Years ago, we lived in a home where the only heat source was a wood-burning stove in the kitchen. At the time, I didn't think much about what to do with the wood ash, but now that we are exclusively heating with wood once again, I wanted to find some practical wood ash uses for the increasing amounts we're pulling all season long.
Our ancestors used wood ash around the homestead for everything from cooking to pest control and even making paint. In fact, before the creation of commercial leavening agents, wood ash water was often used to lighten cakes, biscuits, cookies, etc in baking.
While a lot of the ways our ancestors used fireplace ashes in the past aren't practical or applicable to our modern world, there are still plenty of ways to use wood ash around your modern homestead so it isn't simply going to waste.
Garden Uses
It should go without saying that you should use common sense when working with wood ash. Be sure that it is cool, as hot coals can hang out in ashes for days.
Wood ash is caustic material so use care when handling it. After all, it is used to make lye.
Care should also be used so you aren't breathing in the ash and dust it creates by wearing a dust mask. All that said, one cord of firewood will produce about 20 pounds of ashes, so you should be able to use at least a few of these great uses for your ashes.
1. Wood Ash Fertilizer
Depending on the type of wood, the ash contains several trace elements your garden thrives on including calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. While the amounts aren't particularly high, being around four percent potassium, and less than two percent of the others, it's still a low-grade fertilizer.
If you want to keep that mineral content, be sure it is kept in a protected place out of the elements until you're ready to use it. If it gets wet, those nutrients will simply wash away. To fertilize, you can simply add ash in small amounts around individual plants that need a boost of nutrients.
When using as a fertilizer, a little will go a long way, as too much can change the pH of your soil, which you may not want, more on that next.
Also, it's important to note that you won't want to fertilize acid-loving plants, such as blueberries and potatoes.
2. Liming Agent
Most crops grow well in slightly acidic soil with a pH level of around 6.0 to 6.8, while overly acidic soils with a pH below 6.0 can actually diminish biological activity in the soil and the availability of nutrients. Liming, or using agricultural lime, is one way that many gardeners and farmers bump up their pH levels to something a big more desirable to increase productivity.
Commercial lime products and wood ash both contain calcium carbonate, which can raise soil pH. Ground lime will require smaller amounts than wood ash, but it also takes six months to one year to work in. Using wood ash works almost instantaneously because it is water-soluble.
Typically it will take 2-4 times the wood ash to increase soil pH as ground lime. While most garden soil can use occasional liming, it is best to test your soil, as you don't want to add it to alkaline soil. This will tell you the current pH of your soil as well as the makeup of the soil to help determine the application rate to change the pH to the target level.
Wood ash can typically be added in concentrations of roughly 5 gallons per 1,000 square feet once per year. Simply spread it evenly over the surface of the garden.
Liming shouldn't be done on acid-loving plants like blueberries, potatoes, or rhododendrons. Too much wood ash can raise the pH too much, causing other problems, so always go with the results of a soil test before liming.
3. Boost Your Compost
Adding wood ash to your compost pile can help boost the oxygen content in it, making for a happy pile. It also harbors all of those wonderful nutrients and being mixed into your compost heap, they won't wash away, which adds all of that nutrient-dense goodness right to your pile.
Since wood ash is alkaline, you don't want to add too much, but a little will be just fine. If you're concerned, a pH test kit can help you decide how much is enough and how much is too much of a good thing.
4. Cure Blossom End Rot
No one wants to see the fruits of their labor with big, black splotches on the bottom of them. Blossom end rot is a result of a calcium deficiency in the plant, typically caused by overwatering, or under watering, it can also be a symptom of low calcium levels in the soil.
While proper watering is key to your plant's health and survival, adding some wood ash to your planting hole when planting tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, or squash can help ensure you have enough calcium in the soil for your plant to take up. Then, it's up to you to make sure watering habits are adequate without being overzealous.
5. Prevent Frost Damage to Crops
Frost is every gardener's worst nightmare. Whether you're trying to extend your growing season, or there's a late frost forecasted in your area, you have to protect plants from frost.
While I haven't personally tested it, it is said that wood ash can help protect plants from frost. Simply give them a light dusting of ash and sprinkle some around the base of the plants before a light frost and it will help keep the frost from biting at your plants.
6. Repel Slugs
Slugs love to hang out in vegetable gardens and destroy plants. Wood ash irritates slugs' moist bodies, and in turn, will repel them. Simply sprinkle it around plants that are susceptible to slug invasions and it will help keep those slimy garden pests off of your plants.
Since wood ash is water-soluble, you will have to reapply it any time it rains, but the benefit is no slugs and it will easily wash away when you harvest your produce.
Around the Homestead
7. Pet Safe Ice Melt
While not quite as effective as ice melt products on the market today, wood ash is an effective way to help melt ice and provide traction. The caveat is you'll definitely want to take your shoes off at the door before stepping inside, as it will get messy, quickly.
To use as an ice melt, simply place it on driveways, sidewalks, steps, etc when the ice begins accumulating.
8. Clean Up Oil Spills
We change our own oil and it seems like, at some point before the used oil goes into a jug for recycling, we wind up with oil on the garage floor.
Thankfully, wood ash is an effective sop, and while kitty litter (also great at cleaning up spills) is cheap, wood ash is free. Simply sprinkle it on the spill, allow it to soak up, then sweep it away.
9. Hide Concrete Stains
You cleaned up the spill, now it's time to clean up the oil stains off the pavement. Since wood ash is similar in color to concrete and other pavement, it does a pretty good job at hiding stains on these surfaces. Simply pour it on the stain and scuff it in.
10. Winter Crop Storage
Storing crops through the winter, like potatoes, can be difficult without a root cellar. Thankfully, wood ash is a fantastic insulator and can help keep your crops cool and dry.
To use, you can put your crops in a large cardboard box with holes in it and layer them with the wood ash and then store it in a cool, dark place. Alternatively, rural sprout suggests you can make a mini root cellar by digging a hole, putting in a layer of ash, putting in a single layer of produce, topping it with a layer of ash, repeat, until you reach the top, where you'll want to top with wood ash.
11. Deter Insects from Foods & Seeds
On the same note, not only is wood ash a great insulator, it will also deter insects and pests as well as keep moisture to a minimum, for your stored food and seeds.
You can sprinkle saved seeds with wood ash before placing them in envelopes for storage. This will keep insects and moisture out.
The same can be said for food. Just like you use it to keep food crops stored over winter, you can use it to keep insects out of food crops that you've stored in places such as the garage, by sprinkling the food with the wood ash.
12. Move Ants
Ants can't move wood ash, so if you find an anthill and don't want it there, you can place wood ash on the top and it will force them to relocate. This won't harm the ants, it will simply cause them to pack up and move elsewhere. This can be effective when they build a shop near an area you don't want them in, like your kid's sandbox.
13. Fire Extinguisher
Wood ash is an effective fire extinguisher by simply smothering flames, much like flour or baking soda in the kitchen for grease fires. Keep a few buckets of it in areas where fires could easily start, like your barn, woodshop, blacksmith shop, etc. and you'll have it at the ready if the unthinkable happens.
14. Make Soap
Wood ash is the basis of lye, which is what is used to saponify animal fats to make soap. While lye is available commercially, learning how to make it yourself can definitely add to your self-sufficient skillset.
Lye is created by boiling the ashes from hardwoods in soft water. Check out this post if you want to try it for yourself.
15. Deter Moles
Moles are a pain, we've had several try to take up residence all around our homestead. You can deter them by filling their holes with wood ash. The same goes for any mouse holes you come across. Simply fill the holes and stamp it down tight.
This may need to be done daily for a while, but eventually, they get the picture, get tired of dealing with it, and move along to somewhere else.
16. Protect Fencing
Building fences is hard work and something you want to last a long time. Unfortunately, wooden fence posts are subject to destruction by bacteria, fungus, and pests. You can treat the holes where you're digging your posts in by combining 10 parts wood ash with 1 part borax and mixing it around in the dirt surrounding the holes. This will help your posts survive longer.
17. Make Ash Glaze
Wood ash has been used to make pottery glaze since 1500 B.C. It creates a beautiful brown to green color. Check this out to learn how to create your own.
18. Make Chinking
Old fashioned thinking for log homes was often made from wood ash and other materials that were readily available on homesteads. You can still make this old-fashioned chinking today to fill in logs or gaps in any home around doors, windows, etc.
To make it you'll need dirt, wood ashes, and water. Check this out to learn more.
Using Wood Ash around the Home
19. Wood Stove Glass Cleaner
Wood stoves with glass doors have a tendency to get stained with creosote while burning, blocking your view of the beautiful flames. While our wood stove is a high-efficiency catalyst stove, watching the secondary burn is pretty cool.
To use as a glass cleaner, wait on the wood stove to cool down, simply add a bit of water to the wood ash to make an abrasive paste, and scrub the buildup right off of the glass.
20. Oven Cleaner
Much like using it as a wood stove cleaner, you can also use wood ash to clean out your oven. In fact, you may find it's a miracle cleaner, especially for the stubborn stains on your oven glass.
You can make a paste and let it sit, or you can put it on a damp cloth or sponge and scrub the oven. Rinse clean with water.
21. Clean Dishes
Have some cast iron pans that need scrubbed? Wood ash possesses a large amount of cleaning properties. After all, it is the basis of lye, which creates soap as I mentioned before. Dishes, like glass, ovens, and everything else can be cleaned by creating a bit of paste and scrubbing the dishes clean, and rinsing like normal.
22. Refrigerator Deodorizer
Wood ash, especially if it contains a little charcoal, is an excellent deodorizer. Add some to a container or paper bag and set it in your fridge or freezer, changing it out every so often, just like baking soda, except free and readily available. Helping you avoid the grocery store.
23. Dessicant
Place wood ash with charcoal pieces in musty basements or anywhere where moisture is a problem in your home and it will naturally absorb the moisture.
24. Repel Mice
Mice are a common nuisance around homesteads. While there are plenty of natural ways to repel mice, wood ash is free and can be effective. Simply sprinkle it in areas you don't want mice to help keep them out.
25. Repel Cockroaches
Wood ash and the endoskeletons of cockroaches don't get along too well. Use wood ash in dark corners and other areas in your home to help keep cockroaches out.
26. Repel Moths
Keep your clothing and other fabrics hole-free by sprinkling them with wood ash, which naturally repels moths. You can do this with any fabric or yarn. When you're ready to use the fabric again, simply dust off the wood ash and launder as normal. If you sprinkled it on your yarn, dust it off, shake off the finished project and launder appropriately.
27. Make Sealant/Tar
Pitch, or tar, is typically made with petroleum products, but it can be made with wood ash. You'll need pine sap from pine trees and wood ash. Melt the sap over low heat and add in wood ash until you have a batter-like consistency. Use it to seal things up while it's still hot, just as you would tar.
You can use this to seal up driveways, foundations, holes, anything you would use caulking or seal for, really. You get the idea.
28. Teeth Whitening Toothpaste
Make a natural toothpaste with wood ash to help whiten your teeth. Wood ash works much like activated charcoal as it contains the same whitening agent, potassium hydroxide.
To make, simply combine with a bit of water until it forms a paste. However, it isn't advised to use this daily as it can damage the enamel if used too often, as it is very abrasive.
29. Polish Silver
Wood ash is a natural silver polish. To use, make it into a thick paste by mixing it with water, coat your silver pieces with the paste and allow them to sit a few minutes. Then, simply wipe off and viola, shiny silver without the tarnish.
30. Homemade Bleach
Making lye water is made and not mixed with fats to saponify, it can be used as a standalone similar to bleach. While I'm not personally a fan of bleach, you would add about ⅓ cup of lye water to your wash load to get similar results of bleach. Of course, be careful and remember, lye is caustic and will burn.
31. Wound Treatment
Finally a natural treatment with actual proof of efficacy. According to the study, wood ash placed on a wound helped a wound heal more quickly than a similar wound treated with Neosporin.
Pets & Livestock
32. Prevent Algae in Bottles & Waterers
Algae is a big problem in waterers, especially rabbit bottles in the summertime. We have to work really hard to keep algae from building up and the bottles can be very difficult to clean.
Thankfully, there is an easy solution. Simply pull out a few pieces of charcoal from your wood ash and put it into your meat rabbit bottles or chicken waterers to help keep algae from building up inside. Replace it once in a while with a few new chunks of charcoal to keep waterers fresh and clean.
33. Slow Algae in Duck Pools & Ponds
Also, another place where algae are our nemesis. Whether you have a pond or a pool for your ducks or geese, they tend to love to grow algae.
While wood ash won't completely prevent algae growth, it can slow it down and make it more manageable. This is especially true in ponds, where sprinkling it in will encourage other plants to grow, which will help combat the competing algae.
But, it can also work in pools, just make sure you add a bit of charcoal to it to help filter out the nasties.
34. Chicken Dust Bath
Chickens love to dust bathe. This ritual helps them stay clean and keeps them free of fleas, lice, and mites. Wood ash works much in the same way as utilizing diatomaceous earth for their dust bath and is definitely cheaper.
To spruce up their dust bath, simply sprinkle wood ash around their dust bathing area and let them enjoy.
35. Pet & Livestock Pest Control
Just like it helps control fleas, lice, and mites on chickens it can do the same on your dogs, cats, goats, rabbits, or any other animal, really. Simply dust the wood ash into their fur to help keep fleas, ticks, and other unwanted guests off of your animal's skin.
36. De-skunk Pets
Did one of your pets have a run-in with a skunk? The smell can be awful and very difficult to get rid of. While there are some fantastic commercial products available to de-skunk your pet, if all else fails, wood ash is a great deodorizer.
To use, liberally dust your pet with wood ash and leave them outside for a couple of hours. Then, give them a bath. Outdoors if possible.
37. Deodorize Chicken Coop
Help cut down on chicken coop odors by sprinkling wood ash under the bedding. This works really well if you're using the deep litter method.
Simply add a nice, thick layer of wood ash with charcoal on the bottom of the coop floor, cover with bedding. You can also sprinkle a bit more on top of layers as necessary.
38. Feed Supplement
Add 1% or less of wood ash to your chicken's feed to help boost their calcium (about 25% of wood ash is calcium) as well as deodorize the ammonia odor when they poop. Win-win.
39. Natural Quickstop and Wound Treatment
Wood ash works much like cornstarch when applied to a wound and will quickly stop the bleeding. It also possesses antibacterial properties that can prevent a wound from being infected. This works really well when trimming nails if you get a bit too close to the quick. Simply dip the wound, or nail, in wood ash to help stop bleeding and prevent infection.
Kitchen Uses
40. Charcoal
You can use the charcoal out of wood ash to make your own charcoal briquettes. Of course, you'll have to take the time to sift out the ash from the charcoal, but it can definitely be worth your while. These briquettes can be used the same way commercially available briquettes are used to grill your steaks and other foods.
41. Leavener
Before baking soda was available commercially, ash water was typically used in its place to leaven baked goods like biscuits and even cookies. You can check out how well it works to utilize ash water in place of commercial leavening agents here.
42. Pearl Ash
While utilizing ash water, or unrefined potash are both inconsistent when it comes to the outcome of creating baked goods, you can actually boil down lye into potash and then refine it into pearlash. Pearl ash is refined potassium carbonate, a predominant alkaline salt found in wood.
Creating peal ash is time-consuming, requires a dedicated, non-aluminum pot outdoors to cook, lots of care, and patience. If you're interested in trying your hand at it to build some skills, you can learn about it here.
42. To Flavor Foods
Yep. It's kind of a trendy thing to add some wood ash to strong-flavored foods such as meat, cheese, and onions to impart a little smoky flavor. Use small quantities as larger amounts can overpower the food. And, of course, be sure you're using wood from clean sources, not pretreated lumber.
43. Make Hominy
Hominy is made using lye, but traditionally it was made utilizing wood ashes before they were made into lye. This process is called nixtamalization and is a process that has been used by cooks since ancient times. This process removes the hull from dried kernels of corn, which gives them a bean-like texture and doubles their size (much like a bean).
If you're interested in making hominy from wood ash, which is fascinating, but I've never tried it, check here.
Betty R. Austin says
nice ideas i hope to use some of them