Knowledgebase

New Garden Bed over an Old Fire Pit #681972

Asked February 27, 2021, 1:31 AM EST

I would like to add garden space for tomatoes, squash and pumpkins in a wide open sunny area of our new yard. Unfortunately the previous owner had a large fire pit in part of the space I want to use. Can I build a 12” raised vegetable bed over the ash bed of the fire pit or do I need to dig out the compacted ash and remove it? I’m not sure how it would affect growing vegetables planted on top of it. Thanks

St. Louis County Minnesota

Expert Response

The ash does not need to be removed. 12 inches of soil is enough for most vegetables to thrive. If it is very compared you probably want to break it up so the garden box drains. Wood ash is a good fertilizer but really gets hands dirty and hard to clean if you dig in it.

https://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/woodash.html

Loading ...