Conditioning the one acre field we have marked out for growing garlic next year is coming along. Wood chips have been added, now it is time for wood ash. This material contains many kinds of minerals, and also can help to shift the PH of the soil to a more alkaline level. This is our bigger plan for the farm, and hopefully growing the garlic in the beds will go well right now. So next year we will do it on a much bigger level.
Garlic likes a more alkaline soil than most other plants. So we hope we can raise it to a level where the garlic flourishes and the native weeds struggle to grow. By adding paper ash we should be able to accomplish it, maybe not with just one load but over time if we add enough it should change the soil chemistry.
The truck arrived from the local paper mill, a byproduct of making paper is ash. So I can buy it and have it dumped where I want it.
With the pile added to the middle of the field, soon I will go out in the skid steer and move it all around.
After I spread it out, its time to bring over the tractor and tiller attachment and mix it all into the native soil.
During last winter, I brought over tractor buckets full of ash but it did not even move the needle on my soil tests. So this time I added a dump trucks worth of wood ash, hoping that will do the trick.
After I mix it into the ground many times, it will be time to do another NPK test and PH test on the soil to see if it has changed at all.
You have a lot of work ahead of you, good luck, you will now be @solominer #garlicfarmer #futuregoatfarmer #goodherbfarmer #gardener. What will be next?
I sure do, looking forward to the responsibility though.
Hehe.. only time will tell.
When I was looking for money for my college and school fees, I was lifting sand into the truck using a small shovel. I really remember how difficult it was.
Oh man thats some hard work, sand is really heavy.
It's true, friends, it's really very hard to work here, it's very difficult here to earn money
Approximately how much is 1 truckload of sand sold in your area
It cost me around $350
Not sand.. wood ash.
oh it's really expensive at your place, take it at my place, the price of 1 truck of sand yesterday we sold for IDR 300,000 using Indonesian money, if we use dollars it's only 20 US dollars
Maybe sand is cheaper than wood ash, never bought it.
It's great that you're thinking of planting garlic on a larger scale. It's great to see how you invest in nutrients to change the composition of the soil. We hope you have good results when measuring the soil.
Good luck, dear friend @solominer
Thank you, hopefully it will all come together with a good final enviroment to grow in.
Wood ash is very beneficial for plants. I learned this a few years ago and was very surprised when I learned this. In the past, when we lit stoves for heating, we would remove wood ash from our garden. Wood ash is rich in potassium. It is necessary for the ripening of fruits.
Sure is.. I am really looking forward to seeing how well it works. I may start adding it to other parts of my garden as well.
Yeah I did the same thing last year with my broilers ash, I used it in my gardens.
Well, I’m just an enthusiast when it comes to crops, but the other day I saw an article that talked about the benefits of stone powders for agriculture. They contain nutrients like calcium, magnesium, and potassium, and can help improve soil structure. I’m not sure if the cost-benefit ratio is worth it, but it might be worth looking into!
Ah yeah I know what you mean. Something around here used a lot is called Ag-lime.. its just ground up limestone. It has lots of good stuff in it.
I am actually experimenting with it around my solar panels to see if it can help keep the weeds down when used in excess.
Nice.
I saw it thrives on potash. Good that you put the wood ash.
Oh that is good, hopefully they will be some happy garlic bulbs.
Good luck
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Oleee 🙀, cenizas de madera 🪵??? Según pude traducir utilizas como fertilizantes @solominer? No entiendo muy bien el inglés, si puedes responderme para saber por aquí..
Yo he utilizado para los plantas 🪴 carbón picado en trozos pequeños, y mezclado con la tierra y humus,, pero cenizas nunca he utilizado, no se si será bueno para los cactus !! O solo para tus sembrados de vegetales amigo !!🤔🤔
Yes that is correct, wood ash.. its basically charcoal but burned further and all ground up.
Wood ash raises PH, and most cactus prefer slightly acid based soils. So probably would not be good for them.
A vale, por eso pensé que para los cactus 🌵 sería un poco más complicado las cenizas de madera, gracias por la ayuda @solominer !!!
I just love the scale of your operation, do you sell produce...? This can't just be homesteading?
Ah thanks, it will be our first commercial crop.
We have some buyers lined up already, correct.. its not just for us.
Nice, hope you get some decent prices, inspiring stuff!
Wow! That's a lot of ash! Quite impressive!
Sure is.. probably a few tons worth.
Wow!
I hope it goes well too sir.😊
Thanks much.. I hope so too.
You're welcome. 😊😁 It will for sure.😊
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I'm always proud to those people who work to provide their needs everyday. I'm also part of that. Thank you for sharing this to us. I hope you inspire many individuals also to work the same.
Glad you enjoyed my post.
I planted like 3-4m² of garlic and thought that was a lot :D
Hehe yeah we are going big on this.. if it goes well we may expand to 2-3 acres..
These things may grow well one year and terrible the next...
Especially garlic also has so many different variaties...
I suggest you develop some sort of crop rotation and unless on a slope, always make rows in the north-south direction ;)
I'd love to visit for a week and be a consultant (smartass) at your place :)
Excellent information brother, I did not know, I have a question, wood ash has the same effect?
Calcium hydroxide lime can be an alternative or not?
Yes both would raise PH, but wood ash breaks down faster in the soil than lime powder does. It is also cheaper to use wood ash than ag-lime.
This is where caution is the order of the day! Onions and garlic tolerate ash well as a fertiliser. However, you should make sure that the soil in the bed is really too acidic. The ash should also never be spread on its own. Always mix a little compost with it.
But now for something very important: If the ash that you have delivered to you comes from printed paper or cardboard, you can assume that it is contaminated with heavy metals. The same applies to ash from pellets or wood briquettes. In these cases the devil is in the glue that is used. So if you do use ash, use untreated wood if possible.
I just wanted to bring this "problem" to your attention in a timely manner.
I tested my soil before adding wood ash and it was already acidic. So hopefully adding this ash will bring up the PH quite a bit.
As for the heavy metals in the wood ash, I was not aware of that. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I will do some testing to find out if it contains high amounts.
Congrats to front page spot :)!
Oh did not know I was trending, very cool.
We wish you much success with this work.
thanks much
I just found out that wood ash is very good for garlic plants, you are great at farming, all the ways you keep learning to maximize all types of plants you will plant, success continues my friend 💪😊
Hopefully it works, will be my first time using it so we shall see how well it works.
I hope next year will be great for it ...all your hard work and knowledge pays off 😄😄
I do hope so. We shall see how it all plays out.
Yhh👍
We own a very small (by US standards) piece of woodland. It stands on limestone soil. Wherever the trees dominate light levels and everything else struggles to grow we get wild garlic growing. I have photos somewhere but I can’t find them atm. Good luck changing your soils ph I’m interested in how much you can change it.
Oh interesting, you probably have a naturally high PH where you live. So good to hear that for my benefit. I am hoping to suppress native weeds while having the garlic flourish.
Yeah should be interesting to see, I am going to test PH again after I till it all in a few times.
This is great and I have no doubt that the alkaline texture of the soil would be fixed.
Are you a commercial farmer?
Ah thanks, hoping to be one if it all goes well.
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Yes, wood ash is a great alkaline addition to the soil, I'm sure the steps you are taking is the right one.
I never knew wood ash is great for the soil, does this apply to every other plant like tomatoes or cassava except for garlic
Looks great! Garlic is definitely on my to grow list! 💪
I was looking at adding value by producing black garlic, it takes time and heat but a few tricks up my sleeve for generating heat cost effectively - BTC mining + solar panels spring to mind 🤣