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Q. Someone told me that wood ash from our fireplace was good
for the garden and that it had lots of plant nutrients. How much should
be used?
A. Along the Front Range, probably none at all. Potash
(wood ash) is a term that refers to the days when wood was burned in pots
as one step in making soap. The ash residue - whether from wood burning
in pots or the fireplace - is largely potassium and calcium salts. Plants
certainly do need potassium and calcium. Many Eastern US soils are acidic
and low in calcium and potassium. Most Western soils, however, are alkaline
and abundant in calcium and potassium. A CSU study showed that adding
wood ash to local soils adds unnecessary calcium and potassium, raises
soil pH and elevates salinity. Our Front Range soils already are alkaline
(high pH), and higher salinity levels can damage plant roots. For these
reasons, wood ash is one of few organic soil amendments not recommended
locally.
Q. I saw a TV cooking show suggesting that only male eggplants
be used in cooking, as they were not as bitter and had fewer seeds than
female eggplants. Can you tell me how to tell the difference at the store?
A. "Male" and "female" eggplant
is a case of unfortunate terminology. "Vegetables," such as
eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash, are - botanically speaking
- really fruits. The fruits themselves can't be considered "male
or female." Male pollen was transferred to female parts of the flower,
resulting in the fruit we eat. Different varieties of eggplant may be
more bitter and contain more noticeable seeds than others. Also, as an
eggplant fruit matures, the seeds become more noticeable. So an eggplant
picked when very mature to over-mature might appear "seedier"
than others picked when less mature, even those from the same plant. Pick
eggplant fruits when full size is reached but while the exterior is still
a glossy purple. Once the exterior becomes dull purple, the eggplant fruit
is over-mature.
For more information, contact your local
Colorado State University Extension office.
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Tuesday, November 27, 2007
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Issued in furtherance of Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June
30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Milan
A. Rewerts, Director of Extension, Colorado State University,
Fort Collins, Colorado. Extension programs are available to
all without discrimination. No endorsement of products mentioned is intended
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