Recycle those wood ashes

[Gypsi]

I was just about to ask what to do with the ashes. I've had to clean the stove out twice so far, and the ash went in the trash. I have a gravel drive that could do with less grass...

 

[Marianne]

I read that back in the Depression if they were out of baking powder, they would just add about three tsp. of (usually white) wood ash to the flour to make biscuits rise. I'm always looking for old tips like that!

Oh no kidding. That's pretty interesting. I knew that they used to use ashes to make lye soap, like dacjohns said, but this is the first time I heard about ashes used in baking. DH used to think I was trying to poison him with some of my ..uh...recipes...so I probably won't try it. But it's good to know.

I always thought we'd dump ours in the garden like others do before we got our woodburner. Then I found out that people we know had to have the top 8" of their garden soil replaced after one season of dumping wood ashes in there. Their soil isn't nearly as alkaline as ours is, so I keep the ashes away from any area that I might want to grow something.

After I read about putting them in the rock drive, I wondered why I hadn't figured that out on my own!

 

[k15n1]

The Wikipedia article on baking soda mentions wood ash and has some details on how to do it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_powder

What it doesn't explain is that potash (K2CO3) is one of the first baking powders. And potassium carbonate can be extracted from wood ash. Here's a very detailed description of how to make potash:

http://fryingcolors.com/k2co3.html

 

[Marianne]

And more interesting stuff! Thanks for posting those links, k15n1.

 

[SKR8PN]

I have two compost piles. One is mostly leaves, but the other is more woody stuff. I dump my wood ashes on the woody compost pile that ends up on the garden eventually.

 

[lorieMN]

my chickens love to dust in ash

 

[lighthawk]

I remember years ago watching a documentary ( I think it was PBS) Where they investigated three different cultures in three different areas of the world all of which were known for living over the age of 100 consistantly. There were only two things they had in common across the board. They all had a source of water with a high concentration of minerals and they all put the ashes from their cooking fires on their garden.
I put ashes from the wood stove ( never from the outdoor burn pile) into my compost. I have put them directly on the garden in the past but unless you till them in immediately they can become slippery and quite messy when wet.

 

[k15n1]

I remember years ago watching a documentary ( I think it was PBS) Where they investigated three different cultures in three different areas of the world all of which were known for living over the age of 100 consistantly. There were only two things they had in common across the board. They all had a source of water with a high concentration of minerals and they all put the ashes from their cooking fires on their garden.
I put ashes from the wood stove ( never from the outdoor burn pile) into my compost. I have put them directly on the garden in the past but unless you till them in immediately they can become slippery and quite messy when wet.

Interesting.

Heard an interview where they did something similar (http://www.bluezones.com/) and they said a vegtable-rich diet, regular exercise, and social connections were some of the things that 100+ populations had in common. I wasn't listening carefully, so I don't know if they mentioned minerals in the water.

Also, the amount of ash on your garden, if you follow lighthawk's idea, will vary with location. If I did that here in MN, I think I'd have a dead garden.

 

[bmiss]

I read that back in the Depression if they were out of baking powder, they would just add about three tsp. of (usually white) wood ash to the flour to make biscuits rise. I'm always looking for old tips like that!

wow...i've never heard of that.

im gonna have to ask my grandmother if they ever did that....

 

[bmiss]

thruout the winter, i will pick up branches that have fallen from my trees and burn it. mostly pine and oak.

i burn only that wood and maybe some cardboard and after the ashes cool, i spread them over my garden area for the next growing season.

my buddy thinks im nuts for doing it, but....