November Garden Questions and Answers

Q. My husband and I enjoyed your article regarding composting. Can you use ashes from the fireplace in the composter?

A. In many parts of the U.S., fireplace ashes can successfully be added to the garden. However, wood ashes are a traditional source of potash and are alkaline. In our area, soils usually are heavily weighted toward alkaline, so it's not a wise idea to change the pH level even more by spreading ashes.

However, since you're asking about adding it to a compost pile, you should be able to use it in limited quantity. The ashes tend to leach very quickly which, in turn, burns plants. But composted in a pile, this problem would be eliminated. However, under no circumstances should you use ashes around acid-loving plants, such as azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons.

You should be able to use the ash-added compost as a side dressing (keeping them a foot or more away from young seedlings or newly planted plants. Or you can possibly use wood ashes full strength as a base along garden paths. I would caution you that ashes get kind of messy when wet, so you should put a thick layer of wood chips or some other soil amendment over the ashes.

Q. My bush beans produced pods without any beans inside. The same thing happened last year, while two years ago I had a large crop with only a few pods without beans. Do you know how to correct this problem? Also, my Raywood ash tree has started dying off in the center. The die off starts in the upper area with all the leaves falling off. Any solutions?

A. I suspect your bush bean pods with no beans may be a result of cultural conditions. Bush beans grow best when there is a constant supply of moisture. Light, frequent irrigations are recommended during dry weather.

Also, hold off on fertilizer in that it only encourages lush, green growth at the expense of fruit. The moisture problem can be prevented by adjusting your planting dates to correspond with cooler spring and fall temperatures rather than summer.

As for your Raywood ash, it sounds like the die off could be fire blight, which causes shoots to curl and foliage to blacken. Another common problem is borer infestation, which can lead to some defoliation. The best thing to do is to take a branch to a reputable garden center and have an expert identify the cause of the problem and determine if and how to treat it. Unfortunately, without actually seeing a sample, I can only speculate.

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