Where do you dispose of your ashes? Hardwood ash and water make Lye? I am assuming that after a while it would change the PH in the surrounding soil.
Where do you dump your Ashes
- Thread starter Garbanzo62
- 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
Woodsplitter67
Minister of Fire
First it goes in a metal bucket.. when metal bucke is filled.. it goes into A. greenhouse plant pots ... B .. garden .. C.. compose pile..
I let them cool overnight in a five gallon (steel) bucket and then dump them out in the woods.
I tried sprinkling them on the lawn but that just made brown (or less green) spots. Now some goes into the compost for the garden but most goes on the grass over the leach field. I'm trying an experiment of dumping it on invasive plants on the leach field to see if it kills them, but I won't know the results until the spring.
Someone burned down their house by doing that a couple of years ago. Leaves caught fire late at night and that spread to the house. Wait longer. Hot coals buried in ash can stay red hot for many days.
Last edited:
I got two feet of snow on the ground and where I dump them are about a 100 feet from the house at least. I don't fill that five gallon bucket up but once every couple days and I sift the ash/coals so I can reuse the coals for a restart.
I put mine in my metal ash bucket and when that gets full, I transfer it into a large metal trash can. In the spring I sift them through a 1/4" hardware cloth sifter. Then I use my fertilizer spreader and put them in the yard and garden and around my fruit trees. The larger chunks get thrown into the woods, lots of those are charcoal like. Works great as a K and Ca source.
CentralVAWoodHeat
Minister of Fire
I have two metal trash cans with tight fitting lids sitting on our stone patio, far away from the house. Ashes get dumped in those. That is enough storage for all the ash from the entire burning season. I wait until the following fall to dump those cans into a huge stone fire pit we have built into our front field.
So basically the ashes sit for at least five months in closed, non-combustible containers on a non-combustible surface. Once they are dumped into the fire pit the following year of rain/snow basically washes them into the ground.
So basically the ashes sit for at least five months in closed, non-combustible containers on a non-combustible surface. Once they are dumped into the fire pit the following year of rain/snow basically washes them into the ground.
That’s after they’ve been in the 50 gallon steel can they accumulate in. I roll it to the driveway on a dolly, flip it over on its side and roll it down the drive. Then rake it out even.
I save ours in a 10-gallon galvanized ash can. In late winter I start spreading the ashes around our lilacs and lavender bushes and some of the garden beds, but not too heavily. Don't spread around acid-loving plants like blueberries, rhododendrons, etc.
What's your drive way like come spring? Mine already is like soggy oat meal after the thaw starts. Think this would make it worse?
All I do is put them into a dutch oven, take them outside onto cement, and let em sit. I stir them up every time I take the dog out. Usually its safe in a night or 2...then into wal mart bag, sit it on the cement to make sure it doesnt melt the bag, which wouldnt take much. Then into the garbage.
JamesGuido
Feeling the Heat
used to dump in a metal bucket...
waited days to dump in a 30gallon galvanized trash can...
then when i got a roundtuit (and when ma nature was around to help with drizzle), i'd roll the 30 gal can to empty at the end of the property line.
i know, lots a fricken work. but these days i don't G.A.S..
waited days to dump in a 30gallon galvanized trash can...
then when i got a roundtuit (and when ma nature was around to help with drizzle), i'd roll the 30 gal can to empty at the end of the property line.
i know, lots a fricken work. but these days i don't G.A.S..
Save them in a covered ash cans from Plow & Hearth near the stoves. When full, I put the can outside for a few days , waiting for rain or snow (I, being OCD about this, usually time this out with the weather reports 
). The rain also washes off the ash residue on top of said can .
Then, they are spread in the flowers beds, and mixed with the shredded oak leaves and horse manure <already added>. Also the compost piles.
When it's icy, they get spread in the dirt driveway for traction. I don't put them in the walkways, as they usually get tracked back into the house, and that creates a mess I don't want to deal with again, ever.
). The rain also washes off the ash residue on top of said can .Then, they are spread in the flowers beds, and mixed with the shredded oak leaves and horse manure <already added>. Also the compost piles.
When it's icy, they get spread in the dirt driveway for traction. I don't put them in the walkways, as they usually get tracked back into the house, and that creates a mess I don't want to deal with again, ever.
They will track in from the driveway too. Ask me how I know.Save them in a covered ash cans from Plow & Hearth near the stoves. When full, I put the can outside for a few days , waiting for rain or snow (I, being OCD about this, usually time this out with the weather reports
Then, they are spread in the flowers beds, and mixed with the shredded oak leaves and horse manure <already added>. Also the compost piles.
When it's icy, they get spread in the dirt driveway for traction. I don't put them in the walkways, as they usually get tracked back into the house, and that creates a mess I don't want to deal with again, ever.
I have a designated burn pile on the property. After the last legal brush fire, the wood ashes get dumped on the wet ground in the same spot year after year.
Similar threads
