What do, or where do, you put your ashes?

[Hlakegollum]

I'd go easy on putting them around the evergreens......
Ashes will raise soil PH by 1 point when spread out in a nice even thin layer.
Evergreens are an acid loving tree. You will over sweeten them with too much ashes.
I put mine in my garden all winter. I try to spread them out so as to cover it all by the end of the burning season. (100' x 40' garden)
If I end up with more than I need for the garden, I then spread them on the lawns.
If you compost, put them in the compost pile.

Good info. I toss them on the lawn all winter, works like lime. Also pears, grapes and liliacs love them.

 

[abohac]

in the field

 

[HARRY BARKER]

horseradish patch

 

[WadePatton]

the warmer it is, the further it gets from my porch.

and i save some for dehairing hides and making soap.

 

[stihl sawing]

In an old steel wheeled wheelbarrow, Then at the end of the burning season i will take them in the back and dump them on the fencerow. Have used them before to fill low spots in the yard.

 

[stihlcountry]

Like most people I put them garden or the wife,s flower beds. Or where ever It looks like it needs it.:greenchainsaw:

 

[flashy]

the warmer it is, the further it gets from my porch.

and i save some for dehairing hides and making soap.

Are you saying you make your own lye to make soap?

I've heard of that but haven't found a good procedure to do it. What's your method, if I may ask?

Never heard of dehairing hides with ashes. Do you use lye for that, or the ashes themselves?

 

[deerlakejens]

By most accounts, wood ash has an N-P-K analysis of 0-1-3, with its main component being calcium. As stated earlier, it will raise soil ph so use it on none acid lovers like lawns and vegetables but avoid rhodies, azaleas, hostas, and most conifers. Definitely don't put in any creeks or water ways as the phosphorus promotes algae growth. It's free low potency fertilizer so its kind of crazy to haul or throw away.

 

[wej52]

As others have said it is a great fertilizer, but be careful on the garden plot because even there you can raise the pH too much. I am contending with that now. But fortunately the yard needs the ash. W Jones

 

[HuskyMike]

After they have cooled, in the woods behind the house. I put the ashes back where the wood came from.

 

[Wood Scrounge]

mix with composted chicken manure and put in my drop spreader for the yard.

 

[Uncle John]

The most important consideration in applying wood ashes to garden soil is to avoid putting on too much. (The Rhode Island researchers recommend no more than 20 pounds of wood ashes per 1,000 square feet of garden area annually.) Large applications can lead to soil alkalinity and plant accumulation of heavy metals. The key to safe use is annual monitoring of soil pH-keep it between 6.0 and 7.0!

 

[WadePatton]

Are you saying you make your own lye to make soap?

I've heard of that but haven't found a good procedure to do it. What's your method, if I may ask?

Never heard of dehairing hides with ashes. Do you use lye for that, or the ashes themselves?

thought i might snag somebody with that.

the guy teaching me to tan hides is an "old timey" expert/practitioner. i haven't done it yet, but the general idea is hardwood ashes into solution somewhat thinner than a paste. and that depending on the wood type or other impurities there _will_ be some staining of the hides. then a long long rinse. rinse again. and again. then i'll bark tan 'em.

soap. i was pushing it a little. not doing that as i have no source of animal fat 'round here just now. maybe later. did it as a kid w/ mom. or you can buy all-natural soap at the healthy food store for 3$ a pop.

the point is that there are many levels of usefulness in most waste products.

 

[zoulas]

Boy, I feel dumb, I have been throwing them out all this time. I did not know to spread them on the lawn and evergreens.

Would you say it works kind of like Hollytone?

 

[Haywire Haywood]

Works the opposite of holly tone, moves the PH toward the alkaline end rather than the acid end. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/woodash.html

Ian

 

[woodbooga]

I try and wait for snow to be in the forecast before spreading on the front lawn, which I actually care for to some degree. It's visible from the road and I prefer that my front yard not be all powder gray for days on end.

 

[camoman]

metal trash can you find at your hardware store, once that is full I dump it in my compost pile!

 

[Kingsley]

First time I spread it on my lawn I ended up with burn holes. Can't stress enough how thin the ashes need to be to spread it on your lawn and get favorable results!

I now just dump it behind the barn, using it as fill up against the barn. Kills the weeds.

 

[Kong]

I managed to put too much on our gardens - we do soil tests every year so we caught it pretty quick. Aside from acting essentially the same as hydrated lime (the powerdy white stuff for you non gardeners) there are a lot mineras in the ash as well (all well oxidized unfortunately).

I dump a lot on the road that passes our house. The state doesn't do squat to treat the road (steep hillside) when it ices over and so my ashes have saved a lot of people a whole bunch of unhappy. They will eventually wash into the ditches which lead to a creek that coal mining destroyed years ago. Because of the Acid mine drainage nothing lives in that creek - nothing at all, not so much as moss on the rocks. Looks pretty though. It hasn't turned orange yet. Now here is the good thing about it. That creek has a pH of about 4.5, just about as acidic as a good tomato, but my ashes being alkaline do just a very teeny little bit to bring it back to a neutral 7 or so as nature intended it to be. When it comes to ashes, they don't hurt, they help.

 

[Scootermsp]

I dump mine in the woods a week or so after I shovel them out. All of the nails in the ash from burning pallets occasionally will not make my tires happy! I have only taken out 2 small garbage cans since Labor Day.