What to do with my ashes

i have a dustbin incinerator on my allotment which is getting quite full of ash now (I burn paper as well as weeds in it.). Shall i put it on my compost heap or dig it into the soil when I start turning my beds over?
Thanks all.

 

I have been meaning to ask a similar question about barbeque charcoal ash ,,is it any good for anything, perhaps someone can throw some light on it

 

My grandad grew the best Hydrangea I've ever seen in my life out of nothing but his 'ash mountain', a big pile of ash from his coal fire. That was ash from a combination of coal, wood and paper.

I believe wood ash is full of potassium, which I believe is good for the plants. I know coal ash is acidic when you add water, so that's probably why my grandad's Hydrangea did so well, but not sure about ash from other stuff.

 

My understanding is that wood ash contains lots of Potash, but it leaches out very quickly - so I think putting it on compost heap might "waste" the benefit (it will also form a soggy, impenetrable, layer - so not ideal for compost heap).

So I suppose it ought to be good to just add as a "mulch" to fruiting crops.

Coal ash I think of as often being recommended for not using in the garden, although I don't remember seeing a reason other than its acidity, and for folk like me on alkaline soils I wonder it is has other problems? Therefore I can well believe it was just-the-job for Hydrangeas :thumb:

 

Be carefull growing things out of ash heaps as some plants are too sensitive to it. Others will thrive like crazy though so I guess its a matter of research or trial and error.

 

Beanie that was a very misleading title to this thread.......a good one though .........you know what I was thinking lol.

 

I've always been told to dig in wood ash but NOT to use coal ash as it will kill a lot of plants.

 

"including bbq"

Presumably only if Briquets used?

We have fabby hand-made (for want of a better word) charcoal, which is basically just going to leave wood ask, isn't it?

By the by, if you are a BBQ-with-coals fan, rather than a gas-barbie, proper charcoal is a dream compared to the stuff in the super market / garden centre - even compared to their "lump wood charcoal" products.

It is unbelievably light weight, will be at full heat in under 10 minutes from first ignition, you need very little as you can just top up as you go along, just altogether much easier to use. There are a couple of managed woods near us that make charcoal ...