NARC G1 garlic is the result of many years long research by Pakistani scientists. This is the future crop to be used by common man. Banu Mukhtar farms continuously provides information to the readers about modern farming through blogs section. Today we will discuss the benefits of wood ash for NARC G1 garlic.
If you burn firewood in your home, do not throw ash because you can use it in many ways in your home and even in your field. Wood ash is rich in potassium, phosphate, and contains traces of Cu, Fe, Mn. That is very good for your plant’s growth and development. Here I will let you know which kind of ash to use for your NARC G1 Garlic and to apply it for getting the best results.
Benefits of using ash in the NARC G1 Garlic field:
- Wood ash can be used to increase soil pH.
- Wood ash supplies potassium, phosphate Copper, iron, Manganese to NARC G1 Garlic.
- It increases the growth of garlic by providing essential nutrients
- The addition of ash into the soil makes Ca and Mg availability to the garlic plants.
- Wood ash repels some of the insect pests, especially Thrips in NARC HG1 Garlic.
- Reduces soil acidity.
If your field has acidic pH, the very easy and cost-effective method of increasing soil pH / making it neutral is by adding wood ash into it.
How to use ash for best results:
Ash can be used in two ways.
- Direct application of ash
- Composting of ash
- Direct application of ash: in this method, you have to just sprinkle a handful of ash to the soil. Or put ash as a very thin layer of mulching.
- Composting of ash: in this method, we try to compost the ash instead of applying it directly. You can put wood ash into the compost bin along with other organic wastes. In composting usually pH becomes slightly acidic. Addition of ash to compost bin fixes this problem and ash releases some of the major nutrients for the plants.
Beneficial plants for ash:
Plants that love alkaline soil pH grow well by the addition of ash into the soil. Examples of such plants include,
- Onions
- Garlic
- Leek
- Spinach
- Ornamental clover.
These plants like slight alkaline conditions for their growth. If you grow these plants, you can apply ash in a limited quantity.
Precautions to be taken before applying ash:
- Before the application of ash in your field, check soil pH. If it is acidic, only then you can go for the application of ash. Otherwise, it retards the availability of some nutrients to the plants.
- Not recommended to apply for acid-loving plants like rose, hibiscus, blueberry, strawberries, tomato, corn, carrots, radish, and sunflower.
- Use wood that is not chemically treated or painted, otherwise, it may contaminate soil and hurt plants.
- Do not apply an excessive amount of ash for any plants that may hinder the growth of plants.
1. Which plants like wood ash?
Usually, some plants like acidic soil conditions or lower pH, and some other plants love alkaline conditions or higher soil pH to grow well and bear flowers and fruits. Plants like onion, garlic, leek, spinach, lavender, beans, mango, kale, lilac like alkaline conditions for growing. If you are growing these plants you can apply wood ash for them.
2. When should I add wood ash to my field?
Wood ash is a rich source of potassium and phosphorous. These nutrients are very much beneficial for flowering and fruiting plants to increase the quality of flowers and fruits. When the soil pH is below 6.5 you can apply wood ash to increase it. But be careful about acid-loving plants. Because ash might reduce the growth of such plants.
3. How much wood ash is good for the field?
The quantity of wood ash varies with the type of soil and the crop or plants you have decided to grow. Generally, clay soils tolerate more wood ash compared to sandy soil. 7-9 kg of wood ash per 1000 square feet area is fine to apply.