To Potash or not to Potash

[Jester]

Hi there crazy kids....... I was wondering, when people talk about Potash and Potassium Sulphate, are they talking about exactly the same thing ?? Is there a difference between the two?

Thanks in advance

John

[63pmp]

Potash is the old pre-industrial age name. It means potassium but not necessarily the sulphate version, or chloride, or nitrate, or phosphate version. Ye olde English chemical names go something like this "muriate of potash = potassium chloride", that's the only old name I can remember of the top of my head, other people might chip in with other alchemic names.

Paul

[Jester]

Thanks Paul

[stymie]

I glean my extra potash for flowers and fruit from the bonfire ash. Goodness knows what its chemical formula is but it works.

[Jamie]

gday Don

can you explain what ya mean by glean your potash? do you collect the ash from a fire???


jamie

[shibui]

Yes Jamie, the potash in wood does not burn so the ash left over after a fire is rich in potash. I gather and store the ash from the heater or bonfire to use on plants - we're talking about the fine, grey/white ash, not the black charcoal pieces. Just remember it is quite alkaline so don't get too heavy handed. Wood ash used to be used to create the alkali (caustic) to turn fat into soap.
Blood and bone has Nitrogen and Phosphorus but no potash. I add some wood ash to create a complete, organic fertiliser for plants!

Also use wood ash to treat pear and cherry slug on the fruit trees - just sprinkle the ash over the trees. It sticks onto the slimy slugs and dries them out. As a bonus it fertilises the trees and raises soil pH under the trees.

Certainly never chuck such a valuable substance in the bin. Use it somewhere in the garden!

And for Jester, as jamie points out, potash is the old gardener's name for potassium so anything with 'potassium' in the name will supply 'potash'.
Cheers

[Jester]

Thanks for all the valuable info guys.!!