Is it possible to mix wood ash with manure: every gardener should know about this

08.02.2024 10:18

A popular approach among summer residents is mixing unburned wood residues with manure.

Many gardeners believe that the combination of these two products is a very effective fertilizer.

However, an expert from the online publication BelNovosti, agronomist and landscape designer Anastasia Kovrizhnykh assures: it is better not to mix ash with manure.

After all, the result will be a mass that will not bring any benefit to garden crops. Quite the opposite, actually.

Why you can't mix ash with manure

Manure (primarily bird droppings) contains enough nitrogen.

ash
Photo: © Belnovosti

But if you add ash to the mass, the fertilizer will cease to be a source of such an important microelement for plants.

The trick is to convert plant-friendly compounds into gaseous ammonia.

In addition, unburned wood residues and manure "interfere" with each other: neither of these components will bring any benefit. The acidity of the soil will not change at all.

It is advisable to use the above fertilizers at different times of the year. Ash - at the end of summer and in the autumn months, manure - in the spring and the first weeks of summer.

If a summer resident is nevertheless faced with the need to add both manure and unburned wood residues at the same time of year, then there should be a break of at least 7 days between the procedures.

Earlier, the expert explained why it is worth planting a fir tree in a summer cottage.

Author: Kurchev Anton Deputy Editor-in-Chief
 
Expert: Anastasia Kovrizhnykh Expert / Belnovosti