12 Thrifty Uses for Wood Ashes Around Your Home & Yard
If you have a wood-burning fireplace, wood stove, or fire pit, you may end up with a lot of extra ashes – especially towards the end of the winter. But don’t toss them – here are some great ways to use wood ashes in your home, garden, and chicken coop.
You may have been cozying up around the fire all winter, but spring is just around the corner, and soon it will be time for that big spring cleaning! If you’re cleaning out the fireplace at the end of the season, you might be wondering what to do with all those wood ashes.
As long as you haven’t burned any treated wood (which hopefully you would never do inside your home!), and nothing painted or containing chemicals, your clean wood ashes should be safe to use in a number of different ways around the home and yard.
Here are 12 ways to use them to improve the health of your animals and garden:
In the Chicken Coop1.) In the dust bath – charcoal or wood ash added to your chickens’ dust bath helps to suffocate parasites such as mites, lice, fleas and ticks.2.) As a feed supplement…. Charcoal works as a laxative and detoxifier, flushing toxins out of the body. It will also help expel internal worms to some extent.…………………………………………3.) As a wound healing agent – wood ash possesses antibacterial qualities which can prevent an open wound from becoming infected and also works to stop bleeding quickly….4.) To keep the coop clean – sprinkling wood ash on your coop floor can help reduce odors. Like baking soda, wood ash is alkaline and therefore will absorb and help neutralize bad smells….
5.) To reduce the ammonia in your chickens’ manure – adding charcoal in a ratio of 1-2% to your chicken feed can help prevent the creation of ammonia….
6.) To control impurities in the water….………………………………………………
In the Garden7.) As garden fertilizer – since wood ash is a plant-based substance, it contains most of the essential nutrients that soil needs for optimal plant growth…. Note: It’s a good idea to have your soil tested before broadcasting ash over your entire garden. Most vegetables like a pH of 6.8 – 7.2 and wood ash will raise the soil alkalinity. Read the next point.8.) To neutralize acidic soil – wood ash has properties similar to agricultural lime as a fertilizer. Since it’s alkaline in nature, it will neutralize acidic soil in your garden. Great for all your non-acid loving crops. Just be sure not to use it on azaleas, berries, cilantro, cucumbers, garlic, parsley, potatoes, pumpkins, rhododendron, squash, strawberries and others plants that prefer acidic soil.9.) To nourish calcium-loving plants….…………………………………………10.) To deter garden pests – sprinkle wood ash around the base of your plants to deter slugs and snails from attacking them.
Around the House11.) As ice melt – because wood ash contains potash …, it makes a super eco-friendly ice and snow melt on paths and the driveway. It won’t corrode metal or concrete like rock salt, won’t harm your plants or the grass and is safe for your dogs, cats and chickens to walk on….12.) To deskunk dogs ….………………………………………………
