Never Throw Away Wood Ash if You Have a Garden

Each cord of firewood that you burn leaves you with 20 pounds of ashes or more, depending on your fuel source, heating appliance, and wood-burning skill. Wood ash is primarily composed of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium, but also contains trace amounts of iron, sodium and zinc.

Because it’s created through the combustion of plant materials, it holds many of the elements needed to support new growth and has long been used by gardeners and farmers as a natural soil amendment. Here are top 5 uses of wood ash in your yard.

1. Neutralize Acidic Soil

Unless you are growing acid-loving plants like blueberries, peppers, and azaleas, you will want to maintain a soil pH of between 6 and 7.5 in your garden beds. This range is considered ideal because nutrients in fertilizers will be readily dissolved in water and better absorbed by the plant’s roots.

Acidic soil (a pH below 6) means plants won’t receive enough nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium. Wood ash contains up to 70% calcium carbonate and can be used as a substitute for lime. As a general rule, never exceed 25 pounds of wood ash per 1,000 square feet of soil and always re-test your soil after applying wood ash.

2. Add it to Your Compost Pile

Wood ash added to your compost will help boost the heap’s potassium levels, a key nutrient for flowering and fruiting. But including wood ash in the compost should be done in moderation – at a rate of every six inches of compost pile – because wood ash is alkaline. Too much of the stuff will raise the pH value of your compost pile.

3. Make Ash Tea

Just as compost tea is an awesome organic, all-purpose fertilizer, ash tea can likewise be brewed to prevent or correct potassium deficiencies. Brown spots, curling leaf tips, yellowing between leaf veins, slower plant growth and reduced crop yield are some of the telltale signs your plants are not receiving enough potassium.

To make tea from wood ash, place five pounds of ash in a cloth bag (like an old pillowcase) and tie it closed. Place the ash bag in a 50-gallon garbage bin filled with water and allow it to steep for several days. Once the ash tea has brewed, pour about a cup’s worth around your plants weekly.

4. Fertilize Your Lawn

A light dusting of wood ash on the lawn can help promote greener pastures. After applying ashes to your yard, water it well to prevent the beneficial nutrients from blowing away.

5. Melt Ice and Snow

One safe and natural alternative to create traction, de-ice, and melt snow is wood ashes. Because wood ash contains potash – or potassium carbonate – a type of salt that is much eco-friendlier than chloride-based salts, it can help break up ice and melt snow when scattered on driveways and walkways.  Unlike rock salt, it won’t corrode surfaces like concrete and metal, harm the paws of your four-legged friends, or damage your plants come spring.

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From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZMf6rTPupI