Gardening with Ciscoe ( www.ciscoe.com ) Gardening - Q & A

Ash, using in the garden

Q: Can I use the ashes from our fireplace to help my garden? I have had conflicting advise that fireplace ash will kill and others say it will nourish ... a vast difference. I live in Auburn, Washington on 2 acres of heavily wooded area, so my yard gets limited sunlight. The soil in my garden is nice and loose ... I don't put in annuals, but have lots of azaleas, rhododendrons and hydrangias.

A: From what I understand, as long as there are no coal ashes, you can use up to 10 LBs of wood ashes per 1000 sq ft per year. The ashes provide potash, which is good. However there is evidence that wood ashes can harm worms. It's a difficult call. If it were me, I don't think I'd use them.