wood ash uses

[ziggy2b]

Morning all;
I was just wandering how many people use wood ashes to give there vehicles traction in ice conditions?? Cheaper than cat litter, I keep them in a coffee can in my truck and it works great!!!
Would like to hear from anyone who uses wood ashes in other ways??:biggrinbounce2:

 

[flushcut]

I use them as well in the bush.

 

[Blazin]

Some in the garden, and the rest over the bank. I tried using them in the driveway years ago but too much of it wound up in the house= PO'd wife.

 

[timberwolf]

Good traction aid, but agree too much gets tracked into house, also need to watch no nails make their way into the stove. Good for the garden. Also working on using some to tan deer hides.

 

[Streblerm]

I put mine in the garden or broadcast them throughout the yard. I try to keep them a good distance from where there is significant people/pet traffic. Sometimes when it is very icy I will use them on the hill at the end of the driveway. As long as they stay a fair distance from the house they tend to get scrubbed off before coming inside.

In addition to a traction aid, I find the dark color of the ashes tends to melt snow and ice when the sun comes out.

I try not to burn anything with nails in it. Even old lumber that I use for kindling I'll either pull nails or cut spots out with my chop saw if the nails are buried too deep.

 

[TKM23]

I use the hot ashes for traction/ ice melt at the end of my driveway. There is always ice there from the ditch runoff. I dump the ashes right after removal for maximum melting. Tracking ash isn't a problem since it's not close to the house.

 

[kingOFgEEEks]

I keep our ashes in a steel trash can, for driveway use.

I always thought ashes caused a pH issue in the garden. Am I ate up with stupid, or do you have to add something else to balance them out?

 

[ray benson]

Some in the garden ,most in the garbage after they cool for a few days.

 

[kstill361]

I scatter mine in the field behind my house

 

[gloud]

Ash for garden use. It is the same as using Lime. (you should have an idea on where the ph is of your garden.. ( But I haven't had ill affects in the years I have done it but I have LARGE gardens. LOL) I also use it for traction up by the chicken coop.

 

[loadthestove]

mine gets scattered out in my yard.It may be all in my head but it sure seems to help the grass out in summer.

 

[Jredsjeep]

i fill my groundhog holes with them

and i sprinkle some on the drive way if i get ice build up.

 

[TonyK]

I don't have to worry about nails so I use it on our road. It is supposed to act as a fine binder and keep the surface together. I can't tell if it works but it does give me something to do with them. They also work well in the yard and the bio-char bits are very good for the soil.

 

[knockbill]

i use some in teh gardens, and for ice on teh driveway,,, gotta watch for nails and footprints, tho!!

 

[TMFARM 2009]

we burn a lot of pallets and such so i use them to tick off the neighbor,,,,putting them on the property line he likes to mow 20 feet over the line into the hay field... the nails after a couple of times should cure this....

 

[retired redneck]

ashes

Ashes have alot of potash i put mine where i plant my potatoes and i have large potatoes. don't go over bord they do have lime also....

 

[firewood guy]

Ashes as soil conditioner

Hey all.. we cut burned wood (standing dead) out of the National forests under USDA contract. The soils under those trees is the richest you can imagine after a couple of years . Don't find a lot of nails , except for the enviro nut-jobs that spiked trees. And you won't track a 40d nail into youre house! As far as a snow-melt additive, I have not tried. I'm in south central CA... we don't use salts (to many enviro issues out here) we use aggregates like sand and ground - up asphalt to "sand " the roads. For those that read previous posts, I operate a nursery and we carbonize the wood chips we use for our planting mixes. It gives you a free source of potash, which is essential for soils. Hope this helps! P.S. it's 27F @5:28pm in CA! ...Looks like it will get down to about 18F overnight. Sorry to complain about the temp for all of you in the Northeast!!

 

[Marine5068]

Just dump mine in a pile over the Winter then transfer to the gardens in the Spring.
I will try the tip about spreading it over the grass this year though.
I also have some mole(s) in the main lawn and will try filling the mound holes with it to see if it sends him away once an for all.

 

[BobL]

If you mix ash with animal manure and let it dry out and then run water through it you can extract Potassium Nitrate which can be used for many things, from gunpowder to a meat curing agent.

Last night I watched a British TV program where two guys did this and cured a side of bacon in the stuff. The even peed into the animal manure to add extra potassium. The show finished with the two guys eating a bacon sandwich from the bacon they had made. Strange people the British.

Apparentlyt this was a common method used to extract this stuff for thousands of years.

 

[olyman]

Some in the garden, and the rest over the bank. I tried using them in the driveway years ago but too much of it wound up in the house= PO'd wife.

X's 2 on that,,not good on the sidewalk either!!!!! and not tooo much on the garden--i quit--tooooooo acid soil test!!!