Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosemarie11
As per my knowledge and experience regarding gardening, regular wood ash is good for the garden as it contains potassium (K) which is one of the three main plant fertilizers. However, charcoal, even though it is wood, contains chemicals and additives that you probably wouldn't want in your garden. So it is essential to make sure there are no dangerous additives in the charcoal that don't burn off, in order to protect your garden soil by acidity.
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Hi Rosemarie,
A lot depends on the wood being charred, as in I only use forest wood to make my charcoal which is perfectly safe for purpose. This charcoal is also used for medicinal purposes, however if you were to use any treated wood as in railway sleepers then you might encounter the problems of which you speak.
Although you are correct in that wood ash contains nutrient it is fleeting in its longevity within the soil, whereas charcoal will be in the soil for hundreds if not thousands of years. This charcoal soaks up nutrient, however it is my belief that it requires inoculation before being introduced into the soil.
If you were to put un-inoculated charcoal into the soil it would soak up all existing nutrient and result in poor crop performance.
The native people of the Amazon delta who created the soil now known as Terra preta used a slow burning technique which excluded air whereby the bio-oil condensates were retained within the charcoal and not voided into the atmosphere. This is one of the secrets of this soil, these condensates are the equivalent of sugar to micro-organisms.