Using wood ash in your garden

We hate waste and will try to avoid putting things in the bin wherever we can. At this time of year lots of people will be lighting fires in the home to keep warm, if you’re burning wood only and not coal then you can use your ash. Wood ash contains potassium and phosphorous which is needed by plants for flowering and fruiting, plus other trace elements. If you have a slightly acidic soil then it can be used in place of lime to bring the pH up, as wood ash is alkaline. For that reason you should avoid putting it around plants that like acid soil like blueberries, camellias and some fruit trees, you should also keep it away from your spuds as it can encourage scab.

The others will love it though and you can sprinkle a thin layer around your plants and on your veg beds. A little goes a long way and you may find you still have some left, in which case you can add it your compost heap. Not only will it add nutrients but heaps tend to be slightly acidic and ash balances out the pH of your heap (the same goes for manure, which is also slightly acidic). Just add a little at a time as you’re putting material in there. You can then take satisfaction from knowing that you’ve taken a waste product and used it as a valuable fertiliser to make your garden better.

You might not be sure what the pH of your soil is, but it’s certainly worth finding out as some plants won’t grow well in acid or alkaline soils. You can get tests to find out or if you’re not sure about it get in touch with us, we test the pH at different points in your garden when we come and do a site survey and consultation.

Reusing materials in the garden

Permaculture and reuse are important parts of our lives, we hate throwing anything away. So when we had an extension to the house we looked at all these great bricks from the old wall and wondered what we could do with them. They were diverted from the skip and when I redesigned the garden I put this path in using the them.

I looked at the desire line from house to patio, to veg beds, compost heaps and shed, laid it out with markers and put in gentle curves for looks and interest. Once happy they were installed, they're only set on sand so don't have to be permanent, meaning they can be moved or removed easily in the future. This also avoided the use of concrete, keeping the energy used low. They are very hard wearing, look great and will bed in wonderfully over time. Maintenance is also simple, if a brick gets damaged then just pop it out and replace, or if the other side is okay just flip it over.