Don't Throw Away Those Wood Ashes - Part 2

In our last post Don't Throw Away Those Wood Ashes! - Part 1 - Soil Treatment we discussed the many key reasons for the application of wood ash on garden soil as a liming agent. In this next segment we will be discussing yet another very down to earth (so to speak) beneficial household use of common wood ash. That use is for cleaning dishes, pots and pans.

Note: In this article, we will not be talking about the use of a dish washer appliance, but the act of washing dishes by hand in the sink.

Does that seem at all strange to you? A little barbaric even? It shouldn't. These next few thoughts may be a real eye opener for you. Please read on.

Why it works

The main ingredient of wood ash is primarily calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate has a load of commercial and industrial uses from cement manufacturing to being a primary ingredient of cleaning products. It has lots of desirable qualities. BTW, when you mix some wood ash with water into a paste and then start scrubbing pots and pans with it you might be surprised as to how much the aroma resembles that of either Ajax or Comet cleansers.

Rumor has it that you can even make a paste made from calcium carbonate and de-ionized water which can then used to clean tarnish off of silver. Wood ash is about 25% calcium carbonate. You can even make your own lye out of wood ash if you know what you are doing. (It's work, but it's completely doable.)

Note to men, since women already know this: Since wood ash from the fireplace is unrefined and slightly abrasive, it may not be wise to use it to clean your antique china or expensive crystal wine glasses.

How Much Should I Use?

A little wood ash goes a long way. I usually sprinkle a little bit onto the sponge and then go to work. If I have a huge item like a pot or pan that needs commando level scrubbing, then I will pour a generous amount onto it so that the added water will make a paste; however, I try to only use what I need. Then I make sure that I have the items completely rinsed off. The calcium won't hurt you but the alkalinity can slightly raise your body pH and that may not be what you would want to do. BTW, the wood ash also does wonders for cleaning the tub.

Lastly, since the pH of wood ash is slightly alkaline, you may want to re-acidify your hands afterwards. Women a smart and wear gloves when washing dishes, however men are slightly more Klingon about it and think that nothing will hurt them. When my hands need a little acid I don't use any kind of store bought meds or lotions, I go right for some wet coffee grounds (which always seem to be in supply). I find that the wet coffee grounds provide me with immediate relief. (Of course, then I become wide awake while doing dishes which sucks the fun out of it...)

If you happen to take the family camping during the warmer months you may also be familiar with using the wood ashes to facilitate the cleaning of the cooking and eating utensils. When you do this, make sure to perform the cleaning at least 20 to 30 feet away from any bodies of water like streams or ponds.

Grossness Factor

Some folks may have a problem with this thinking that using 'dirty wood ash' is repugnant. Question: Ever go camping? Ever see campers use wood ash to clean dishes? Why is it okay then? Does standing on linoleum alter your perspective when you are indoors? it shouldn't. Get over it.

For the faint of heart, meaning when I have company, I have a small container of store bought dish detergent. This isn't so much to appease the conscience and/or sense of aesthetics of others, as it is to keep the machine wheels greases when company inevitably offers to do the dishes after dinner. Why make life (your life) any harder?

What are the Benefits?

I can think of two really big benefits:

• Free Cleaner
• No Chemicals

You can't beat the cost, it is literally free, when you consider that you are burning wood anyway. There is also the smaller benefit of having to make less trips to the trash can. (Yes!)

In addition, you are not subjecting your self, your spouse, your kids or your pets to the harmful chemicals in dish washing detergent. Have you noticed lately how dish washing detergent bottles don't always list the ingredients? Have you considered why this might be true? BTW, it's really difficult to attach a monetary value to this benefit, your health is priceless and so is your family's health.

What's the Downside?

Although we have already mentioned the "Freak-Out Factor" that some folks might have, it would help to maybe store the ashes in a non-threatening looking container, like a used spice shaker, for aesthetics sake. (Just don't pour ash flakes onto your cheese burger or pizza!)

Also, we touched on the fact that your skin needs to maintain a certain amount of acidity, so if you are not in the habit of wearing gloves when washing the dishes then you may want to re-acidify afterwards. This can be as simple as rubbing some wet coffee grounds onto your hands. This gives me immediate relief whenever my hands feel 'dried out'. and water is not usually enough to calm them since it is pH neutral.

Will the Wood Ash Hurt My Septic?

Why would it? How do you harm a septic to begin with? (Aside from huge super bowl parties or driving heavy equipment over them...) The way to kill a septic is to shut off its ability to quickly break down its contents. The way that you do that is by killing off the bacteria in the septic. The way that you do that is by adding chemicals, like bleach, ammonia and detergent.

Its really counter-intuitive, but dish washing soap is actually much more harmful to a healthy septic (yes, 'healthy') then wood ash residue. The detergent is full of chemicals that you wouldn't probably drink, so why would they be good for the septic bacteria? Wood ash is all natural and contains basically plant food and minerals. It will probably increase the over all health of the septic bacteria.

In Conclusion

My advice would be to start out slowly and ease into this. See what techniques that you can come up with on your own that have not been stated in this article and then please feel free to share your thoughts.

Also, have a bottle of detergent ready to go so company will not freak out. BTW, the company Earth Friendly Products makes a 100% natural dish washing detergent that you can get at the health food store. It's not cheap, but it is better for you and the environment than the typical bargain brand detergents. They also actually list the ingredients on their bottle since they have nothing to hide.

Don't forget: Wood ash is also both readily available and usually free. That's the word 'free' with an 'f'. You have to love the price. When we re-use wood ash either in the home or outside the home, as a liming agent for example, then we are guaranteed that we are saving our environment just a little more by not dumping them in a landfill where they will patiently have to wait it out for about a thousand years.

Thanks for taking the time to look at these last two articles. Please feel free to reply with any questions or concerns.

Don't Throw Away Those Wood Ashes! - Part 1 - Soil Treatment

If you live in the Northern part of the US like I do, then you may be a prodigious burner of wood during the winter. Wood is a great fuel source for several reasons:  

    1. It's inexpensive in comparison to electric heat as an example.
    2. It's much better for the environment than burning fossil fuel oil.
    3. The left over wood ash is a valuable resource as it has several practical uses.

I wanted to go over just one particular use for wood ashes at this time, which is for the organic gardeners and the bio-dynamic gardeners among us. This use is the application of wood ash to garden soil, as an alternative to using store bought bags of lime. BTW, this is something that I actually do, not just something that I thought would be nice to write about. Also, before we get started, let’s first mention that a level of common sense needs to enter the picture. I am going with the assumption that you are burning good clean wood and starting the fire with clean newspaper and/or clean cardboard.

Anything that is questionable, that you should not be burning, like plywood, pressure treated wood, painted wood, plastic, antelope carcasses, spaceship materials or plutonium would probably lessen the value of the wood ash. Therefore, we are going to make the assumption that you are fist of all burning responsibly.

Using Wood Ash on the Garden

We'll be discussing how you can use wood ash as opposed to lime in the next few sections. There is an awful lot of information online about this subject. You can get very specific details about how much of each mineral is in a typical pound of wood ash, etc.

It bears mentioning that while these statistics are readily available, all wood ashes are not equal. Hard woods and soft woods are very different. Also, local growing environments and conditions all affect the numbers. The bottom line however is that the wood contains pretty much everything that the tree needed to stay alive. The wood is an abundant source of minerals and even other plant foods, even after burning. The wood ash is a very high source of calcium. Wood ash is about a quarter calcium.

Why Use Wood Ash or Lime to Begin With?

Ancient cultures always used their wood ash from cooking as a soil additive. Think about it, what else could they do with it, make sheet rock? Many modern cultures still do this ceremoniously. But why did they do this? What were the scientific reasons?

You might think it was because they didn't have Miracle Grow. Well, they didn't but that isn't why. There are several reason, but here are the top two:

• Alkalinity
• Calcium

Let's first discuss alkalinity. You might be wondering:

Why must you raise the alkalinity, don't some plants like acidity?

Yes, many plants prefer a range of pH that is slightly more acidic than neutral. Also, plants differ as to their individual pH range requirements, but generally a slightly acidic soil pH will be enjoyed by your plants. That being said, rainwater causes some pH issues in garden soil. Unpolluted rainwater has a typical pH value of about 5.6, which is a result of something called carbonic acid. Since rain falls repeatedly the soil is being regularly acidified. If the rainwater is polluted the pH could even be much lower, to almost dangerous levels. Therefore, you may need to periodically add some form of 'liming' agent, like wood ash. Think of it as regular maintenance.

Since the soil in every gardening area can vary, you may decide to test your soil pH. that will let you know exactly where you are and then you can make the determination on whether or not to 'lime'. Most gardeners do some form of 'liming' every second or third year. It depends what the situation calls for. The next item is Calcium. You hear all kinds of wisdom about Potassium, Phosphorous and Nitrogen, but not nearly as much as Calcium. Why would your plants need Calcium? There are a few main reasons:

• cell wall development
• root and shoot growth
• proper enzyme activity
• proper metabolism
• nitrate uptake (nitrate is a usable form of nitrogen)
• physical strength in order to avoid pathogen attacks to cell walls

With all of those important reasons, it makes you wonder why there aren't the big four plant nutrients.

The best part is that wood ash is generally both readily available and inexpensive (free) if you are in the habit of burning wood throughout the winter months. Therefore, 'liming' your fields with wood ash is cost effective, biologically sound and a true expression of sustainable agriculture.

How To Do It

As you get the ashes, simply spread them out over your designated garden area. You do not need very much to make a valuable impact. You can even toss it out onto the snow if the ground is covered.

Also, always remember, never apply hot coals to the ground. Always make sure that the ashes have completely burnt out first.

In Conclusion

So, just like many other folks across the U.S. and abroad have been conditioned to do what everyone else does, and simply throw away all of the leaves raked from their yards, they also simply throw away all of their precious wood ash, right out into the trash!

You can do this too, it's certainly the path of least resistance. However, it is not sustainable. Just think what has to happen instead when you want to purchase lime. You need to get in the car, drive to the store, pay five to ten dollars for a bag of lime and then use it and store the remainder in the shed. In order to get that lime to the store it needs to mined/produced/packaged and then shipped via diesel trucks all across the country.

Doesn't that seem a little work intensive? This is especially true when you consider what has to happen to fuel the trucks that deliver the lime to the stores. In addition, other large diesel trash trucks will need to cart your ashes to a landfill when you dispose of them. Ouch. Stop the planet and let me off. Also, how much is involved for you to earn the five or ten dollars in the first place? That amount of cash may seem relatively small, but how is your thinking process in regard to this? Several of these smaller five to ten dollar expenses, if unnecessary, really will add up and can spell the difference between having to work an extra few hours or not. We need to really think 'sustainably' in all things.

Instead, by saving two whole steps, you can 'lime' with the ash that you already have. By using the ashes from the fireplace, as you get them, you can easily distribute them and let the soil slowly begin to ingest it into its intricate web of life.

You will also have the added satisfaction of knowing that you are in complete control of what goes into your ash.