Why We Keep a Burn Pile (and How the Ash Feeds Our Orchard)

We keep a burn pile because it closes a loop. Winter drops branches, pruning stacks up, and not all of it is worth chipping or composting. Some wood is thorny, knotty, or carrying problems we don’t want back in the orchard. 

What’s left is ash. Not trash, minerals.

What the Ash Gives Back

Wood ash holds the same things our trees pull from the soil every season:

• Potassium for bloom and fruit quality

• Calcium for strong tissue and better storage

• Trace minerals in small but useful amounts

• A mild liming effect that can nudge acidic ground toward neutral

We use ash because it’s ours. It didn’t come on a pallet, and it isn’t wrapped in marketing. It’s the orchard returning minerals to the orchard.

How It Fits Our System

• Clean inputs only. We burn clean, dry prunings—no treated or painted lumber, no mystery wood.

• Right place, right time. Fruit trees appreciate the mineral bump; acid lovers like blueberries do not.

This isn’t a hack or a silver bullet. It’s one small tool beside compost, cover crops, careful pruning, irrigation, and rest.

Why Not Just Chip Everything?

We chip a lot. Mulch is great. But not every branch belongs in a chip pile. Burning lets us deal with the rough stuff without spreading pests or pathogens and without exporting nutrients off the farm. It’s housekeeping with a purpose.

What We See

Season to season, the orchard is steady. Trees carry themselves well. Blossoms are reliable. Fruit sugars hold. Storage is calmer. Nothing dramatic, just fewer reasons to go shopping for fixes.

The Point

Keep minerals home. Reduce risk. Use what the land already made. The burn pile turns a winter mess into something useful and keeps our inputs local and simple. That’s the whole story.