Charcoal ash

[Ztorch]

Anyone have ceramic Kamado style grill and use the ashes from the charcoal in their garden? Can their be any negative effects to the palms?

[Steve Mac]

Yes mate there can be. Everything in moderation. Balance is the aim. Ash is alkaline, it also is rich in potassium so you don't want to waste it. Compost or decaying veg matter is acid.  So I mix my wood ash in with my compost before spreading around the garden. I don't use any other fertiliser.

In the past I have thrown a handful of wood ash (campfire ash) into some pots and have not noticed any problem, but if I had continued it, that would probably have caused an imbalance/problem. I really don't know what the ash of charcoal is like, I am guessing similar to wood. A lot of people on here are fussy about the NPK ratios of their fertilisers, the K being potassium so I would balance it before using too often. 

[Silas_Sancona]

Wood ash is fine, though i'd apply sparingly as Steve mentions, at least until i can see how it will effect whatever it is being applied to. some stuff won't mind lots of it/ the Alkalinity factor.. other stuff might. 

That said, "Charcoal ash, like whats left after using  bagged Briquettes might be a different story. Might contain stuff that might not be so great for plants.

There's a thread somewhere here discussing incorporating chunk of charcoalized wood into the soil, supposedly with great results.  Have done this myself -sparingly- with a few things in containers and noticed no ill effects.

[Butch]

I've had a kamado for nearly 50 years.... I used to spread the ash (I only use lump charcoal, no briquets) around the garden, but stopped after hearing that the acid might cause problems... I had no issues though... I recently started spreading it again... I guess we'll see...

Butch

[tropicbreeze]

I've been using charcoal and ash for years, but am careful where I place it. Some plants like higher pH, some the opposite. I sometimes separate the ash from the charcoal. The charcoal gets washed/rinsed and then I soak it in an organic fertiliser. There's lots of things you can do with charcoal and ash, but you have to think it through. It can do a lot of damage used the wrong way.