Too much ash?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

jatoxico

Minister of Fire
Aug 8, 2011
4,369
Long Island NY
Have only burned 1/4-1/2 cord past couple years because no stove for me, bummer. Butt now that I have rectified that situation and I expect to have more ash. Not to be anal but I'm wondering, what does everyone do with all the ash? Want to have a plan so I don't get behind so whaddya do, throw it in a can, spread it around the rear yard? Any ideas?
 
I use it in my garden.
I spread it between the raised beds (helps keep weeds & bugs away, sprinkle around new plants to keep bugs away, some in the compost pile,
Sprinkled around the outside edge helps to keep slugs from crawling in. (I think it chemically reacts with slug slime, they don't like the high alkaline.)
Works good to spread where you don't want weeds to grow.
I dump it in the garden, in the snow & & have it come spring for several uses.
If you are going to store it, use metal buckets stored outside away from structures (it stays hot for quit a while), out of the wind just in case, so some hot coals don't get blown around, a secure lid helps too.
 
I let it sit in metal bucket for a week or till I know it is cold then it goes in a garbage bag and in a dumpster at one of my rental properties
 
This is probably a stupid question but are the ashes bad for the lawn? People used to burn fields (still do?) to put nutrients back into soil. That was mostly grass though I think, wood ash have much nutrient value?
 
Wood ashes can be spread lightly on icy & snowpack roads for improved traction and they help the sunlight to melt frozen glaze. We also do the things previously mentioned too. A little goes a long way in gardens. Overloading the vegatable patch one year upset the ph and it was lousy growth in summer.
 
Jax- i only empty my ashes about once every 4-5 days, and even then I dont take them ALL out. On my 60x100 plot, it isnt really possible to keep dumping the ashes in the flower beds. I have several metal ash buckets, and when one gets filled, it sits on the back porch(cement) for a week until there is NO DOUBT that there are no more hot embers. Then it just gets dumped in the trash. Just make SURE that no burning embers are in the can when you dump it.....they stay hot much longer than you would think.
 
I dump 'em on the compost heap after they've had time to chill in the ash can.

+1 on making darn sure they are completely dead before you toss them. Don't ask. :red:
 
bogydave said:
I use it in my garden.
I spread it between the raised beds (helps keep weeds & bugs away, sprinkle around new plants to keep bugs away, some in the compost pile,
Sprinkled around the outside edge helps to keep slugs from crawling in. (I think it chemically reacts with slug slime, they don't like the high alkaline.)
Works good to spread where you don't want weeds to grow.
I dump it in the garden, in the snow & & have it come spring for several uses.
If you are going to store it, use metal buckets stored outside away from structures (it stays hot for quit a while), out of the wind just in case, so some hot coals don't get blown around, a secure lid helps too.

Agreed.

We leave the ashes in the ash dump box until it is needed to empty ashes again. Then we dump them into big plastic barrels. The following spring we spread them on the vegetable gardens. Spread them lightly else nothing will grow! They are also good for flower gardens. Or making lye soap.
 
Ash goes outside into a 5-gallon covered metal pail resting either on concrete or the snow where it sits for several weeks until I dispose of it . . .

. . . by dumping it on to the garden in small amounts.
. . . by dumping it out back in a large hole.
. . . by dumping it on to my gravel driveway in the winter for traction and to help melt the snow and ice.
. . . by mixing it up and making statuettes of Backwoods Savage splitting wood vertically which I sell to the tourists in the Summer.
 
Tourists will fall for anything...
 
. . . by mixing it up and making statuettes of Backwoods Savage splitting wood vertically which I sell to the tourists in the Summer.

Tourist will fall for anything.


:lol: That was good. You guys make a good comedy team. Thanks for the laugh! I needed that.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Tourists will fall for anything...

Quit "blushing"
You are a world wide "Wood splitter's" Icon!

ffj:
How much $$
Do you ship to Alaska?
 
:lol: Don't bother Jake. He's busy trying to learn how to split wood.
 
Gasifier said:
. . . by mixing it up and making statuettes of Backwoods Savage splitting wood vertically which I sell to the tourists in the Summer.

Tourist will fall for anything.


:lol: That was good. You guys make a good comedy team. Thanks for the laugh! I needed that.

I saw them perform live a couple weeks ago. It was...memorable.
 
We dump it in a 55 gallon barrel on the driveway. We usually fill at least one and about 1/3 of another. All gets dumped in the woods after a month or so of cooling. Can't use it anywhere else because it contains (probably) 20lbs of nails/screws/ from pallets.
 
After mine cool I spread them around the property. I don't want to overload the garden with ash.
 
Wood Duck said:
After mine cool I spread them around the property. I don't want to overload the garden with ash.

I wonder how much is really too much? Last winter I burned a pile of brush and punky logs and the pile was about ten feet tall and twenty feet across. The thing was still smoldering the next day. Anyway, my nephew planted corn there this spring. Wouldn't you know it, the corn in that circle of ash was twice as tall as the rest of the field!
 
From the bucket inside to the bigger bucket outside.

secure the lid.
 

Attachments

  • metal_trash_can.jpg
    metal_trash_can.jpg
    2 KB · Views: 337
Backwoods Savage said:
Tourists will fall for anything...

. . . that's why we're able to sell so much Moxie (most think it is some sort of orange-flavored local soda) and candy made out of mashed potatoes (I mean really . . . who would even think of making candy out of mashed potatoes?)
 
Gasifier said:
. . . by mixing it up and making statuettes of Backwoods Savage splitting wood vertically which I sell to the tourists in the Summer.

Tourist will fall for anything.


:lol: That was good. You guys make a good comedy team. Thanks for the laugh! I needed that.

Yeah, Dennis is Laurel and I'm Hardy . . . or maybe it's the other way around . . . I'm the fat one in the comedy pairing. ;)
 
bogydave said:
Backwoods Savage said:
Tourists will fall for anything...

Quit "blushing"
You are a world wide "Wood splitter's" Icon!

ffj:
How much $$
Do you ship to Alaska?

Oh no . . . just spent close to $30 shipping my fur hat and some Amish jam and whoopie pies to my sister in Portage . . . cost me a small fortune for what could have been half that down here in the Lower 48.
 
Flatbedford said:
Gasifier said:
. . . by mixing it up and making statuettes of Backwoods Savage splitting wood vertically which I sell to the tourists in the Summer.

Tourist will fall for anything.


:lol: That was good. You guys make a good comedy team. Thanks for the laugh! I needed that.

I saw them perform live a couple weeks ago. It was...memorable.

We'll hopefully be having our Reunion Tour next Fall at Woodstock . . . maybe I'll see if I can't locate a purple vest and a milk crate and have a "Guess which one of us is the real Backwoods Savage" contest.
 
Jake, my wife forgot to pack that vest. However, we did not need much for warmth as the weather turned out really great. Maybe I should bring a milk crate if we go again?!
 
...meanwhile, back to our regularly scheduled program.

Metal can on the patio for a few days, then white grocery bag or Kingsford bag, then garbage.
 
Fod01 said:
...meanwhile, back to our regularly scheduled program.

Metal can on the patio for a few days, then white grocery bag or Kingsford bag, then garbage.

HehHeh . . . thanks for keeping us focused Fod01! :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.