| Volcanic ash would not have the same effect as fast-acting fertilizers. It contains a variety of minerals helpful to plants. Depending on the coarseness, it could be a good soil amendment. It could alter the PH, depending on the sulfur content. Fertile land around volcanos is the result of thousands of years of soil formation after major eruptions. I was camped near Pinto Rock, about 10 miles east of the mountain six weeks before it blew. We observed ash plumes and received a thin black layer of ash overnight then. The death toll was put at 59 the first year, and revised down to 57 thereafter. |
