Hi Kitty: I'm glad to hear that you get great result in using charcoal pieces to enrich your soil. I found the table of chemical composition for woodash versus limestone, thanks to Kimmsr in the Soil Forum. Here's an excerpt from the link below: http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~blpprt/bestwoodash.html Table 1. Range in elemental composition of industrial wood ash samples and ground limestone. Wood Ash ******** Limestone Conc. in % Calcium 15 ******** 31 Potassium 2.6 ******* 0.13 Aluminum 1.6 ******* 0.25 Magnesium 1.0 ******* 5.1 Iron 0.84 ******** 0.29 Phosphorus 0.53 ***** 0.06 Manganese 0.41 ******* 0.05 Sodium 0.19 ****** 0.07 Nitrogen 0.15 ******* 0.01 Microelements Concentration in mg/kg Wood Ash ****** Limestone Arsenic 6 Boron 123 Cadmium 3 ***** 0.7 Chromium 57 ***** 6.0 Copper 70 ***** 10 Lead 65 ***** 55 Mercury 1.9 Molybdenum 19 Nickel 20 **** 20 Selenium 0.9 Zinc 233 **** 113 Other Chemical Properties CaCO3 Equivalent 43% (woodash) 100% for limestone pH woodash is 10.4 versus pH of limestone is 9.9 Woodash is high in calcium, potassium, zinc, chromium, and all trace elements . Woodash also contains 123 mg/kg of Boron, which is vital for plant growth. Boron is less available in alkaline clay. My soil in Chicagoland is dolomitic/limestone alkaline clay. Woodash has 70 mg/kg of copper, a fungicide in Bordeux mixture. It has 233 mg/kg of zinc (compared to 113 in limestone) a fungicide fraction in Mancozeb spray. It has boron, another fungicide for dry rot. It has 65 mg of lead, compared to 55 mg of lead in limestone, also a fungicide. Finally woodash has 57 mg of chromium, another fungicide, here's a quote: "In the past, chromium was also used in cooling towers as a rust and corrosion inhibitor and as a fungicide. " http://corrosion-doctors.org/Elements-Toxic/Chromium.htm Here is a link that might be useful: Clemson.edu on wood ash This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Wed, Jan 15, 14 at 19:44

One advantage of using organics is it benefits earthworms and soil microbes. Chemicals, be it Bayer spray or chemical fertilizer can upset the flora of soil microbes, giving rise to pathogenic fungi. Even gypsum (23% calcium and 17% sulfur, salt index of 8) caused rust on the metal scoop. It's corrosive and killed soil bacteria, resulting in rust and black spots when I applied too much on the surface. Organic fertilizers nourish beneficial soil microbes. Here's an excerpt from the below link on organics fertilizers: "Yum Yum Mix 2-1-1 Alfalfa Meal: Nitrogen; Vitamins-A, B, E, carotene, thiamine, biotin, pantothenic acid, niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, choline; 16 amino acids, co-enzymes, sugars, starches, protein fiber Cottonseed Meal: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium Kelp Meal: Nitrogen; Potassium; Vitamins-A, B, B2 , C, calcium, pantothenate, niacin, folic acid; minerals-barium, boron, calcium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, sodium, strontium, sulfur, zinc; 17 amino acids Greensand: Iron, Potassium, Silicate, Phosphorus, 30 trace elements Rock Dust: Calcium, Sulfur, Magnesium, Boron, Cobalt Rock Phosphate: Phosphorus, Calcium, Trace Elements Humate: Salts of Humic Acid ��" improve soil characteristics and aids in releasing other nutrients to plants in usable forms Dry Molasses: Carbohydrates, Sugars, Trace Elements ��" feeds and attracts beneficial soil organisms." *** From Strawberryhill: When I research on endo and ecto mycorrhiza fungi that access nutrients for plants, they thrive at pH below 7. The sugar in molasses feed these fungi that help plants to utilize nutrients in soil. Here is a link that might be useful: What's hiding in your organic fertilizers?

Hi Jim: always good to hear from you. I use 1/2 cup of cracked corn, but I soak it in a bucket of water overnight to soften it. The water has nutrients for the rose, I cover the softened-corn with dirt so birds can't eat it. There's a hole which I put 2 cups of crack-corn right before last Thanksgiving. This 1st week of June I planted 18 baby-tomato plants, the tomato in the hole with decomposed-crack-corn has 2 fruits, the rest haven't.

Pink Traviata does fantastic at nearby rose park .. that one is a beast in alkaline clay, hardy for the past 10 years. I'm putting MULCH FILM (black plastic) to kill grass for a new garden next year, but it takes 6 months to completely kill the grass, to be ready for next spring. Our cold zone zaps roses so small, it's so easy to fit into the garden. My La Reine is 1 foot by 0.5 foot, lots of blooms. My Barcelona (very hardy) is even smaller, like a mini-rose. The blooms of own-root are small too, but they get big after 4 years, if the soil is made loamy. When I first got William Shakespeare 2000, it was so small, and the bloom was 1 inch. !! Now in its 5th year, the bush is much bigger, and the bloom is at least 4 inch, I put tons of gypsum in its planting hole, which helps with zillion petals & also sulfate of potash for potassium.