Painted Wood as Kindling

[hillbilly rick]

Hey Hill Bill,

I would love to know why your ext. agent thinks wood ash is bad for the garden. Was this before he said you need to lime it?

My garden is almost too sweet. He told me not to lime it for a few years. I do not remember if ashes raise the pH or if there was some other reason to not add ashes.

 

[EE_Bota]

My garden is almost too sweet. He told me not to lime it for a few years. I do not remember if ashes raise the pH or if there was some other reason to not add ashes.

I think is raises the PH. Folks used to pour water through ashes to make lye, and mix fat renderings to make (sodium and potassium salts of fatty acids) lye soap.

 

[troutsqueezer]

I've been using painted and stained wood as kindling since '85. It hadn't not done anyting to my brian yet.....

 

[crash325]

So you're not the one on a horse being ridden by a dog then ? :laughing:

Dog is in complete charge, I'm just along for the RIDE. :laughing::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Stimw]

Where I used to work they would burn wood pallets that had been left in semi trailers. Normally in a fire barrel for heat.
One day they were cooking hotdogs over the fire! All I could think about is all the chemicals that are shipped on those pallets! I said something about it but got laughed at. Good thing I had packed a lunch!

 

[nickel plate]

Last early winter I worked in a fair amount of woodstove oak ash into my tomato beds and had the by far hugest crop ever, they grew several feet further out of the 4'x8' beds and onto the lawn as it became a jungle. Overall I lost about 10-15% of the fruit as I couldn't even find them until pulling up the plants in early December. So much fruit I took up drying them with great success, each drying flat would hold around four pounds times four drying flats times five sessions, mostly in the truck cab out in the hot sun so we are still enjoying the crop. The season before with no ash additive and with the same amount of plants (10), I barely got a few baskets full.