Uses for ash
- Thread starter crh704
- Start date
-
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. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
Keep it to dump on the ice in the drive way. works great 
Spread it on the garden and around non-acid loving plants. Lilacs seem to love it.
topoftheriver
Member
I dump it in my garden and turn it in. That is what farmers did before commercial lime was introduced. It increases the Ph.
ArsenalDon
Minister of Fire
ArsenalDon
Minister of Fire
done that too..does work wellKeep it to dump on the ice in the drive way. works great
tigeroak
Feeling the Heat
ArsenalDon
Minister of Fire
glenc0322
Minister of Fire
does it help melt the ice or just add traction?Keep it to dump on the ice in the drive way. works great
I use it the same as lime on grass. Wherever there is moss or shrooms.
Wood ash is actually the same as potash in fertilizer. It causes plants to flower. So when plants stop producing flowers, you can sprinkle it around the plants and water it in. It causes them to bloom and produce. Not too much in compost though. Only a bucket to a pile ! Too much is not good. Greens are nitrogen for green growth. Browns are potassium for root growth. So keep nitrogen away from fruit trees, or you get a lot of green, and no fruit. Root plants need more potassium rich compost. You don't want potash around plants you don't want to flower and go to seed like lettuce or spearmint. Many herbs when propegated through flowers weaken, or change the product so keep it away from anything you don't want to reproduce.
Coal ash contains nothing "good" for plants. It does no harm, but is not beneficial. I use it heavy around posts and poles to prevent weeds from growing there and needing to trim. What does grow in it, pulls up easily.
Wood ash is actually the same as potash in fertilizer. It causes plants to flower. So when plants stop producing flowers, you can sprinkle it around the plants and water it in. It causes them to bloom and produce. Not too much in compost though. Only a bucket to a pile ! Too much is not good. Greens are nitrogen for green growth. Browns are potassium for root growth. So keep nitrogen away from fruit trees, or you get a lot of green, and no fruit. Root plants need more potassium rich compost. You don't want potash around plants you don't want to flower and go to seed like lettuce or spearmint. Many herbs when propegated through flowers weaken, or change the product so keep it away from anything you don't want to reproduce.
Coal ash contains nothing "good" for plants. It does no harm, but is not beneficial. I use it heavy around posts and poles to prevent weeds from growing there and needing to trim. What does grow in it, pulls up easily.
glenc0322
Minister of Fire
1. De-skunk pets. A handful rubbed on Fido's coat neutralizes the lingering odor.
2. Hide stains on paving. This Old Housetechnical editor Mark Powers absorbs wet paint spatters on cement by sprinkling ash directly on the spot; it blends in with a scuff of his boot,
3. Enrich compost. Before the organic compound get applied to soil, enhance its nutrients by sprinkling in a few ashes, says the host of radio's You Bet Your Garden, Mike McGrath. Adding too much, though, ruins the mix.
4. Block garden pests. Spread evenly around garden beds, ash repels slugs and snails.
5. Melt ice. TOH building editor Tom Baker finds it adds traction and de-ices without hurting soil or concrete underneath.
6. Control pond algae. One tablespoon per 1,000 gallons adds enough potassiumm to strengthen other aquatic plants that compete with algae, slowing its growth,
7. Pump up tomatoes. For the calcium-loving plants, McGrath places 1/4 cup right in the hole when planting,
8. Clean glass fireplace doors. A damp sponge dipped in the dust scrubs away sooty residue.
9. Make soap. Soaking ashes in water makes lye, which can be mixed with animal fat and then boiled to produce soap. Salt makes it harden as it cools.
10. Shine silver. A paste of ash and water makes a dandy nontoxic metal polisher.
2. Hide stains on paving. This Old Housetechnical editor Mark Powers absorbs wet paint spatters on cement by sprinkling ash directly on the spot; it blends in with a scuff of his boot,
3. Enrich compost. Before the organic compound get applied to soil, enhance its nutrients by sprinkling in a few ashes, says the host of radio's You Bet Your Garden, Mike McGrath. Adding too much, though, ruins the mix.
4. Block garden pests. Spread evenly around garden beds, ash repels slugs and snails.
5. Melt ice. TOH building editor Tom Baker finds it adds traction and de-ices without hurting soil or concrete underneath.
6. Control pond algae. One tablespoon per 1,000 gallons adds enough potassiumm to strengthen other aquatic plants that compete with algae, slowing its growth,
7. Pump up tomatoes. For the calcium-loving plants, McGrath places 1/4 cup right in the hole when planting,
8. Clean glass fireplace doors. A damp sponge dipped in the dust scrubs away sooty residue.
9. Make soap. Soaking ashes in water makes lye, which can be mixed with animal fat and then boiled to produce soap. Salt makes it harden as it cools.
10. Shine silver. A paste of ash and water makes a dandy nontoxic metal polisher.
Jon1270
Minister of Fire
Keep it to dump on the ice in the drive way. works great
Doesn't this mean it gets tracked into house and car?
Excavator
Feeling the Heat
Kevin Dolan
Burning Hunk
How do you compost it? Do you just mix it with your regular green matter and let it rot down? I have been just throwing away into a spare piece of ground with trees in it to sort of keep the weeds down, it does not seem to do much to the soil as the grass there in the summer seems the same as the rest without the ash. Would be nice to find something useful for it, I like the idea of using it for soaking up spilt oil, but not for driveways as too messy. Interesting though!
Yes, which is why I only use it when disasterously icy.
I keep a small amount of sawdust for the smae purpose...works great and is much less messy. Easier to clean.
Buy lard, grow mint, and make your own mint scented soap!
(I just spread it on the lawn instead of buying lime.)
(I just spread it on the lawn instead of buying lime.)
topoftheriver
Member
Bub381
Minister of Fire
Maple man
Burning Hunk
I dig a hole and fill it up every year cover it in the spring with in a few years grasses start to grow over it you never knew it was their
- Status
Similar threads
