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The Kitchen Table

A 'tree' question

16 years ago

We have 3 huge pine/spruce trees in our yard that have grown so big they block our view of the street when backing out. We cut the branches so we could see and burned them in our garden plot. The question is, if we leave the ashes there and till them in will it hinder the growth of anything we plant? I think there is probably a tree forum, but the KT is the place to go for quick answers, although this is probably a strange question.

Dee in Michigan

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Comments (5)

OklaMoni
16 years ago
Dee, it depends on how much ash. Just a bit won't hurt. If it is a lot, can you stash some in some corner till next spring?

One year I dug a trench were my garden path was, put my ashes in, and covered it back up. Figured, that way, the planting beds won't get hurt, and it seemed to work fine.

Moni

PS, you know, that you shouldn't remove more than a third of growth from a tree at any time?
Dee1
Original Author
16 years ago
Moni, these trees are well over 70 feet tall and have been in the ground for over 30 years. I doubt if we could hurt them in any way. Thanks for the info. It rained on the ashes last night, so hubby is going to scoop them up and put them in trash cans. There is a lot of ash. It's good to be able to back out and see whether there are cars coming, or more importantly if children are out there doing what kids do...not paying attention to driveways.
Dee
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@Mtn, you left us a hole big enough to drive a semi truck through. I just cannot resist bad puns! I forgot that Mother used to make ”snow” for the Christmas tree using Ivory Soap Flakes. So I went looking for instructions. I found this post which seems to be pretty close - http://craftthyme.com/soap-tree-flocking/ - except Mother never ever used glitter and AFAIK she also never used starch. The link uses grated Ivory Soap bars. Apparently the poster grated the soap by hand. Sounds to me like the perfect use for a food processor. The two things I distinctly recall were (1) Mother applying the soap mixture by hand. A long and tedious job. She would take a small amount out of the bowl with her fingertips and spread it on each branch individually from the trunk to the tips. And (2), the way it made the house smell fresh, like Ivory soap which was not an unpleasant smell at all. If you want a little shimmer, you can buy irridescent flakes from AMZ. Used sparingly, I think they would give the sparkle of fresh snow.
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nicole__
16 years ago
Actually...that's called potash. It's the best fertilizer! I use the ashes in our fireplace to mix in my deck pots. My MIL had raspberry bushes growing in a potash pile. Leave them....
OklaMoni
16 years ago
But to many can make the soil to sweet....

Moni
nicole__
16 years ago
After a forrest burns...it is covered with ash and regrows. It's not a concentrate like chemicals you buy.A few inches would be fine...several feet...no. Quote:

Potash is a key ingredient in fertilizers that enhances water retention of plants, increases crop yields and plants' disease resistance.

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