Onion Ash: Top Dressing In June, July And May. Can I Sprinkle? Watering With Infusion For The Bulb And Other Methods Of Application

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-18 12:09

Ash is a versatile fertilizer that is used to feed many plants, including onions. This product can be used both for feeding plants and for protecting them from various pests and diseases.

Benefit and harm

Wood ash contains the main trace elements that plants need

1. Calcium . This element is especially necessary for plants during the growth period. Its deficiency leads to the fact that the bow begins to develop slowly, and over time it dies altogether. The use of calcium-rich ash can improve plant health and soil structure.
2. Potassium . Plants need this element to form fruit. It makes them more resistant to various diseases and temperature extremes. A lack of potassium can slow down the growth of young seedlings.
3. Phosphorus . It ensures the normal development of the fruit and makes them larger.

Unfortunately, there is no nitrogen in the wood ash, which onions also need. Therefore, gardeners prefer to feed young plants with a mixture of wood ash and nitrogen-containing fertilizers. For feeding onions, it is best to use ash, which was obtained in the process of burning deciduous trees. After all, it contains the most potassium.

In general, wood ash has many advantages over other onion feed products. It helps:

• improve the structure of the soil and accelerate the process of decomposition of plant residues in the ground;
• protect onions from common diseases;
• accelerate the growth process of the bulbs;
• improve the safety of the crop;
• increase onion resistance to drought.

This fertilizer is excellent for almost all types of soil. It is not recommended to use it only if the soil pH level is too high. In this case, feeding will only harm the plants.

How can you use it?

Wood ash can be used both simply to feed plants and to protect them from pests.

Top dressing

Ashes for feeding onions are used in dry and liquid form. Most often, plants are watered with useful nutrient mixtures. There are several ways to prepare them.

1. Classic ash solution . It is prepared from 1 glass of dry ash and 10 liters of water. The mixture is used immediately after preparation. In order to fertilize the onion, you just need to pour it under the root with the solution. It is recommended to use this top dressing in late June or early July.
2. Ash infusion . For its preparation, a kilogram of dry ash and 10 liters of boiling water are used. All this is mixed in a suitable container and infused for 2 days. Before watering, the infusion must be diluted. A liter of this mixture is usually added to a bucket of cold water. Many gardeners are trying to make this fertilizer even more useful by adding manganese or boric acid to it.

3. Herbal infusion with ash . To prepare this product, you need to use freshly cut field grass. It should be poured into a large barrel along with 2 buckets of compost and 5 kilograms of wood ash. You also need to add water there. The mixture is infused for 2 weeks. You need to use this concentrate after mixing it with clean water in a ratio of 1 to 10. Top dressing helps to speed up the process of onion growth and fruit formation. The resulting plant product can be watered or sprayed.

It is worth feeding the onion with ash fertilizers in several stages. It is fertilized for the first time two weeks after planting. At this stage, the ash solution must be combined with nitrogenous fertilizers.

The second time, the plants are fed after 3-4 weeks . At this stage, onions need phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. Ash dressing can be alternated with the introduction of urea into the soil. For the third time, the plants are fed at the stage of bulb formation.

If the onion is grown for feathers, it is fed only once, in May. At this stage, nitrogen fertilizer is usually applied, and after a week the soil is watered with ash infusion. This feeding has a great effect on the growth of onions.

Useful for plants and dry ash. Ashes, like mortars, can be used in a variety of ways

1. For the preparation of planting material . Before planting, onion seeds are soaked for a couple of hours in an ash solution. For its preparation, a teaspoon of dry powder must be diluted in 1 liter of water. Such processing of planting material allows you to disinfect it and make it more resistant to various diseases.
2. For feeding . To feed onions, they use not only various infusions, but also dry ash. Many gardeners mix this product with tobacco dust. The resulting product is usually sprinkled with aisles. The use of the product also helps to protect plants from pests and diseases.

3. For storing onions . Once harvested, the ash can be used to extend its shelf life. They are simply poured over the collected bulbs before putting them into the cellar. If they have any damage, they can be treated with the same ash.
4. When digging . Quite often, dry ash in its pure form or with tobacco is introduced into the soil and in the process of digging the beds in the fall. For 1 square meter, 500-600 grams of dry ash is used. Onions, like most plants, love this kind of feeding.

Against diseases and pests

Ash is also very useful in the fight against various diseases and insects that attack the beds.

Often this product is used to ward off weevils from your garden . To get rid of this pest, it is enough to simply sprinkle the aisles with dry wood ash in the summer.

This product also helps in the fight against onion moths and aphids. To prepare the solution, use a solution consisting of 300 grams of powder and 3 liters of warm water . The contents of the container are mixed and infused for 2 days. At the end of the term, liquid soap or soap shavings are added to the infusion. The product can be used immediately after preparation. It is recommended to process onions in the evening, in calm, windless weather.

The product also works well to get rid of powdery mildew. To combat this disease, a concentrated ash solution with the addition of soap is used . They need to process the plant 2-3 times with a break a week. As a rule, during this time, you can completely get rid of the pests.

Ash can also be added to compost . In addition, it is used for soil mulching. In this case, a mixture of ash with sawdust and tobacco is used. This mulch is great for protecting onions from pest attacks and dry weather.

When not to use?

In order not to harm the plants, you need to use the dressing correctly. Do not add ash to calcium-rich soil. The excess of this element is evidenced by the too light color of the leaves and the slow development of shoots. And also it is impossible to use ash fertilizers in the event that there is an excess of potassium. This is evidenced by wilting of leaves and a slowdown in fruit development.

BUT also, experts do not recommend using wood ash together with organic matter and phosphoric mixtures . Before making different dressings, you need to take short breaks.

Wood ash is a real find for all lovers of high-quality natural fertilizers. Regular use of the ash helps to grow and maintain an excellent onion yield.