Can ash from the fire be used on the garden if lit with mineral turps?

[Enonymous]

Hi everyone Stoked to be able to call on this community for insight.

My father is a know it all and has taken to spreading wood ash all over the garden despite my insisting that he STAY AWAY. I know that he lights his fire with Mineral Turps (no freaking idea why) and I wanted to find out if this would be bad for the garden/veggies. My gut tells me its a bad idea. And yes, I have told him that woodash from the fire should be used sparingly.

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

Neither turpentine nor the burnt residue from turpentine would beneficial to a garden. Hopefully he is not adding enough to cause harm. Ass for wood ash, since it does raise soil pH, it is usually only recommended for excessively acidic soils.

 

[Chuck]

Unless excessive amounts of turpentine were used to start the fire the residue should not be in enough quantity to do any harm. Wood ash does raise soil Ph but it also has many trace minerals that plants need. It is also a good source for potassium. It should be applied well before planting and scattered, not layered. Too much is not a good thing.