We have had this thread many times before and having been brought up with a Dad who was a top class old time gardener put in my two pennyworth to be told I was an idiot among other epithets. We had wood burning boilers for cattle and pig food which I looked after, we would cut our fire wood from the Copse so it was always what we called clean wood and in those days the pesticides which were used massively later were not around. Dad still would not put wood ash directly on plants it went into the midden with the horse manure and general compost to be rotted and used later. I of course asked why, "the acids in the ash burn the plants and roots" composting them dilutes any acids. Modern wood burners often use waste wood and we have no idea of where it came from. Wood preservatives are often used using a pressure system that sends it into the core of the wood, pesticides used years ago can still be inherent in the wood we do not know and as far as my research goes no one has ever put it to the test.
That is all I am saying on the subject, you do as you wish, my take on it is plants are expensive in money time and caring for them why risk it for a maybe it works maybe it wont approach when the risk outweighs the good you think it may do. I would compost it.
Posts
We have had this thread many times before and having been brought up with a Dad who was a top class old time gardener put in my two pennyworth to be told I was an idiot among other epithets. We had wood burning boilers for cattle and pig food which I looked after, we would cut our fire wood from the Copse so it was always what we called clean wood and in those days the pesticides which were used massively later were not around. Dad still would not put wood ash directly on plants it went into the midden with the horse manure and general compost to be rotted and used later. I of course asked why, "the acids in the ash burn the plants and roots" composting them dilutes any acids. Modern wood burners often use waste wood and we have no idea of where it came from. Wood preservatives are often used using a pressure system that sends it into the core of the wood, pesticides used years ago can still be inherent in the wood we do not know and as far as my research goes no one has ever put it to the test.
That is all I am saying on the subject, you do as you wish, my take on it is plants are expensive in money time and caring for them why risk it for a maybe it works maybe it wont approach when the risk outweighs the good you think it may do. I would compost it.
Frank.