How To Dispose Of Fireplace Ashes (7 Useful Options!)

A fire in a fireplace makes for a cozy and warm evening when the outside temperatures turn cold and blustery. After the fire is gone, there is always the ash requiring disposal. What is the best way to dispose of fireplace ashes?

Dispose of ashes from a fireplace by allowing the fire to burn out completely. When the fireplace is cool, scoop the ash into a metal container. Put the metal container outside away from any combustible material. After three to four days, you can safely put the cold ash into your regular trash.

You can dispose of your fireplace ash in the regular trash after letting it cool completely. However, you may be tossing out valuable material. Fireplace ash has several different uses around your home that can save you time and money. Read on to learn more.

Wood was the main source of heat for cooking and warmth in many homes in the past. Pioneers knew the value of the ash left over from their fires. From making soap to enriching soil, wood ash was not considered a waste product.

Today, fireplaces are no longer the center of the home. Most people who still burn wood in their fireplace consider the ash disposable. Tons of wood ash ends up in the landfill every winter. Each cord of wood burned in a fireplace produces about fifty pounds of ash.

There are environmentally sound ways to use wood ash around your home. Let’s look at a few good examples.

Growing tomatoes can frustrate even the most experienced vegetable gardener. One secret that many successful tomato gardeners rely on is wood ash. The natural mineral content of wood ash is almost perfect for tomatoes.

Wood ash contains phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. These three nutrients are the basis for most commercial tomato fertilizers. Wood ash also raises the pH of the soil. The natural pH of the wood ash encourages tomatoes that prefer a slightly alkaline soil. Using wood ash to give your tomatoes a boost is easy.

Step 1 – Choose your Wood Ash Carefully. Use only fresh wood ash that has been allowed to cool for several days. The best wood ash is powdery and fine. To keep your wood ash in top condition, store it in a metal container and keep it very dry.

Step 2 – Prepare your Planting Bed. When you plant your tomatoes, put one-quarter cup of fresh wood ash into the hole. Adding a bit of worm castings and some powdered molasses with the ash will jump-start your tomato plants.

Step 3 – Give your Tomatoes a Mid-Season Boost. Mid-season sprinkle a quarter cup of clean, dry wood ash around your tomato plants. Use a plastic garden fork or trowel to work the ash into the soil gently.

If your landscape has a garden pond, you have probably been plagued at times with algae. A green pond is an ugly thing and can be a struggle to clean and control. A bit of clean, fresh wood ash can help control algae growth.

Algae is the result of fish, warm water, and sunlight. Many pond owners turn to harsh and dangerous chemicals to try and control algae. If your pond contains fish, the chemical solutions can be tricky.

An alternate solution is to ass about one tablespoon of wood ash to every 1,000 gallons of pond water. Not only will this help control the algae, but the potassium and other minerals will encourage your aquatic plants to bloom.

Where ice is a seasonal problem, the traditional solution is to apply rock salt to melt the ice. However, over time the accumulation of salt in the landscape can damage your plants. Wood ash doesn’t have this residual effect in the soil.

Burning wood to ash turns many of the compounds in the wood into natural salts. These natural salts work as well as rock salt to melt ice and don’t leave toxic residues in the soil. In fact, many of these natural salts are mineral compounds that your plants will use as nutrients.