Uses for ash (cooled)

[SteveJ]

I have been burning beetle kill pine for 3 months (about 5 cords) using a Seton W-130 gassifier and have generated about 40 gallons of ash - the very fine gray stuff).

I have been told that the ash can be used for fertilizer and have put some out and noticed another use - snow melting.

I threw ash onto about 80 sq ft of my yard which melted the snow. Since then the area has been snow free. Works better than salt!!

So, now how to not track it into the house???

What is everyone doing with their ash and about how much are you generating?

 

[wdc1160]

Interesting...

I did a quick google and got these possible uses
For the world Ican't figure out how it peels vegtables, but hey... Its on the internet so it must be true.

Acid neutralization
Alkaline batteries
Catalysts
Cleaning compounds
Drilling muds
Dyestuffs
Fertilizers
Food processing
Fruit and vegetable peeling
Gas purification
Metal processing
Oil refining
Organic and inorganic chemicals
Paper manufacturing
Pesticides
Pharmaceuticals
pH adjustment
Photographic chemicals
Potassium carbonate and other potassium chemicals manufacturing
Soap manufacturing
Synthetic rubber
Water treatment

 

[JustWood]

If spread around blue spruce I've seen as much as 2' of new growth a year on trees over 6'.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

I mixed some with clay soil - to improve drainage - for some potted vegetable. The one thing I noticed - actually, it was hard to ignore - was that none of the seeds germinated :coolmad:

 

[Corey]

It 'can' work as fertilizer - high concentration of potassium - actually potash - but it also makes the pH go very high (alkaline). If you have acidic soil and/or alkaline loving plants it can be a good soil amendment. But if you have the opposite conditions, it may not be of much use.

Setting here in KS - basically an ancient sea bed, there is limestone everywhere - water comes out of the tap at about pH 8.3, so not a lot of use in spreading more alkaline fertilizer around.