What are some good ways to reuse woodstove ashes?

Question

I accumulate many wood ashes from my wood stove. Am I able to compost them? Put them in my winterized garden? What might be some other uses for them? Thanks

Answer 1

You can make soap with them.  I'm afraid i make soap with caustic soda and i don't know the details, but it's roughly done like this.  Take the ashes and put them in some kind of container with a tap near the bottom.  Fill it with rainwater so that the ashes are soaked but not actually floating and leave it a while, i don't know how long.  Then open the tap and collect the liquid which comes off.  This will be a fairly strong sodium and potassium hydroxide solution.  Mix this with used cooking oil or animal fat, not sure how much again but more than eight times the weight at least, and add the solution to the oil.  Stir it thoroughly in the container you want to make the soap in, then leave it somewhere it won't be disturbed for a couple of weeks.  You should end up with soap.  However, do be careful with it because if there's excess hydroxide it will badly burn your skin, so before you try any of this please look up the recipes somewhere.  You can use this soap for washing, cleaning and doing the washing up.  If you use it for washing up, rinse the dishes thoroughly afterwards.  You wouldn't be able to wash your hair with it though because the pH is wrong.

The liquid could also be used to strip fat off hides before they are made into leather, though because i'm veggie i wouldn't do this, and for unblocking drains.  I expect you could also do something clever with it and an acid like oxalic or vinegar to make some kind of useful chemical, but i don't know what that would be.

Be careful with it though, because it can be quite nasty and it might not be clear how concentrated it is.

Just out of interest, i no longer buy soap because i can make all we need from used cooking oil and caustic soda.

Answer 2

put them around your flowers and stuff in the garden.

Answer 3

My grandfather used to mix the ashes with a small amount of cement powder and fill holes and cracks in his drive and roadway. Any rain would wet the cement and constant reading and driving over the areas would compact it, allowing it to fill all the holes.

Slugs also hate it, sprinkle a little around the base of plants and the little buggers wont be able to gain access.

Answer 4

They are very good when tilled into your garden, it helps equalize the ph levels.

Answer 5

I live in the eastern U.S., where the soil is acid, so I spread the ash on my lawn and garden beds to neutralize the acidity. It is slowly getting rid of the patches of moss, so I know that it is working.

After a snowfall, at least a light one, I spread ashes on top of the snow where I want it to melt. The darker color (ash vs snow) lets more heat from the sun be absorbed and the places I cover melt a lot faster than the  parts covered by clean snow.

Answer 6

I put them out in the forest so that deer can roll in them, and get rid of ticks.

Answer 7

Ash makes a good fertilizer, but don't put it on too thick.  

If you are starting a new bed, it would be good to mix in with the soil - but make sure you do it a week or two before you plant and water it in good.  

You can put them in your compost soil, but I wouldn't put them in with the "new" compost materials.  

A local concrete place may take it - depending on the quantity - sometimes it's mixed with concrete.

Answer 8

As previously stated, you can use some of the ashes in the garden especially if you live in an area with acidic soils (pH of <7 or >20" precipitation). Just don't apply too much.  Don't put in the garden if you live in an area with an alkaline soil.  Ash has about 25% calcium carbonate but can be a good source of potassium.  

If you're resourceful and have some time on your hands you could use the ash to produce lye water for homemade lye soap production.

Answer 9

Put them in your garden. They are a good source of fertilizer and it keeps the slugs away from your veggies like cabbage, etc.