Adding Coal Ashes to Soil

Can hard coal stoker cinders be plowed into heavy soil to lighten it without bad effect? If weathered over winter and broken down to 1/4-in. or finer. Clinkers make good subdrains if buried deeply.

Soil in home vegetable garden packs hard when dry. Would coal ashes benefit this condition? Yes, use 1 in. incorporated into top 6 ins. of soil. Screen through a 1/4-in. mesh before applying. Be sure they have been exposed outdoors over winter before using.

What are the benefits from the fine siftings of coal ashes applied to a vegetable garden and mixed with the soil? The mechanical condition is improved, more air is admitted, bacteria work more efficiently, and roots grow faster.

Can coal ashes be used in the garden at the same time bone meal is worked into the soil? Yes, they can be used at the same time, but they should be fine enough to lighten soil.

Are coal ashes of any use as a chemical fertilizer? Coal ashes have very little, if any, fertilizer value. They do improve the mechanical condition of most soils though.

Do coal ashes help prevent cutworms? To a degree. If a 1-in. layer is placed about bases of plants, cutworms will have difficulty in attacking them.

A couple of years ago I noticed that an acquaintance had dumped his winter's coke ashes in a low spot in back of his yard. In spring he smoothed them out and set his tomato plants there, and they bore a heavy crop of fruit. Is there any plant food in coke ashes that is good for tomatoes? Or was that just an accident that the plants did so well in the ashes? The coke ashes improved the soil aeration, and thus helped produce better growth.

Are briquette ashes good for entire garden? I burn briquettes in the fireplace. Yes; for mechanical betterment of the soil, improving its texture.

Will ashes from fireplace, in which some cannel coal has been used, be harmful in garden use? Cannel coal ashes contain a harmful oil unless completely burned.

Can the fine white ash of cannel coal be used to lighten a heavy soil? Yes. (See previous question.)

I understand cannel coal ashes are strong in phosphorus and potash. Are they suitable to be added to the flowers and vegetable garden? As mechanical aids mostly; they have but little nutrient value.