Using Fireplace Ashes in Your Garden

Here on the Island, especially now that it’s beginning to feel a little more like winter, we are no strangers to wood ash.  Many Island homes boast a good wood stove or fireplace to curl up in front of and curb the high priced heating costs. But, with every fire that I built, as I emptied out the ashtray, I began to wonder if there wasn’t something I could be doing with those ashes.

A dear friend quickly found the answer I was looking for on the Master Gardner’s website, a site dedicated to “the very latest information on local gardening techniques & events.” In an article, Dawne Howard of the Frederick County Master Gardener Program, reports that, “Since Roman times, wood ash has been recognized as a useful amendment to the soil. In fact, North America exported wood ash to Britain in the 18th century as a fertilizer, and today, 80 per-cent of the ash produced commercially in the Northeastern United States is applied to the land.”

To learn more about how and why to use wood ash in your garden, read the entire article here.