Wood ash has potash in it... it's just not processed yet. So if you are already using potash (refined form), you don't also need to add wood ash (unrefined form). Kind of akin to how aspirin is more popular than willow bark tea. Willow has an unrefined form of the compound that refined aspirin has.

Also, be cautious with wood ash. Not all woods are alike. Some contain compounds that linger after burning and aren't so awesome for the garden. Part of the popularity of using potash is because it's cleaner and safer by comparison to much random wood burning.

Thanks for the info!

I spread it by flinging it.

Wait, what?!?!?! You don't toss that into your magic black gold mix too annpat? I'm shocked I tell ya, shocked. Hehehee.

private joke?

Yeah, sorry daleyc. annpat has some vigorous and expansive composing action. Seems like they can turn anything into black gold, compost. So the joke was they fling ash about instead of putting it to the compost piles.

Oh, look at beesneeds going off on a tangent!!

bees, I read once that woodash is wasted in the compost pile because it leaches away very quickly, and was better applied directly to the garden. Once I read something that sounds even slightly reasonable, I adhere to it for life.

daleyc as someone else said, you wouldn't want to use woodash from painted or treated woods. My woodask comes from my firewood. I apply it in the winter on the snow and I spread it pretty liberally around my yard.

I did have a soil test come back once years ago telling me to lay off the woodash.

Sorry to tangent, didn't realize. I'll walk away now.

no need to apologize for your fun!

bees, I was teasing you---delighted to have someone other than myself go off topic---not that you were. You know me, I'm always looking for a thread I can hijack.

Come back, beesneeds. I'm getting bored. Besides, I wanted to tell you that I got my bees through the winter. You're the only person who might care.

I'm glad you got your bees through the cold annpat :)

I knew you would be! I covered them with bags of leaves and I bought them some sheep wool to insulate their attic.

Good use of winter storage of compostables. I regularly rake in and partially bury my greenhouse caps in the fall for the same reason. In the spring the leaves get raked back out as the caps come off, then it's mulch for those containers or beds.

I like to spread it around my lilacs.

@floraluk2 sorry, didn't see your question before. Greenhouse cap is like a really big cloche. They can fit six 18-gallon totes inside, I use three in the container garden. I have another two I put out over one of the regular garden beds.

Not my photo, but these are what I use, they are from Aldi:

I also use small greenhouses with the same sort of plastic material, but those don't get leaves.