Vinegar washing wood ash

Hey team,

I've been thinking about doing this, as my Payson, Utah soil is quite alkaline, but I don't want to waste my wood ash.

I currently put it in my compost, and there's some neutralization/buffering which occurs because of that, but I'm thinking of doing a vinegar wash before putting the ash into the compost.

Preliminary research indicates I'm not original in my thinking, and the combination will indeed lower pH and form acetate minerals in place of carbonate minerals. Indeed, some experiments, using fermentation, have shown an interesting outcome: highly acidified (pH 4-5) minerals with significantly increased electrical conductivity.

Initial research also indicates success simply pouring the slurry over soil.

Any of you have any thoughts on the matter, or experience neutralizing the alkalinity of wood ash, or anything else relevant?

If the goal is to add the wood ash to a compost pile a small amount of vinegar might be okay.

Large amounts of vinegar added to a compost pile might harm or kill the beneficial bacteria and fungi that work to break down organic matter in the pile.

If the goal is to neutralizes the ash then using the vinegar washed ash directly on the soil might work.