The many uses of wood ash

A few months back I cleared out the fire box of the wood ash and kept it down in the garage *sure* that I could reuse it for something!

I've occasionally come across uses in my readings on gardens and chickens so thought I'd put a bit more (small amount!) reading into it.

It is alkaline in nature and acts as a good liming agent useful in soil - it will raise the pH. Only half as much is required though and is best avoided for plants that like acidic conditions. The type of wood burned (soft or hard) will affect the alkalinity.

So I have added some as a fertilizer to my soil that will have the tomatoes planted in a few weeks time and a light layer has been added to my compost.

Good as a snail and slug deterrent if sprinkled around your at-risk plants as the fine dust will clog up their ability to move and with the snails will stop them from retreating back into their shell.

It is also good for chickens to dust bath in. So this afternoon I filled a low tub and placed it in the chickens coop for them to bath at leisure if they choose since things are still a bit mucky out there.