Ash and charcoal - what will grow?

Gardening to 'grow your own food' from square foot to half an acre !!
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Ryan
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Ash and charcoal - what will grow?

Post by Ryan »

Afternoon all - after a morning of clearing the veggie patch I thought I would have a five minute sit down and ask some advice from the experts!

Is there a veg that would be happy in a bed of a third old chicken bedding (straw and sawdust), a third charcoal and ash and a third compost?

Am I right in saying the ash will make the soil more acidic - am I looking at things such as blueberries? Would rhubarb be happy with its feet sat in that?

Thanks for and advice :)
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billnorfolk
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Re: Ash and charcoal - what will grow?

Post by billnorfolk »

Hi Ryan

Most things will grow in any media ,its how well they grow i suppose that is the main question.Rhubarb from my own experience likes a rich well drained soil ,i like to put lots of well rotted manure around my plants every year .Blueberries do like an acid soil and grow well in pine forests,rotted leaves dug into the soil helps .Now straw bedding on its own apart from helping to break up heavy soils doesn't offer much in the way of nutrients to the soil ,wood ash in moderation is a good source of potash,roses,fruits,tomatoes etc.Charcoal seems to take for ever to break down and may dry the bed out ,sawdust not ideal to add to soil as it rots it the tends to deplete the nitrogen in the soil .Them ingredients at the very bottom of the bed with at least 6 to 8 in of compost or well rotted manure on top shouldn't be a problem .
A leek in the hand,is worth 2 in the roof.

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Ryan
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Re: Ash and charcoal - what will grow?

Post by Ryan »

Thanks Bill - I haven't got the compost yet and I know I can get my hands on some horse muck so I might top up with that and leave it to do its thing. Shame really, was hoping to move my rhubarb into that bed as I need to split a few crowns.

Thanks again for the advice :)
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