burning on soil and why does it change colour?

[vegie chicken]

i burn alot of wood for ther camp oven and to clean up the scrub. and it has always fasinated me why the soild turns to a black or red crumble when you uncover the soil fro the ashes. i use the ashes in the garden and picket up two wheel barrow fullls.

 

[hoodat]

When you burn a brush pile you also burn all of the organic content in the top few inches of soil. What you are seeing is the pure mineral content of the soil, with no organic matter.

 

[vegie chicken]

so soil in that state good or bad

 

[silkiechicken]

Well... if you want to kill diseases and weed seeds, it is good.... but you want organic matter and life in healthy soil.