Thrifty Thursday: Out of the Ashes Comes... Veggies?!

Run a wood stove? Enjoy campfires? Simply like to burn your leftover wood or brush? Did you know you can put those ashes to good use?

Turn your wood ashes into fertilizer for your garden! What a great way to reuse what you would have otherwise had to throw away or somehow dispose of! And think of all those delicious fruits and veggies you can harvest later!

Here are some other tips about using ashes as fertilizer from TipNut.

• You can also add them to the compost pile (about every 6″ or so), this helps reduce odors and increase the rate of decomposition (not too heavy, just a light layer will do).
• Do not use any that came from wood that had a chemical preservative applied and only use if produced from wood fires that have not included other items (since they may contain traces of harmful materials for the dirt or plants).
• Remember, this is a substitute for lime which means it decreases a soil’s acidity. Don’t use around acid loving plants (such as blueberries).
• Those from hardwoods contain more nutrients than found in softwoods. Also those from young wood contain more nutrients than those from older wood.
• If the ashes were exposed to rain before being collected, are they still good to use? Not really, the nutrients will seep out with the water (which is fine when they’ve already been applied to the garden but not before).

Happy Couponing!
-Coupon Mama Massachusetts