been the compost that made a huge difference - but the ash sure has and it's now quite evident. When I first planted my seedlings out into this bed the ones on the left hand side were stronger and larger with the weaklings down the other end. Well, now it has become obvious that the plants on the left are struggling, straggley, pale coloured and just not of the same health, dark green, bushiness of the other side.
(the struggling left side)
(the booming side)
Wood ash provides phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulphur. It is great for neutralising acid soils - and several websites noted specifically that tomatoes love it!
So there you go - here is the living proof.
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