Use those ashes

[save$]

Every year wehave repeated threads asking what to do with the stove's ashes.
If you have a garden or a lawn, this is now a good time to use them.
When your ground is no longer frozen, the ashes have a better chance of getting into the soil and not being leashed away by rain. When turning soil over in the garden, this is the best time to mix it in. Also, you might want hang on a few ashes to spread around the base of your plants to keep some crawling insects away. They don't like the grit of ash. You have to reapply the ash after a rain.
Any one who makes compost can add ash. Just be sure to mix it in
I like to save my ashes in a covered metal can. They don't get wet and are easy to use that way.

 

[mrjohneel]

Thanks. When you add ashes to your garden (in my case mainly tomatoes) what does it do to the Ph, etc.? That is, do you find you have to add any lime to your soil before you plant?

 

[smoke show]

I like ash in the morning.

 

[save$]

Thanks. When you add ashes to your garden (in my case mainly tomatoes) what does it do to the Ph, etc.? That is, do you find you have to add any lime to your soil before you plant?

Ash and lime do the same thing to the soil. They both move the ph up. But it takes a whole lot of ash to move it up a few points. Lime does it better, but takes longer to be available. Tomatoes do a bit better in the slightly acid soil. Same for potatoes and peppers (all in the same plant family). Greens like the sweet soil. Most gardeners try to keep soil fairly neutral. That serves the needs of most plants. Soil test kits for ph are cheap and available in most garden centers. A better way is to send in a soil sample to you cooperative extension sevice. For a small fee, they will test your soil and tell you what to add to make it work right for your garden crop needs. I found it best to test every few years. It is surprising how open oil soil becomes so empty in plant nutrients (they leach out with the rain)

 

[bill3rail]

I have been dumping ash in my garden since 01 Jan, when I first fired my Pellet Stove.
I just added some sawdust from cutting up a tree, and I should be rototilling the garden within the next few weeks to mix it all up.

Bill

 

[save$]

I have been dumping ash in my garden since 01 Jan, when I first fired my Pellet Stove.
I just added some sawdust from cutting up a tree, and I should be rototilling the garden within the next few weeks to mix it all up.




You may want to reconsider mixing sawdust in you soil. It is ok on top of the soil as a mulch, but not so good mixed in. Sawdust will bind with available nitrogen in the soil. Not until it decomposes will that nitrogen be released and available to the plants. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for good plant growth. If you still want that sawdust in your garden soil, your plants will benefit from frequent watering with a liquid fertilizer. If you are going organic, I doubt the organic fertilizer will be sufficient to compete with the sawdust binding up the nitrogen.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

My sawdust (actually pine shavings) gets mangled by the chickens and mixed with chicken manure (deep litter system), then it sits over winter in trenches in the garden or as a topping over leaves and other material. Then I add a layer of compost and start mixing it up.

That manure will do a number on what is left of the wood by the time the plants need it. Just be certain to allow the stuff to winter over before planting into it.

 

[bill3rail]

Thanks for the info. I do not use any fertilizer at all, chemical or organic.
I just mix in all organic waste and let it go. It has been working like that for many years on other gardens. I started a new garden when we bought the new house, so I will be building up the base again.

Bill

 

[save$]

Putting organic matter back into the soil is composting. Best part about that is that whatever you get, you know what you are eating. USDA won't admit to any nutritional gain from eating organic food. I've always placed a lot of trust in their findings. But now, not feeling that confident in their conclusions. Now we hearing about pink slime in hamburger and chicken products and not being required to list it as an ingredient. These are scraps normally destined for dog food. But now these scraps are treated with ammonia hydroxide to kill the bacteria and found "safe" to add to about 75% of ground meats. You tube "pink slime". It might change your eating habits. I'm getting more canning jars and increasing the size of my garden.