Last Updated on November 2, 2022 by David
There have been hot debates between the two parties who argue about the benefits of cigarette ashes for the plants. You might have the question about are ashes good for plants?
Some people believe that cigarette ashes are great for plant fertilizer. Some people nourish their garden or indoor plants with cigarette ashes. Now, the question is: are ashes good for plants?
Does it really work? We have even made our extensive research about this matter. And the result was shocking! You will find the exact answer here.
Why are cigarette ashes good for plants? – If we’re talking about the tobacco ashes
Let’s have the common ground here that what we meant “ashes” are the ones from the cigarettes. Well, researchers said that cigarette ashes can be okay for some houseplants. It is indeed true that these ashes have low nutrient content so these won’t necessarily threaten the plant’s growth. but there are much better sources of plant food that you can find from the home improvement stores.
And you don’t necessarily need to throw the ashes out of the soil for growing your plants.
Keep in mind that the perks will be granted to your houseplants if we are only adding the ashes to the soil. If you don’t burn through the cigarette all the way, then these are not great for your houseplants. When the cigarettes are not all burned, the nicotine is still there. It is toxic and harmful for your houseplants. Also, there’s also risk that tobacco could lead to mosaic virus. So, if you plan to nourish your plants with the ashes, make sure you’ve burned all of the tobaccos and remove the nicotine before you do. Seems a bit more complex, doesn’t it? Well, it does. That’s why many gardeners strongly emphasize that cigarette ashes won’t do good to your houseplants.
Wood ashes
Besides the cigarette ashes, you might wonder if you can add other ashes to nourish your houseplants. The ashes for nourishing the houseplant, although still debatable, come in many types. There are other types of ashes besides the cigarette itself.
There’s the ashes which your houseplants would like to take, such as wood ashes. Although the wood ashes seem to be useless, you will be surprised that some woods contain calcium, phosphore, as well as potassium. All of them are useful for your houseplants. But when it comes to using the ashes to nourish your plant, you will need to know how much soil acidity that your plants need. If your plants need at least 6.5 pH of soil acidity, then using the wood ash or cigarette ash won’t turn out to be a good option for it.
Some experts might suggest you to check of the pH level of your soil. But if you don’t have an adequate tool for that, or perhaps you are not really sure, you could sample some of the plants. Pick one sample for each houseplant and use the cultivator to meet the soil and the wood ashes. But make sure to leave the roots and plant from the ashes. After adding the wood ash, you will want to check on the pH. Make sure that the pH level is not too high or too low.
Plant Ashes
To make the plant ashes, you could focus on picking the houseplant’s stems and make them ashes. The good thing with these ashes is that these can be the natural deternant of the moths and flies. These creatures do not like the smells of the ashes.
Rice hull ashes
It is one of the most affordable solutions when it comes to the ashes for the houseplants. Besides nourishing the plants, these ashes can be the natural deterrent of the slugs, snails, cutworms, moths, and other creatures.
Corncob ash
The corncob ash is one of the best solutions if your plants are often raided by the ants. While it is impossible to spray the pesticides, or perhaps you are not fond of toxic solutions, then the corncob ashes can be the best replacement. Corncob ashes are more beneficial for the bean plants.
