What can I use ash for?
 

I have an open fire that's producing a lot of fine ash.
I burn smokeless coal, household coal and wood.

What can I use the ash for and how much of it can I put in my compost bin.

TIA

"McCready" wrote in message
k...
I have an open fire that's producing a lot of fine ash.
I burn smokeless coal, household coal and wood.

What can I use the ash for and how much of it can I put in my compost bin.

TIA


http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles1204/wood_ash.asp

HTH

McCready wrote:
I have an open fire that's producing a lot of fine ash.
I burn smokeless coal, household coal and wood.

What can I use the ash for and how much of it can I put in my compost bin.

When you are burning more or less pure wood then no problem the ash it
potash fertiliser. Fruit trees and bushes respond well to a potash feed
in autumn. It is mild caustic so will burn leaves.

Otherwise the coal or smokeless fuel contains trace elements (lead,
copper, cadmium etc) massively concentrated in the ash that you really
don't want to add it to your garden soil. It probably won't do
ornamental plants any harm, but you don't want to add much coal ash to
your vegetable patch.

Regards,
Martin Brown

This question came up about 2-3 years ago. Coal ash varies in toxicity
according to source. Copper and boron were major contaminants in the UK.
Les than 100ppm of copper and boron is toxic to most plants-so that I would
not recommend coal ash even for ornamental plants-it's probably better for
paths etc.
The National Coal Board were successful in growing grasses and other plants
on many toxic spoil heaps by sowing a range of seeds, then collecting seed
from the few resistant survivors, thus building up resistant strains by
natrual selection.
A few pit heaps like the one at Cefn Mawr near Wrexham are still largely
bald even though the colliery has been shut down for about 40years.
"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...
McCready wrote:
I have an open fire that's producing a lot of fine ash.
I burn smokeless coal, household coal and wood.

What can I use the ash for and how much of it can I put in my compost
bin.

When you are burning more or less pure wood then no problem the ash it
potash fertiliser. Fruit trees and bushes respond well to a potash feed in
autumn. It is mild caustic so will burn leaves.

Otherwise the coal or smokeless fuel contains trace elements (lead,
copper, cadmium etc) massively concentrated in the ash that you really
don't want to add it to your garden soil. It probably won't do ornamental
plants any harm, but you don't want to add much coal ash to your vegetable
patch.

Regards,
Martin Brown