# So --- What do you do with the ash?



## velotocht (Feb 11, 2011)

I have a 5 gallon metal bucket in which I collect the ash from the trays in my Whitfield. I average about two buckets (10 gallons) per tone of pellets. I expect this is about the normal accumulation rate. ?

But here's a question: What shoudl I do with the ash?

My neighbor suggested that I just spread it on the lawn - which is what I've been doing for the last 5+ years. He said ash is bascially caustic ... and therefore good for the grass around pine trees. So I did some experimentation - dumping around the pines one year and on the open (healthy) grass another year -- in the shaded areas a third year and, after all my testing, I concluded the ash does nothing good or bad for the lawn! BTW, I live in Dutchess county NY, where we've had record snow fall this year.

Anyone else done this kind of testing? What do you do with your ash?

RonB


----------



## B-Mod (Feb 11, 2011)

Lawn...........


----------



## imacman (Feb 11, 2011)

Garden/lawn/compost pile


----------



## ivanhoe (Feb 11, 2011)

on my snowy inclined driveway!


----------



## emmelch1 (Feb 11, 2011)

I fill in sink holes in My back yard.


----------



## soupy1957 (Feb 11, 2011)

good idea emmelch1...........never thought of that.

-Soupy1957


----------



## hossthehermit (Feb 11, 2011)

Driveway slope


----------



## wazilian (Feb 11, 2011)

I take mine up to my wife's grandmother's farm where they use it for fertilizer for the fields.


----------



## tinkabranc (Feb 11, 2011)

I spread the ashes out in the flower garden in the spring.


----------



## DBCOOPER (Feb 11, 2011)

I'm not to far from the coast, maybe 70 miles straight line, so I take them in my airplane and release them out over the Atlantic after saying a few words.


----------



## velotocht (Feb 11, 2011)

Cooper:  Spreading over the ocean ... how very serene of you! 


So does anyone know the good - or bad - effects of dumping them on the lawn?  I have seen no effect either way.

RonB


----------



## Heaterhunter (Feb 11, 2011)

hossthehermit said:
			
		

> Driveway slope



Hoss,
Does it melt the ice as effectively as salt?  How about the mess?  Probably just a driveway thing and not so much a walkway thing huh? :-/


----------



## ChrisWNY (Feb 11, 2011)

Stove ash more or less acts like sand in a driveway, but it does help melt snow when the Sun is out due to its dark color. I use my stove ash for fertilizer around ornamental trees, gardens, and on the lawn, so I've been dumping it outside every couple of weeks.


----------



## Turbo-Quad (Feb 11, 2011)

Fill in the holes in the yard that they mutt dug.


----------



## nailed_nailer (Feb 11, 2011)

I dump mine on top of the compost pile.  

I Turn it over each year and it gets mixed in.

The Compost makes my tomatoes and cucumbers happy .

---Nailer---


----------



## Xena (Feb 11, 2011)

There's a hole in the 3 feet of snow in the approximate
location of the flower bed in my yard. That's where the
ashes go.


----------



## Snowy Rivers (Feb 11, 2011)

I just hurl the stuff out into the woods behind the house.

Also depends on which way the wind is a blowing.

Snowy


----------



## save$ (Feb 11, 2011)

velotocht said:
			
		

> I have a 5 gallon metal bucket in which I collect the ash from the trays in my Whitfield. I average about two buckets (10 gallons) per tone of pellets. I expect this is about the normal accumulation rate. ?
> 
> But here's a question: What shoudl I do with the ash?
> 
> ...


Wood ash is Alkaline, and "Wood ash should never be used on acid-loving plants." Pine trees are acid loving plants as are most any other evergreen. from http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/woodash.html This university article will explain wood ash's useful purpose in gardening. Here in the north east, we have very acid soil. One of the reasons blueberries do so well. The wood ash help adjust the soil's PH to Neutral, which is 6.6 to 6.9 Test your soil, less than 6.6 is acid, more than 6.9 is alkaline, sweet. So for most circumstances, adding ash in the north east will help bring the soil back to neutral which is a good mix for most plants. Wood ash has a good combination of other minerals good for plant growth and needs to be replenished where harvesting is done. Open soil has its nutrients easily leached out.   Soil testing kits are available where most garden supplies are sold.  Testing for Ph alone is usually inexspensive.   Remember that soil is slow to respond to Ph adjustment, so don't over add ash or your PH may continue to climb and the soil become toxic to some plants.  It is doubtful that the ash from one stove will have more than a modest impact on your soil's PH unless you dump your ashes in the same area each time.    I like to spread a ring of ash aound newly planed seedling.  Many stem and leaf chewing insects and slugs don't like abrasive ash.  Just rememer,  following a rain,  put another light dusting around your plants .


----------



## hossthehermit (Feb 11, 2011)

Heaterhunter said:
			
		

> hossthehermit said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



No, it doesn't melt ice as well as salt, don't give as much traction as sand, and don't use it on the walk close to the house, it sticks to your boots and tracks in worse than sand, if you're a married man you won't be much longer. All that bein' said, ya got it right there, it's free, ya gotta get rid of it somewhere, it doesn't hurt the environment, it does help the meltin' 'cuz it's dark, and if ya put it in the driveway ya don't hafta walk thru the deep snow. Spread it thin, just kinda dust it on.


----------



## velotocht (Feb 12, 2011)

save$ said:
			
		

> Wood ash is Alkaline, and "Wood ash should never be used on acid-loving plants." Pine trees are acid loving plants as are most any other evergreen. from http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/woodash.html This university article will explain wood ash's useful purpose in gardening. Here in the north east, we have very acid soil. One of the reasons blueberries do so well. The wood ash help adjust the soil's PH to Neutral, which is 6.6 to 6.9 Test your soil, less than 6.6 is acid, more than 6.9 is alkaline, sweet. So for most circumstances, adding ash in the north east will help bring the soil back to neutral which is a good mix for most plants. Wood ash has a good combination of other minerals good for plant growth and needs to be replenished where harvesting is done. Open soil has its nutrients easily leached out. Soil testing kits are available where most garden supplies are sold. Testing for Ph alone is usually inexspensive. Remember that soil is slow to respond to Ph adjustment, so don't over add ash or your PH may continue to climb and the soil become toxic to some plants. It is doubtful that the ash from one stove will have more than a modest impact on your soil's PH unless you dump your ashes in the same area each time. I like to spread a ring of ash aound newly planed seedling. Many stem and leaf chewing insects and slugs don't like abrasive ash. Just rememer, following a rain, put another light dusting around your plants .



Save$
THanks for the pointers on soil treatment. Please note, I don't use the wood ash 'on' the pine trees - but sprinkle it on the grass around the pine trees. The grass does not like the acidic nature of the pine needle that - so I'm expecting the higher PH of the ash to offset some of the soil impact of the acidic pine trees. As I said, I tried sprinkling the ash under one group of pine trees but not the other. So far I haven't noted any difference.

Take care.


----------



## forya (Feb 12, 2011)

I dump it into a backyard fireplace pit, and the rain/snow wash it into the lawn.  My neighbor just dumps it into the road and lets traffic spread it into the world.


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Feb 12, 2011)

velotocht said:
			
		

> save$ said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



It will take quite a while and likely a lot of the ash to affect a well established tree and normally one would consider applying ash around a tree as using the ash on the tree (it is a very old, even if imprecise, use of the language).


----------



## Don2222 (Feb 12, 2011)

Garden


----------



## perchin (Feb 12, 2011)

> Soâ€”- What do you do with the ash?



clean it out of my stove.


----------



## jtakeman (Feb 12, 2011)

Lawn, garden, flower beds, driveway die icer, compost pile and spreading on the moss that appears. Burns it like lime.


----------



## Pellet_OilBoy (Feb 12, 2011)

learned not to spread it on my driveway. The dog and I track it back in. Ive started dumping it in the storm drain by the road in front of my house


----------



## ducker (Feb 15, 2011)

Save it in plastic bags outside (as I don't have an official compost pile) and then in the spring spread it in my garden.


----------



## Whatever Dude (Feb 15, 2011)

Sprinkle it on my cheerios to keep my body alkaline.


----------



## FireGood32 (Feb 15, 2011)

I put it in a clear vase in my kitchen, and when people are visiting I point to it and say "Grandma likes to watch me cook".


----------



## Utilitrack (Feb 15, 2011)

FireGood32 said:
			
		

> I put it in a clear vase in my kitchen, and when people are visiting I point to it and say "Grandma likes to watch me cook".



That is funny sh*t!!


----------



## sparkydog00 (Feb 15, 2011)

Blow it towards the neighbor you don't likes house....what else are you supposed to do with them?


----------



## arnash (Feb 16, 2011)

You could probably use the ash as a cement additive.  The Romans added volcanic ash to their cement to make hydraulic cement that was water-proof and would even set underwater to build harbors.  But that ash was as fine as talc.  Still, stove ash might be very chemically compatible with cement but I don't know anything about the chemistry involved.


----------



## Taperbill (Feb 16, 2011)

I feed mine to my chickens and they lay little wooden eggs. 

 Little do most people know that pellets come from bunnies.


----------



## pete324rocket (Feb 16, 2011)

The ash on white snow spead evenly will make it melt a lot faster. Try it! It really works....and great for the garden.


----------



## abrucerd (Feb 16, 2011)

could I spread my ash using my fertilizer spreader?  Or will this damage the spreader?


----------



## olddawgsrule (Feb 16, 2011)

SAVE$ is on target here.
The ashes are acidic and should only be placed where acidic plants fluirsh.
My Blueberries love it!
The 'overall' garden does not.

Think soil, think plant.
Does your grass seed, plant or whatever growth of choice like acidic soil?
If yes, drop it there.
If not, you have lime to buy next year....

What we're burning is an acidic product.
Use it accordingly.

You have an Alkaline predominate area, you're going to love the ash!
It's going to balance out the pH!

If you live where I do, well, you spread it where it works.

Sorry it's not a simple answer...
Check your soil, see where it's needed to balance the pH.
What plants are you growing that what the extra acidity .
Spread it out!

Do it right, great results!


----------



## g1mb (Feb 16, 2011)

Dump it on my neighbor's dog.


----------



## mike56 (Feb 17, 2011)

just dump in the corner of the yard on top of the @###@@@ snow


----------



## Pellet_OilBoy (Feb 17, 2011)

Keith Richards would snort it


----------



## pete324rocket (Feb 17, 2011)

olddawgsrule said:
			
		

> SAVE$ is on target here.
> The ashes are acidic and should only be placed where acidic plants fluirsh.
> My Blueberries love it!
> The 'overall' garden does not.
> ...



I grew a 1200 pound pumpkin with lots of ashes involved last year. Ashes leach readily from the soil. You are fear mongering.


----------



## olddawgsrule (Feb 17, 2011)

I grew a 1200 pound pumpkin with lots of ashes involved last year. Ashes leach readily from the soil. You are fear mongering.[/quote]

Pumpkins like acidic soil!
Most like neutral to slightly acidic.

See, do it right and you get great results!
Have a feeling that 1200 pounder had some other help as well..
Nice job!


----------



## pete324rocket (Feb 17, 2011)

all organic...a 60 pound cabbage as well. The web has lots of people saying that ashes are bad. Sure,if you put them all in one pile. They are the people that keep the ferltilizer people in business(which may or may not contain ashes).


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Feb 17, 2011)

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/woodash.html

Again wood ash is a liming agent, too much and it interferes with plants getting their required nutrients.

Pumpkins grow best with a soil PH between 6.5 and 7.5 and will tolerate PH as high as 8.0  so pumpkins actually like neutral soil.

Adding ash to soil in New Brunswick would tend to change the PH towards a neutral state from their normal acidic state.

I don't normally grow pumpkins but I do grow squash.


----------



## pete324rocket (Feb 17, 2011)

A quote from your linked article:

"Applying small amounts of wood ash to most soils will not adversely affect your garden crops, and the ash does help replenish some nutrients. But because wood ash increases soil pH, adding large amounts can do more harm than good. Keep in mind that wood ash that has been exposed to the weather, particularly rainfall, has lost a lot of its potency, including nutrients".

Are we learning anything yet? I've never seen a bunch of people who want to argue and nit-pick...and for what????


----------



## arnash (Feb 18, 2011)

Ash is rich in carbon, the element that organic matter is composed of.  Carbon in liquid combines with oxygen creating carbon-dioxide, which in liquid is in the form of carbonic acid, -hence the acidity. That's why carbonated beverages are so strong before they lose their carbonation as the carbon-dioxide evaporates.   I wonder if you put ashes in a jar and sealed it good, would it carbonate?  I suppose it would, but only to the limit of the amount of oxygen in the water
   As for rain neutralizing ash sprinkled about a garden or lawn, that's what one is supposed to imitate by watering the lawn/garden when using fertilizer, so that it gets diluted and soaked into the soil.


----------



## olddawgsrule (Feb 18, 2011)

SmokeyTheBear said:
			
		

> http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/woodash.html
> 
> Again wood ash is a liming agent, too much and it interferes with plants getting their required nutrients.
> 
> ...



Interesting that the ash 'lowers' your pH.
Yet seems right if your soil pH is higher than the ash.
I've been burning wood for years and work the ash in were it's appropriate.
Mostly my berry plants and a few other wild bushes.
I'm new this year to pellets so haven't done a pH test yet to the ash.

My assumption is that it should still be close due to the same main product is being burned.

Nice to see an active forum and information being spread so freely!


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Feb 18, 2011)

olddawgsrule said:
			
		

> SmokeyTheBear said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Wood ash will raise your pH (decrease its acidity).

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/184ph.html 

The largest component of wood ash (about 25 percent) is calcium carbonate, a common liming material that increases soil alkalinity.


----------



## olddawgsrule (Feb 19, 2011)

SmokeyTheBear said:
			
		

> olddawgsrule said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I happily stand corrected and thank you for the information.
I ran my pH tests and found my pellet ash neutral (slightly less than 6.8).
Not at all what I expected and contrary to last years cord-wood test.

Again, thank you for sharing the information.
Looks like I have more areas to use the ash!


----------



## abrucerd (Feb 19, 2011)

Yeah, but still...


----------



## pete324rocket (Feb 19, 2011)

I swear if I were an Eskimo, you'd be telling me the correct way to chew fat........


----------



## kinsmanstoves (Feb 19, 2011)

Ask, Geek.  He will blow it into the house.

Eric


----------

