How to make potash?
 

Hi i heard potash is a good feed for plants etc but is there a certain type of wood i need to use? also can i use it straight the way after i have made it?

Sorry i posted somewhere else on the forum but thought it maybe better in here

thanks

How to make potash?
 

"Nate420" wrote in message

Hi i heard potash is a good feed for plants etc but is there a certain
type of wood i need to use? also can i use it straight the way after i
have made it?

Sorry i posted somewhere else on the forum but thought it maybe better
in here

If you have a fireplace or a wood burning stove, all you need to do to make
potash is to burn wood to heat your house. You save the ashes from the
fireplace, sieve the ashes to removes the big chunks of charcoal, and then
spread the ashes round the garden in a light (and I do mean light - like
icing sugar [confectioners sugar in US] on the top of a cake. don't waste
the charcoal, crush it and spread that too as it's 'biochar' and good for
the garden.

All wood has some potash. It probably does vary from species to species but
since gardeners used ashes for millenia and couldn't buy a nice plastic bag
of potash and they still managed to garden, I don't think it matters a
tinker's damn what level of potash the wood has.

How to make potash?
 

Nate420 wrote:
Hi i heard potash is a good feed for plants etc but is there a certain
type of wood i need to use? also can i use it straight the way after i
have made it?

Sorry i posted somewhere else on the forum but thought it maybe better
in here

thanks

It's easier to buy it in the form of Potassium sulphate, which you should be
able to buy in a good garden shop. In case you were concerned this is an
approved input under most organic systems. You can make your own by burning
wood but its messy and the resulting ash is quite alkaline which may not
suit your garden. Yes it could be used straight away once it is cool. In
either case apply in small quantities and water in well.

David

How to make potash?
 

"Nate420" wrote in message
...

Hi i heard potash is a good feed for plants etc but is there a certain
type of wood i need to use? also can i use it straight the way after i
have made it?

Sorry i posted somewhere else on the forum but thought it maybe better
in here

thanks




--
Nate420

Careful, there's more than one "potash":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potash

More specific to your question he
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-potash.htm

I'm lucky here to have lots of live oaks on my 5 acres. Trick is to get the
fire hot enough for all to burn so you don't have to mess with any
half-burned stuff removal.

My dad made lye soap a few times when I was young. I remember its not so
good aroma, and how it lightly burned the skin while bathing. In the eyes
or on an open wound was very painful.

How to make potash?
 

In article ,
Nate420 wrote:

Hi i heard potash is a good feed for plants etc but is there a certain
type of wood i need to use? also can i use it straight the way after i
have made it?

Sorry i posted somewhere else on the forum but thought it maybe better
in here

thanks

Any old untreated wood ash.
Originally it was obtained by leaching vegetable ashes and evaporating
the solution in iron pots.
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being
is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the
moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En2TzBE0lp4

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html

How to make potash?
 

In article ,
Nate420 wrote:

Hi i heard potash is a good feed for plants etc but is there a certain
type of wood i need to use? also can i use it straight the way after i
have made it?

Sorry i posted somewhere else on the forum but thought it maybe better
in here

thanks

I said wood ash but as you can see ashes from any, untreated plant will
do.
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being
is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the
moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En2TzBE0lp4

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1050688.html

How to make potash?
 

On Tue, 26 May 2009 20:51:51 +0100, Nate420
wrote:


Hi i heard potash is a good feed for plants etc but is there a certain
type of wood i need to use? also can i use it straight the way after i
have made it?

Sorry i posted somewhere else on the forum but thought it maybe better
in here

thanks

Willow makes a very fine ash, but any wood will work. Spread the
ashes evenly and lightly. Check your pH, and again in 3 months.

How to make potash?
 

On May 26, 3:51*pm, Nate420
wrote:
Hi i heard potash is a good feed for plants etc but is there a certain
type of wood i need to use? also can i use it straight the way after i
have made it?

Lump charcoal ashes, such as Royal Oak or Cowboy.

With such a crude source, how will you know how much
potassium you're actually adding?


Sorry i posted somewhere else on the forum but thought it maybe better
in here

thanks

--
Nate420