I’m so grateful to have a wood-burning fireplace again. Actually, it’s more than just a fireplace, but not quite a woodstove. I’m not sure what it’s called, but it works pretty well. (Not as well as the beautiful insert and hearth my husband built into my favorite house. It was gorgeous and totally heated our 2200 square foot house. I really miss that one.) While it’s our primary source of heat, we do still have the propane gas and a pellet stove as well. But burning wood is my favorite way to go. I guess the only downside to it is having to clean out the fireplace and throw the ash away. Especially when the trashcan is 1/10 of a mile from the house down our steep driveway.
Or it used to be. Because I decided to check once again to see what I could do with wood ash. (It’s been nearly a decade since I last had a wood-burning fireplace.) There are actually quite a few practical uses for wood ash! Let’s take a look.
Garden fertilizer. This is one I keep checking for, keep hoping that perhaps I can use wood ash in my garden. But no matter how many times I check, the answer is still no. Wood ash is an excellent addition to garden soil—if your soil is acidic. Sadly, my soil is very alkaline, so adding ash is a huge no-no. But in most areas of the country, adding up to 5 gallons of wood ash per 1,000 square feet of garden will greatly boost fertility. Do not add wood ash to areas that grow blueberries, potatoes, or other crops that prefer acidic soil.
Compost. Sprinkle a small amount of ash over the compost pile. While wood ash doesn’t have any carbon or nitrogen, it does contain trace elements that help convert the waste into compost.
Prevent frost damage to plants. According to several sources online, sprinkling wood ash on vegetable plants when a late or early frost threatens can help prevent frost damage. The wood ash contains salts that absorb the water in the air and thus prevent harming the plants. Unfortunately, this only works for light frosts.
Tomato preservative. A few years back, African tomato grower Vital Nduwimana discovered that if he stored his fresh tomatoes in wood ash, they would retain their freshness for months.[1] He simply sifts the ash to remove wood chunks and other debris and then puts it into a cardboard box. The tomatoes are carefully placed in the ash in the boxes and stored until he wishes to sell them, sometimes 5-6 months later.
Weed killer. Wood ash is touted by some to be a great weed killer. Further research, however, shows that its utility as an effective control for weeds is limited to those areas where the soil is already very alkaline. This means it’s a great choice for using along our driveway. And that’s because…
Ice melt. Wood ash is also an excellent substitute for ice melt! Now, I wouldn’t use it right next to the house because I certainly don’t need people or pets tracking ash inside, but our driveway is plenty long. In fact, we probably can’t supply our ice melt needs from our wood ash, but if we can reduce that expense, that’s a huge win. If the runoff can help kill weeds, that’s even better.
Links to related posts:
[1] https://wire.farmradio.fm/farmer-stories/burundi-farmer-finds-new-technique-for-preserving-tomatoes/
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