What’s Chimney Soot good for?

‘Did you know, chimney soot is actually a great nutrient for your garden as it is high in nitrates’?

Chimney Soot is high in Potash, a major nutrient that is essential for good fruiting and flowering and it also helps the plants get through the winter. It can also be a useful additive to the compost heap or can be applied directly to fallow ground and dug in. It also has a liming effect, so wood ash can remedy excessively acidic soils.

Chimney Soot is not the same as ash, soot is more like charcoal – pure carbon with some volatile compounds. That’s why it’s good to let the soot weather before using it – the volatile compounds evaporate and what’s left is like fine charcoal.

• Because it is electrostatic it retains nutrients that would otherwise be washed away
• Soot enriched soil theoretically needs watering less
• It darkens the soil making it warm up quicker, encouraging growth
• Because of Chimney Soot’s large porous surface it allows a safe haven for certain fungi and bacteria where they can multiply
• It can deters slugs and snails.