Ashes to Ashes
Ashes seemed like an appropriate topic to talk about during Lent what with theme of repentance during this time, and the Bible's many references to repenting with sackcloth and ashes. So what could I possibly have to say about ashes that would take up an entire post? You would be surprised!
When your main source of heat while homesteading in Canada is a wood/ electric furnace, you end up with a lot of ashes...and when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. Emptying out the fire box on a daily, weekly, and monthly schedule will leave you with many pails' worth.
Now you probably don't find yourself with quite as many ashes as us, but if you have a wood burning stove, fireplace, or even occasional firepit or campfire, you can still accumulate a few ashes. So what do you do with them all?
Today I'll share with you how we use them, and new ways we plan on using them.
The main way we reuse our ashes is as ice control. When we get to this time of year when the sun so warm during the day, melting the snow, but still well below freezing at night, walkways and driveways can get pretty slick. Also, in our little area of the country we get quite a bit of freezing rain over the course of the winter months, which leaves everything covered in a slick coat of slippery ice. While there are many ways to deal with this (salt, kitty litter, etc.), we have found that the best way to attack it is too sprinkle it all with some ashes. The ash provides a nice layer of traction for feet and wheels alike, and being so dark, attract the sun and gets the melting process started.
The nice thing about using ashes instead of salt is that it won't eat away at your steps the way the salt would, or really kill your lawn. The majority of our ashes go to this job, but there are other ways to use them too.
There are two different ways you can put your ashes to work in your garden, and though we haven't yet tried these methods, I'm looking forwards to giving them a try. Firstly, you can apparently sprinkle ashes on the edge of your garden to keep slugs and snails off your plants. Secondly, you can add ashes in moderation to your compost or garden earth. The ashes have a different ph balance than the earth and can help make it more alkaline. This is why you want to only so this in moderation, since you don't want to completely throw off the ph balance of your garden earth.
So there you have it! If you've got any ashes lying around, now you know how to put them to work for you. And if you're ever tried adding them to your compost or garden earth, let me know how it went in the comments below!.
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