Fly Ash to enhance the Soil

Andybear · June 19, 2012

Can Fly ash be used to enhance the growth of Tomato plants when mixed in with your soil and if so at what ratio?

I did read somewhere that it gets used to help with agricultural lands but what affect is there on the tomato growth and production?

fortyonenorth · June 19, 2012

This article suggests 10 tons (tonnes?) per HA in combination with additions of organic matter: http://www.flyash.info/2003/28mit.pdf

It's a good source of many nutrients, especially potassium, but there are potential hazards as well, insofar as containing heavy metals. If you have easy access to cheap FA, it may be worth investigating.

Andybear · June 19, 2012

I have about 20 kg so maybe I will lookup more information and then run a trial to see what effect it has. I know the article I read said that there was an increase in leaf size and production. But I will need to check up on the ratios and also on that heavy metal. Thanks for the information so far.
I have now found some more information on the use of Fly ash in growing tomato. Ref Link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15091390
looks like it could be benificial but I think I will still do some test myself and see what comes of it.

Last thing I want are tomatoes which look great but can't be eaten as the are contaminated with heavy metals and other chemicals.

Would be nice to know if anyone has tried it before and what the outcome was.

dice · June 28, 2012

Some experience with using it in agriculture is summarized
here: http://www.articlesbase.com/science-...ve-273459.html

Andybear · June 28, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by dice

Some experience with using it in agriculture is summarized
here: http://www.articlesbase.com/science-...ve-273459.html

Thanks dice I will take a look at that link.

PaulF · June 28, 2012

I spent seven years working as a coal fired boiler operator and dealt with fly ash on a daily basis. While it would be presumptuous of me to contradict the learned articles, I personally would not apply fly ash to my soil as an amendment.

We burned Wyoming coal and the resulting flyash was sampled and tested on a regular basis and the levels of heavy metals was scary to say the least. We were warned constantly to shower immediately after being exposed to flyash for a length of time. There were also warning labels that our flyash was possibly radioactive. Ours was landfilled and buried.

janezee · June 29, 2012

Well, snap! That's interesting, in a terrifying way.

j

drezz · June 30, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulF

I spent seven years working as a coal fired boiler operator and dealt with fly ash on a daily basis. While it would be presumptuous of me to contradict the learned articles, I personally would not apply fly ash to my soil as an amendment.

We burned Wyoming coal and the resulting flyash was sampled and tested on a regular basis and the levels of heavy metals was scary to say the least. We were warned constantly to shower immediately after being exposed to flyash for a length of time. There were also warning labels that our flyash was possibly radioactive. Ours was landfilled and buried.

Yeah, that's true. I guess it depends on the source for the fly ash but that is where all the metals, dioxins, etc. will concentrate.

PaulF · June 30, 2012

Concentration is the key. The flyash I was around did get concentrated heavy metals mostly because of DEQ and EPA regulations dictated we recycle and reburn the flyash several times for air quality reasons. The only thing was, we emitted none of the heavy metals anyway because of an extensive filter bag system that captured the ash. In its supreme reasoning, each government regulatory body seemed to be in competition with the other to make life more miserable for power producers (and our production was for internal use not for public consumption). So we had to install very expensive redundant equipment just to satisfy a few bureaucrats sitting in offices a thousand miles away with no clue how a coal fired power plant works.

Too political? Sorry, go ahead and edit my rant ... even if all this happened fifteen years ago. I can only imagine how much worse it is now.

tjg911 · June 30, 2012

what is fly ash?

wood ashes are very alkaline so use sparingly as they raise ph fast.

NEVER use coal ash, i have read, as it contains heavy metals.

tom

Doug9345 · June 30, 2012

Short answer. Fly ash is the ash that gets carried up the smoke stack. As PaulF indicated, it gets filtered out.

June 19, 2012	#1
Andybear Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: South Africa Posts: 48	Fly Ash to enhance the Soil Can Fly ash be used to enhance the growth of Tomato plants when mixed in with your soil and if so at what ratio? I did read somewhere that it gets used to help with agricultural lands but what affect is there on the tomato growth and production?

June 19, 2012	#3
Andybear Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: South Africa Posts: 48	I have about 20 kg so maybe I will lookup more information and then run a trial to see what effect it has. I know the article I read said that there was an increase in leaf size and production. But I will need to check up on the ratios and also on that heavy metal. Thanks for the information so far. I have now found some more information on the use of Fly ash in growing tomato. Ref Link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15091390 looks like it could be benificial but I think I will still do some test myself and see what comes of it. Last thing I want are tomatoes which look great but can't be eaten as the are contaminated with heavy metals and other chemicals. Would be nice to know if anyone has tried it before and what the outcome was. Last edited by Andybear; June 19, 2012 at 02:18 PM.

June 28, 2012	#4
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	Some experience with using it in agriculture is summarized here: http://www.articlesbase.com/science-...ve-273459.html __________________ -- alias

June 28, 2012	#6
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,283	I spent seven years working as a coal fired boiler operator and dealt with fly ash on a daily basis. While it would be presumptuous of me to contradict the learned articles, I personally would not apply fly ash to my soil as an amendment. We burned Wyoming coal and the resulting flyash was sampled and tested on a regular basis and the levels of heavy metals was scary to say the least. We were warned constantly to shower immediately after being exposed to flyash for a length of time. There were also warning labels that our flyash was possibly radioactive. Ours was landfilled and buried. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

June 30, 2012	#9
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,283	Concentration is the key. The flyash I was around did get concentrated heavy metals mostly because of DEQ and EPA regulations dictated we recycle and reburn the flyash several times for air quality reasons. The only thing was, we emitted none of the heavy metals anyway because of an extensive filter bag system that captured the ash. In its supreme reasoning, each government regulatory body seemed to be in competition with the other to make life more miserable for power producers (and our production was for internal use not for public consumption). So we had to install very expensive redundant equipment just to satisfy a few bureaucrats sitting in offices a thousand miles away with no clue how a coal fired power plant works. Too political? Sorry, go ahead and edit my rant ... even if all this happened fifteen years ago. I can only imagine how much worse it is now. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

June 19, 2012	#2
fortyonenorth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 1,150	This article suggests 10 tons (tonnes?) per HA in combination with additions of organic matter: http://www.flyash.info/2003/28mit.pdf It's a good source of many nutrients, especially potassium, but there are potential hazards as well, insofar as containing heavy metals. If you have easy access to cheap FA, it may be worth investigating.

June 29, 2012	#7
janezee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Whidbey Island, WA Zone 7, Sunset 5 Posts: 931	Well, snap! That's interesting, in a terrifying way. j

June 30, 2012	#10
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	what is fly ash? wood ashes are very alkaline so use sparingly as they raise ph fast. NEVER use coal ash, i have read, as it contains heavy metals. tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

June 30, 2012	#11
Doug9345 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Durhamville,NY Posts: 2,706	Short answer. Fly ash is the ash that gets carried up the smoke stack. As PaulF indicated, it gets filtered out.