Since getting a wood burner I have accumulated a
large pile of ashes (most wood but some coal).
What is the best way of using them on my allotment ?
Should I just throw on the ground and dig in or maybe
put on the compost heap ??

Any other ideas would be welcome.

Wally

On Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:18:30 -0000, "Wally"
wrote:

Since getting a wood burner I have accumulated a
large pile of ashes (most wood but some coal).
What is the best way of using them on my allotment ?
Should I just throw on the ground and dig in or maybe
put on the compost heap ??

Any other ideas would be welcome.

Wally


You need to make sure that they are not too concentrated, and
preferably weathered. Either spread them thinly around when you are
digging, or mix them up in the compost heap.
If you have slug problems, putting a ring of ashes around the affected
plants will often deter them.

The message
from Fuschia contains these words:
On Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:18:30 -0000, "Wally"
wrote:

Since getting a wood burner I have accumulated a
large pile of ashes (most wood but some coal).
What is the best way of using them on my allotment ?
Should I just throw on the ground and dig in or maybe
put on the compost heap ??

Any other ideas would be welcome.

Wally


You need to make sure that they are not too concentrated, and
preferably weathered. Either spread them thinly around when you are
digging, or mix them up in the compost heap.
If you have slug problems, putting a ring of ashes around the affected
plants will often deter them.

Fruit likes wood ash, but not weathered for too long, or the potassium
salts leach out. A small proportion of coal ash doesn't (IME) do any
harm.

However, on heavy soil, ash - wood ash especially - does not help in
breaking-up the clay, nor reduce the stickiness.

Also, ash from logs doesn't contain a lot of potash - you need bonfire
ash from green wood for higher levels.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

"Rusty_Hinge" wrote in message
. uk...
The message
from Fuschia contains these words:
On Sun, 15 Feb 2009 11:18:30 -0000, "Wally"
wrote:

Since getting a wood burner I have accumulated a
large pile of ashes (most wood but some coal).
What is the best way of using them on my allotment ?
Should I just throw on the ground and dig in or maybe
put on the compost heap ??

Any other ideas would be welcome.

Wally

Thank you for the replies.

Wally

"Wally" wrote in message
...
Since getting a wood burner I have accumulated a
large pile of ashes (most wood but some coal).
What is the best way of using them on my allotment ?
Should I just throw on the ground and dig in or maybe
put on the compost heap ??

Any other ideas would be welcome.

I've had a woodburner for more than 20 years and many many chickens for at
least that long. I have a magnificent compost heap on which chicken manure
and woodash go, 3/4 chicken/1/4 woodash. It's viewed covetously by my
neighbours.
You can dig woodash into your garden, I know someone who grew some good
parsnips in almost pure woodash when he dug so much into his soil.

I spread a little around my roses and any plants I think would benefit from
potash but otherwise it goes on the compost heap.

You should not have that much ash, a wood burner needs to burn on a bed of
ash - I only empty a bit of mine out once a week.

Tina

I've had a woodburner for more than 20 years and many many chickens for at
least that long. I have a magnificent compost heap on which chicken
manure and woodash go, 3/4 chicken/1/4 woodash. It's viewed covetously by
my neighbours.
You can dig woodash into your garden, I know someone who grew some good
parsnips in almost pure woodash when he dug so much into his soil.

I spread a little around my roses and any plants I think would benefit
from potash but otherwise it goes on the compost heap.

You should not have that much ash, a wood burner needs to burn on a bed of
ash - I only empty a bit of mine out once a week.

Tina

Thanks Tina, I was a bit concerned about putting ashes on the compost in
case it stopped the worms doing there work on there, after all the worms
are a big part of a compos heap.

Wally

Christina Websell wrote:

You should not have that much ash, a wood burner needs to burn on a bed of
ash - I only empty a bit of mine out once a week.

Could you give me an idea of how deep you maintain that bed, and also
how high above it the air inlet is? I'm asking because I'm thinking of
adapting a Rayburn to be able to switch between coal and wood by taking
out the grate assembly and replacing it with a simple ash pan --but how
deep should I make it?

My idea is to use coal (as I do now) in the winter, when the Rayburn
stays in all the time, and wood for on-demand use in the less cold
months (aka "summer"). It would be a tall narrow firebox, rather than a
long shallow one. Would that work OK for wood? And do you have any idea
of the rate at which you burn wood?

Many thanks,

brian mitchell

"brian mitchell" wrote in message
...
Christina Websell wrote:

You should not have that much ash, a wood burner needs to burn on a bed
of
ash - I only empty a bit of mine out once a week.

Could you give me an idea of how deep you maintain that bed, and also
how high above it the air inlet is? I'm asking because I'm thinking of
adapting a Rayburn to be able to switch between coal and wood by taking
out the grate assembly and replacing it with a simple ash pan --but how
deep should I make it?

About an inch of ash suits my woodburner, but if the ash comes too far
forward to interfere with the air inlet I just push it back into the firebed
with my poker.

My idea is to use coal (as I do now) in the winter, when the Rayburn
stays in all the time, and wood for on-demand use in the less cold
months (aka "summer"). It would be a tall narrow firebox, rather than a
long shallow one. Would that work OK for wood?

I don't know. I have no experience with Rayburns.


.. And do you have any idea
of the rate at which you burn wood?

I burn a 6 x 4 x 4 trailer full of wood monthly in the evening and at the
weekend. If I am not at work it obviously increases.

You should not have that much ash, a wood burner needs to burn on a bed
of
ash - I only empty a bit of mine out once a week.


I never burn on a bed of ash and I have a multi fuel Hunter stove. It
wouldn't get enough draught beneath the wood to burn properly. Only
needs a bed of ash for coal. I burn all the time and would always riddle
the ash away before reloading in the morning .

Janet



--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Janet Tweedy writes


You should not have that much ash, a wood burner needs to burn on a bed
of
ash - I only empty a bit of mine out once a week.


I never burn on a bed of ash and I have a multi fuel Hunter stove. It
wouldn't get enough draught beneath the wood to burn properly. Only
needs a bed of ash for coal. I burn all the time and would always
riddle the ash away before reloading in the morning .

That's interesting, because our stove came with a grate to use with
coal, and instructions to remove the grate and use a bed of ash for wood
- entirely the opposite way around.

On ours, you only use the low down vents for lighting the stove (I
usually poke a hole through the ash). Once lit, you use a vent high up
on the stove, so the incoming air gets heated and is directed down over
the glass before reaching the fire - result is a very hot-burning stove
with a glass door that stays clean.

We use ours for the evening, and clear ash once a week.
--
Kay

"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...


You should not have that much ash, a wood burner needs to burn on a bed
of
ash - I only empty a bit of mine out once a week.


I never burn on a bed of ash and I have a multi fuel Hunter stove. It
wouldn't get enough draught beneath the wood to burn properly. Only needs
a bed of ash for coal. I burn all the time and would always riddle the ash
away before reloading in the morning .

I beg to differ. The air inlets in the doors of my woodburner are high
enough to let me burn wood on a bed of ash for probably a fortnight without
having having to remove the ash.
I do not have to riddle the ash if I do not use coal (mine is a multi too)
but I tried coal in it and wouldn't bother with it again. It takes ages to
heat up and I had to riddle the ashes ;-)
The ash I get from my wood is almost like talcum powder, requires no
riddling and does well on the compost heap.

Tina

"K" wrote in message
...
Janet Tweedy writes


You should not have that much ash, a wood burner needs to burn on a
bed
of
ash - I only empty a bit of mine out once a week.


I never burn on a bed of ash and I have a multi fuel Hunter stove. It
wouldn't get enough draught beneath the wood to burn properly. Only needs
a bed of ash for coal. I burn all the time and would always riddle the ash
away before reloading in the morning .

That's interesting, because our stove came with a grate to use with coal,
and instructions to remove the grate and use a bed of ash for wood -
entirely the opposite way around.

I can only say that my stove came with the same instructions and I've been
burning wood on a bed of ash for more than 20 years now. It seems to work.

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"K" wrote in message
...
Janet Tweedy writes


You should not have that much ash, a wood burner needs to burn on a
bed
of
ash - I only empty a bit of mine out once a week.


I never burn on a bed of ash and I have a multi fuel Hunter stove. It
wouldn't get enough draught beneath the wood to burn properly. Only needs
a bed of ash for coal. I burn all the time and would always riddle the
ash away before reloading in the morning .

That's interesting, because our stove came with a grate to use with coal,
and instructions to remove the grate and use a bed of ash for wood -
entirely the opposite way around.

I can only say that my stove came with the same instructions and I've been
burning wood on a bed of ash for more than 20 years now. It seems to
work.

Same here. In the last house we had a large Hunter stove which came with a
grate for coal and instructions to remove it for wood. We never burned coal
and the grate was never used. We found it in the shed when we moved and left
it along with the instruction book for the new owners. I have installed a
smaller cottager style stove here which came with a grate but no
instructions. Again I have removed the grate as we only burn wood. This one
(if used every evening as in the recent cold snap) only needs emptying every
two weeks or so as the old Hunter did. I find this an advantage as it
minimises dust from cleaning.

May I suggest you try with the grate removed. Wood does not need a strong
draught from below to burn, you will probably find it burns for longer
without the grate. Take a look at
http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/how-to-burn-wood.html for advise on using a
wood stove.

Mike

On Mon, 23 Feb 2009, Christina Websell wrote

"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...


You should not have that much ash, a wood burner needs to burn on a bed
of
ash - I only empty a bit of mine out once a week.


I never burn on a bed of ash and I have a multi fuel Hunter stove. It
wouldn't get enough draught beneath the wood to burn properly. Only needs
a bed of ash for coal. I burn all the time and would always riddle the ash
away before reloading in the morning .

I beg to differ. The air inlets in the doors of my woodburner are high
enough to let me burn wood on a bed of ash for probably a fortnight without
having having to remove the ash.
I do not have to riddle the ash if I do not use coal (mine is a multi too)
but I tried coal in it and wouldn't bother with it again. It takes ages to
heat up and I had to riddle the ashes ;-)
The ash I get from my wood is almost like talcum powder, requires no
riddling and does well on the compost heap.


This is all very interesting. We have a wood-burning stove, a squat
square Godin, in France which occasionally gives us a lot of trouble.
We don't use it often enough - perhaps ten days/ a fortnight in the
spring and again in the autumn. It takes in air from below the grate
and also from a self-adjusting one at the top back. We usually find we
have to riddle the ashes a bit otherwise the wood does not burn - and
then we find later that the wood is burning all too hot and won't stay
in for long.

The wood not burning at first may be partly because it has been stored
in a rather damp cave (ground level, but carved out of the limestone).
We built a new store last summer in the open air and hope the wood will
be drier this year. But how do you all keep a fire just smouldering so
it keeps in for a few hours?


--
Kate B

PS 'elvira' is spamtrapped - please reply to 'elviraspam' at cockaigne dot org dot uk if you
want to reply personally

On 24/2/09 16:52, in article , "Kate
Brown" wrote:

snip

The wood not burning at first may be partly because it has been stored
in a rather damp cave (ground level, but carved out of the limestone).
We built a new store last summer in the open air and hope the wood will
be drier this year. But how do you all keep a fire just smouldering so
it keeps in for a few hours?


We have open fires here but burn mainly logs that have been stored the year
before they're needed. And we add a little coal to the logs if we're going
to be sitting in front of the fire for several hours. The coal keeps the
fire in much longer and it's sometimes still got 'hot spots' next morning.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
Perennials & shrubs online