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Re: Wood ash as a soil amendments

jdstewa@ibm.net wrote:
: In <3lf68q$k4p@cmcl2.NYU.EDU>, eqn7918@is2.nyu.edu (Eiko  Naito) writes:
: >: I'm looking for info on the use of bio-ash as a soil amendment, mainly
: >While wood ash is useful in raising pH for your compost, exercise 
: >moderation.  

: Exactly, how acidic is compost?  Does the PH vary with the starting material
: and stage of decomposition?

: I have been using sulfur to lower the PH on sand knolls and it is way too expensive!

I surmise from your question, that you consider to use compost as a way 
to lower the pH on your sand knolls. 

Good composted material should be only weakly acidic, but it sure 
has an effect by raising the buffer capacity in soil. 
While composting, the aerobic degradation of organic material tends to 
produce weak organic acids. This can bring the composting process on the 
wrong track, and undesirably changes the transformation in the pile. Adding 
wood ash in sprinkle amounts when building the pile can control this -  
but surely moderation is required when adding wood ash. To much will do 
harm to the process also. If you don't have wood ash, some amount of good 
quality soil would have to be added to the pile to control the acids 
produced by the composting process.

Kind regards,

Torsten Brinch

: TIA,
: John Stewart

--
;''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''';
; Torsten Brinch               If you understand nothing but chemistry, ;
; iaotb@inet.uni-c.dk          you do not really understand chemistry.  ;
; 6640, Ferup, Denmark                   G.C. Lichtenberg  (1742-1799)  ;
:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,;



Article 17834 of rec.gardens:
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Path: samba.oit.unc.edu!concert!news-feed-1.peachnet.edu!darwin.sura.net!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!deep.rsoft.bc.ca!mindlink!a8427
From: Barry_Carlson@mindlink.bc.ca (Barry Carlson)
Subject: Using grass treated with chemicals as a mulch
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Sat, 29 May 1993 03:39:35 GMT
Message-ID: <24805@mindlink.bc.ca>
Sender: news@deep.rsoft.bc.ca (Usenet News at rsoft.bc.ca)
Lines: 38

Regarding grass treated with chemicals, David Rudolph:
rudolph@sparc20.hri.com writes:

>I recently read that grass which has been treated with a broadleaf >weed
herbicide should not be used as mulch in a vegetable garden. >While this
makes sense, the author didn't specify how long after >using chemicals it
might be safe to use the grass. I have already >mulched my strawberries with
grass that I treated with Scotts Halt >about 1 year ago.

>Does anyone know how long these chemicals remain in the grass, and
>whether a year is long enough to make the grass safe?

I was just re-reading a copy of Organic Gardening Magazine (January 1993
issue) where this exact topic was discussed in their "Solutions" section
(Page 25). The answer they gave was as follows: "...Unfortunately, there are
no easy answers.  According to the University; of Illinois Center for Solid
waste Management Research, some common herbicides can stay active for a full
year.  "Once these herbicides are introduced into your garden, some could be
taken up by plants.  So, yes-theoretically, you may get traces of these
toxins in the food you grow," says Joe Pignatello, Ph.D., a scientist who
studies pesticide breakdown at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment
Station.
Scientific research on how pesticides and herbicides break down in the
compost pile is just beginning, but the consensus is that some of these
substances may survive the composting process.  Whether they do or not
depends on just which pesticide or herbicide was used; different chemicals
break down at different rates.  And the conditions within the compost pile
(heat, moisture, pH, etc.) also affect the rate at which any introduced
toxins will disappear.
With all these variables, there's just no way for the average backyard
gardener to tell when (or if) compost ingredients that started out tainted
become safe for organic food growing.  So, the answer for the truly organic
is no-just don't do it.  Don't use herbicide or pesticide treated plant
material as mulch or add it  to your compost pile..."

Hope this helps.
-Moira Carlson