Ash disposal
We burn our paper trash (in the same barrel in which we burn wood for
barbecues) and we had to do something with the accumulated ashes. My wife had our son go through this elaborate process of mixing the ash with specific proportions of regular dirt (mostly clay in our not-so-arable area) and sand, saying that the ashes can provide useful nutrients to the garden but in high concentrations can be destructive. I asked for details on what amounts of ash are good for the garden (or, for that matter, the water lines running under the garden from the well to our house) and what amounts are corrosive, and she couldn't be more specific. A quick google turns up nothing useful, only discussions about what kinds of paper are good for composting unburned. What with food wrappers, computer printouts (I work out of a home office), and junk mail we generate way too much paper trash to be able to compost it directly even with the help of our worm colony. So no matter what, we're going to be burning most of this stuff and need to do something with the ashes. So... what is and isn't safe to do with a big pile of ashes that includes crispy shreds of what used to be white paper, colored paper, cardboard, wood scraps, and bits of cellophane from windowed envelopes? I should probably mention that we live on 8 acres outside city limits and there are no applicable covenants in this neighborhood. -- Peter B. Steiger Cheyenne, WY If you must reply by email, you can reach me by placing zeroes where you see stars: wypbs_**2 at steigerfamily.com. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com |
Ash disposal
On Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:55:51 -0500, Dave sez:
Only burn low print paper. Stay away from high color ink paper always. Cellophane is oil based, don't burn it. Wood and described paper is okay. Well, that's a whole different topic - whether it's worth our time and effort to individually cut out the cellophane windows that represent (WAG) 0.1% of the paper trash we burn, or go ahead and throw it in with the paper on the hopes that it's too small an amount to do any damage, or just give up and throw the envelopes in the landfill - paper, plastic, and all. My question was not whether we should or shouldn't burn the various items described (although I'm open to improving my priorities on that subject as well) but whether it's safe to put the resulting ashes in our garden or if they should be disposed of some other way. -- Peter B. Steiger Cheyenne, WY If you must reply by email, you can reach me by placing zeroes where you see stars: wypbs_**2 at steigerfamily.com. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com |
Ash disposal
"Peter B. Steiger" wrote in message
... We burn our paper trash (in the same barrel in which we burn wood for barbecues) and we had to do something with the accumulated ashes. My wife had our son go through this elaborate process of mixing the ash with specific proportions of regular dirt (mostly clay in our not-so-arable area) and sand, saying that the ashes can provide useful nutrients to the garden but in high concentrations can be destructive. I asked for details on what amounts of ash are good for the garden (or, for that matter, the water lines running under the garden from the well to our house) and what amounts are corrosive, and she couldn't be more specific. A quick google turns up nothing useful, only discussions about what kinds of paper are good for composting unburned. What with food wrappers, computer printouts (I work out of a home office), and junk mail we generate way too much paper trash to be able to compost it directly even with the help of our worm colony. So no matter what, we're going to be burning most of this stuff and need to do something with the ashes. So... what is and isn't safe to do with a big pile of ashes that includes crispy shreds of what used to be white paper, colored paper, cardboard, wood scraps, and bits of cellophane from windowed envelopes? I should probably mention that we live on 8 acres outside city limits and there are no applicable covenants in this neighborhood. -- Peter B. Steiger Cheyenne, WY If you must reply by email, you can reach me by placing zeroes where you see stars: wypbs_**2 at steigerfamily.com. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com Only burn low print paper. Stay away from high color ink paper always. Cellophane is oil based, don't burn it. Wood and described paper is okay. Usenet is free. No need to subscribe to something that doesn't use a newsreader. Dave |
Ash disposal
On 01 Aug 2007 23:14:10 GMT, "Peter B. Steiger"
wrote: We burn our paper trash (in the same barrel in which we burn wood for barbecues) and we had to do something with the accumulated ashes. My wife had our son go through this elaborate process of mixing the ash with specific proportions of regular dirt (mostly clay in our not-so-arable area) and sand, saying that the ashes can provide useful nutrients to the garden but in high concentrations can be destructive. I asked for details on what amounts of ash are good for the garden (or, for that matter, the water lines running under the garden from the well to our house) and what amounts are corrosive, and she couldn't be more specific. A quick google turns up nothing useful, only discussions about what kinds of paper are good for composting unburned. What with food wrappers, computer printouts (I work out of a home office), and junk mail we generate way too much paper trash to be able to compost it directly even with the help of our worm colony. So no matter what, we're going to be burning most of this stuff and need to do something with the ashes. So... what is and isn't safe to do with a big pile of ashes that includes crispy shreds of what used to be white paper, colored paper, cardboard, wood scraps, and bits of cellophane from windowed envelopes? I should probably mention that we live on 8 acres outside city limits and there are no applicable covenants in this neighborhood. -- Peter B. Steiger Cheyenne, WY Ashes are a good addition to acidic soil. But if your soil is neutral, adding ashes can make the soil alkaline (many plants prefer slightly acidic or neutral soil). Test your pH then add ashes sparingly. Ashes, when mixed with grease, make soap. |
Ash disposal
My wife had our son go through this elaborate process of mixing the
ash with specific proportions of regular dirt (mostly clay in our not-so-arable area) and sand, saying that the ashes can provide useful nutrients to the garden but in high concentrations can be destructive. That's a good rule of thumb for a lot of things you are tempted to add to a garden. The more "scientific" way would actually involve measuring what your particular ash is like, what your soil is like, etc. Not necessarily a bad idea. But at some point one usually ends up with a certain amount of guesswork and "well, things seemed to grow when we did it". |
Ash disposal
"Peter B. Steiger" wrote in message
... On Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:55:51 -0500, Dave sez: Only burn low print paper. Stay away from high color ink paper always. Cellophane is oil based, don't burn it. Wood and described paper is okay. Well, that's a whole different topic - whether it's worth our time and effort to individually cut out the cellophane windows that represent (WAG) 0.1% of the paper trash we burn, or go ahead and throw it in with the paper on the hopes that it's too small an amount to do any damage, or just give up and throw the envelopes in the landfill - paper, plastic, and all. My question was not whether we should or shouldn't burn the various items described (although I'm open to improving my priorities on that subject as well) but whether it's safe to put the resulting ashes in our garden or if they should be disposed of some other way. -- Peter B. Steiger Cheyenne, WY If you must reply by email, you can reach me by placing zeroes where you see stars: wypbs_**2 at steigerfamily.com. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com Okay, point taken. You can burn your pet cat and throw him in the garden. Best to just bury as is. Dave |
Ash disposal
"Peter B. Steiger" wrote in message ... We burn our paper trash (in the same barrel in which we burn wood for barbecues) and we had to do something with the accumulated ashes. My wife had our son go through this elaborate process of mixing the ash with specific proportions of regular dirt (mostly clay in our not-so-arable area) and sand, saying that the ashes can provide useful nutrients to the garden but in high concentrations can be destructive. The ash is high in the element Potassium. I am not sure about the other elements. If you mixed ash with composted wood chips and leaves it may be helpful. Other than that as far as mulch goes: Mulching - http://home.ccil.org/~treeman/sub3.html and http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/M/ Look up "Mulch" Potassium is an essential element. Remember you can put an element in a nutrient but you can't put a nutrient is an element. Its like you can put a file into a folder but you can't put a faolder in a file. More on element verses nutrient. Food is a substance that provides and energy source, mostly. Nutrient is a substance that provides an energy source, elements, and other substances essential for life, in types and amounts that can provide a healthy life. Fertilizer is a substance that provides elements, as salts mostly, or in bonded forms, that require microorganisms to alter to forms that can be absorbed by plants. I do not call elements - nutrients, however nutrients would contain elements. You can put a file in a folder but you can't put a folder in a file. A list of elements can be found he http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...US211%26sa%3DX 17 Elements For Life - Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Sulfur, Magnesium, Manganese, Iron, Copper, Boron, Molybdenum, Chlorine, Zinc, Nickel [Sodium, Cobalt, Selenium?] 14 essential elements are obtained by trees from the soil. I do not have a list of which ones they are. Wood is the substrate of the base of the food web, the mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizae tend to be abundant in composted wood such as nurse logs. We had great success at tree biology workshops finding mycorrhizae during dryer times, in and about nurse logs. I believe, you don't have to agree with it, please, just think. I think that by applying mulch as I recommend under mulch here that you facilitate the mycorrhizae rather than just adding what I believe you mean as humus, over a lawn. Not that its bad in any way, adding humus i.e.. Mulching - http://home.ccil.org/~treeman/sub3.html and http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/M/ Look up "Mulch" Did I say - Mycorrhizae are organs that facilitate the absorption of elements essential for healthy growth. Mycorrhizae resist the Demons Of D. Mycorrhizae facilitate the absorption of elements. Demons of D are those things that add up to the big D word DEATH. E.g., Depletion, disruption, and dysfunction. Elements can be depleted. Disruption, you get hit my a Mac truck. Dysfunction, some organ such as mycorrhizae may not function. Major Elements C; H; N; O; P; K; S; Mg; Ni; Fe; Ca; Zn; Mo; Mn; B; Cl; Cu There is the law of the minimum. It states the element that is deficient the most, would be the determining factor in the health of the tree. I think research would be wise in the search for the optimum fertility level for trees. I did some soil testing in the upper four inches of soil and from at and about nurse logs in old growth forest which contain hemlocks and white pines. And much more. Here is my average on my testing for the latter. These where five test. 3 test sites where in Allegheny National Forest(Hearts Content) Pennsylvania and two where in Allegheny National Forest(Tionesta Scenic area) Pennsylvania. Results are in Pounds Per Acre PPA. AVAILABLE ELEMENTS P 8.2 K 236 Mg 107 Ca 594 Al 220.6 Fe 110.8 Mn 118.6 Zn 11.96 NO3-N 28.8 Did not get B or CU. Organic matter was 29.32% Ex Acidity 81 ME/100G Salts mmho: 0.01 mmho/cm Moisture %3.97 Water Soluble mg/kg B 1.0738 ACID Soluble (mg/kg) Cd 0.976 Cu 6.768 Ni 5.71 (Penn State discovered the element Ni to be essential in small amounts) Mn 426.378 Co 3.084 Zn 46.818 Pb 101.792 Cr 5.078 P 726.226 The CARBON TO NITROGEN RATION was 27:1 pH 4.2 WOW That would be a goal of mine if I was going to provide essential elements professionally. I did not see to many people in the old growth sections. There was more calcium at a nurse logs in a separate test. We don't feed trees, however, we can feed the soil with composted wood (chips and nurse logs) and leaves. We can feed the system. I have some results for some sick hemlocks (elements in soil) Sincerely, John A. Keslick, Jr. Arborist http://home.ccil.org/~treeman and www.treedictionary.com Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology. Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us that we are not the boss. I asked for details on what amounts of ash are good for the garden (or, for that matter, the water lines running under the garden from the well to our house) and what amounts are corrosive, and she couldn't be more specific. A quick google turns up nothing useful, only discussions about what kinds of paper are good for composting unburned. What with food wrappers, computer printouts (I work out of a home office), and junk mail we generate way too much paper trash to be able to compost it directly even with the help of our worm colony. So no matter what, we're going to be burning most of this stuff and need to do something with the ashes. So... what is and isn't safe to do with a big pile of ashes that includes crispy shreds of what used to be white paper, colored paper, cardboard, wood scraps, and bits of cellophane from windowed envelopes? I should probably mention that we live on 8 acres outside city limits and there are no applicable covenants in this neighborhood. -- Peter B. Steiger Cheyenne, WY If you must reply by email, you can reach me by placing zeroes where you see stars: wypbs_**2 at steigerfamily.com. -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com |
Ash disposal
On Aug 2, 9:18 pm, "Dave" wrote:
"Peter B. Steiger" wrote My question was not whether we should or shouldn't burn the various items described (although I'm open to improving my priorities on that subject as well) but whether it's safe to put the resulting ashes in our garden or if they should be disposed of some other way. -- Peter B. Steiger Cheyenne, WY If you must reply by email, you can reach me by placing zeroes where you see stars: wypbs_**2 at steigerfamily.com. Okay, point taken. You can burn your pet cat and throw him in the garden. Best to just bury as is. Dave I wonder what will grow first: Cat's Ears Pussy Paws Cat's Claws Cat Tails ???? * ? ) * |
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