Winter is coming, and that means snuggling up to a cozy fireplace very soon. The only un-romantic thing about burning firewood is the ash that’s left behind. It’s messy, cumbersome, and generally a bother to deal with. Luckily wood ash does have some convenient uses if you’re willing to keep it in a jar around the house. after cleanup.
- Repel slugs and snails. Spreading ash evenly in a garden bed will protect your flowers and vegetables from slugs and snails. The ash will dry the slugs up and potentially kill them. Try to keep the ash from touching your plants however.
- Shine silver. A paste of ash and water makes a dandy nontoxic metal polisher. (Also requires some elbow grease.)
- Control pesky pond algae. One tablespoon of ashes per 1,000 gallons adds enough potassiumm to strengthen other aquatic plants that compete with algae, slowing its growth.
- Use it as calcium-rich fertilizer for gardening. Ash strengthens plants that love calcium, such as tomatoes, vineyards, beans, spinach, peas, avocados, garlic etc. You can add 1/4 cup of ashes to your hole before planting.
- Put out a fire by tossing ash on it quickly. The ash will suffocate the fire and keep it from spreading or growing, keep a bucket of ash near your fireplace to quickly snuff out an unwanted flame.
- De-skunk pets. A handful rubbed on Fido’s coat neutralizes the lingering odor.
If your fireplace needs some TLC, call Black Goose Chimney for cleaning, inspections, and more!