Wood ashes for K?

[Bueno Time]

Ok have read a little bit on this but havent been able to find much.

We have a backyard fire pit and I was wondering if I could collect some of the fine ash and mix that in with some water to water it into the soil and supplement K?

I have read that it is very fast acting but also alkaline and raises pH quite a bit but if I use it in small amounts say a teaspoon per gallon of water (I have a pH meter to check the pH after I do so and see what it comes out at) would this be a viable way of increasing my available K for the plants?

I have several organic nutrients and none of them supplys more than 1 K which if the ash is a good way of supplementing a bit of K that woudl be great.

I have Jamaican guano 1-10-1 and my trio of Neptunes Harvest products have ratios of 0-0-1, 2-3-1, and 2-4-1. I would like to have a little more K for the ladies for flowering.

I know I can add greensand to my mix in the future for more K.

What do you guys think?

 

[Bueno Time]

I was also thinking if it is alkaline if I add a small amount to my acidic nute mixes it could help counteract some of the low pH with the fish hydrolysate or guano teas.

 

[Rusty420]

cucumer skins have a lot of K when made into ash...im thinkin the same.. i would also like to suplement K, my mix seems to have plenty P...

I dont have access to lots of wood ashes, or live in the country...

 

[rrog]

corncob ash [0-0-25]

 

[bonsai]

I mix citric acid or lemon juice into an ash and water mix to reduce the PH. I measured it when I first tried it but now its just rough guess by eye. Seems to work well.

 

[eloquentsoution]

put it in compost tea. works great.

 

[xmobotx]

wood ashes are also a liming agent

 

[Bueno Time]

Awesome guys thanks for the replies!

 

[h.h.]

The potassium will dissolve in the water. Use the water, dump what doesn't dissolve.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Excellent timing of this thread. My OD girls have been showing signs of K deficiency, but the rock dusts I have on hand would take some time to make K available. However, I also live in the country and during winter we heat the house with hardwoods, so I have a BUTTLOAD of wood ash to use. Thanks to all for this additional information, as I'd only used the ashes for bed prepping and hadn't considered solubility at all.

 

[h.h.]

http://cavemanchemistry.com/oldcave/projects/potash/

If we add the ashes to water, the soluble potassium and sodium salts will dissolve while the insoluble silica and calcium carbonate will settle to the bottom. We can then drain off the water (containing the "good stuff") and throw the insoluble material away. To separate the chlorides from the soluble carbonates, we will exploit the greater solubility of the carbonates in hot water. We will bring the liquid to a boil and continue boiling until enough water boils away for an insoluble precipitate to form. This is very likely a mixture of sodium and potassium chloride. From this point, we will continue boiling until half of the remaining water is removed. At this point we can be reasonably certain that only the soluble carbonates remain in solution. We will carefully pour off the hot liquid into another container, leaving the solid material behind. As the liquid cools to room temperature, the less soluble sodium carbonate will precipitate leaving the more soluble potassium carbonate in solution. Finally, the remaining solution can be drained off and boiled to dryness, producing solid potassium carbonate.

http://cavemanchemistry.com/oldcave/projects/potash/

 

[VerdantGreen]

also bear in mind that the wood ash can make your soil very 'gummy' as it forms a kind of paste when wet. use sparingly.

comfrey is a good source of K - either as a liquid feed or powdered dry leaves...

VG

 

[BurnOne]

Use the Neptune's Harvest Seaweed 0-0-1 you already have and you won't need the wood ash.
Burn1

 

[supermanlives]

wood ash works fine. dont over do it . i used ash from my hydronic heating system for years with out any issues

 

[SeaMaiden]

Every winter I'm going to end up with a bunch of wood ash. May as well know how best to use it. Quickies can be goodies.

 

[NOM.ZEB]

leached wood ash can work as a 1-2 pk boost

 

[Dawn Patrol]

I use hardwood ash (among other things) to amend my organic soil mix and have seen good results.

 

[Bueno Time]

When you mix the ash into your soil mix how much do you use per gallon or per cubic foot?

 

[Manijahtor]

1 spoonfull every 1 & a half gallon

 

[h.h.]

What type of wood?