What benefit is it to put ashes on my garden?

Ashes from wood that hasn't been treated with chemicals can be used for improving garden soil because they are an excellent source of potassium, phosphorous, and trace minerals. But don't use ashes from charcoal briquettes because they often contain petroleum products that may be toxic to soil microbes and plants.

Be careful on how much & how often & where you add the ashes to your garden. Since wood ashes contain roughly 70 percent calcium carbonate ( lime), which is alkaline... too much of it can quickly increase soil pH beyond the acceptable range of 6.8 to 7.2. Check to see if your plants like an acid or a more alkaline soil, & test the soil before applying. "Soils that are acid and low in potassium benefit from wood ash. However, acid-loving plants such as blueberries, cranberries, rhododendrons and azaleas would not do well at all with an application of wood ash."

http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/frederi...

Apply no more than 20-25 pounds per 1,000 square feet (or a five-gallon pail full of wood ash). This source recommends applying once every two or three years.

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_gardening_basics/artic...

"Twenty pounds of wood ash is equivalent to six pounds of ground limestone per thousand square feet. If the soil is in the proper pH range, this rate of application is considered appropriate for yearly treatments." Limestone takes 6 months to take effect, but wood ash quickly changes the soil pH.

http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/homegrnd/htms/woodsh...

"Wood ash can be used to repel insects, slugs and snails because it draws water out of these invertebrates. Sprinkle ash around the base of your plants to discourage surface-feeding insects. Once ash gets wet, it loses its deterring properties. Too much ash can increase pH or accumulate high levels of salts that can be harmful to some plants, so use ashes carefully...Wood ash should never be applied to areas where potatoes will be planted as ash can promote potato scab."

http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/frederi...

Good luck!!! Hope this helps.

If I'm not mistaken I believe it changes the acidity of the soil. It will the raise the ph balance of the soil. If your soil already has a high ph then you may not want to treat with ashes. And the type of ash is important. Fireplace and wood burning stove ash os supposed to be the best b/c of the remain from the wood has certain elements that are good for soil. The best thing to do would be to get a soil test done to see if it would be detremental to the garden.

Not charcoal ashes though!!! If you are burning wood or all-wood briquets, then you can put it in the garden - especially on roses - but do not add charcoal ashes to the garden or the compost pile because there are too many other chemicals in those - put those in a paper bag and put the paper bag in a garbage bag and send it to the landfill.

commercial charcoal briquets that are actually not created from a hundred% timber product do incorporate supplies that are actually not sturdy to combine into your soil. except they're a hundred% timber, placed them interior the trash incredibly.