Most of ours goes on the garden. We have a 40 gallon steel trash can our ashes go in. It almost holds a season’s worth of ashes. I dump it in the spring when I till
If you have acidic soil it can help in the garden, and has benefits including suppressing some pests, like squash vine borers. It’s best to know what your ph is to begin with though. I spread it out in the woods once it’s cooled and it’s gone by spring usually.
Most of my ashes go to my neighbor. He has a long driveway and when he needs some, he needs a lot. I have 2 ash cans that I use. When one gets full it goes to the garage where it sits until the other can is full, usually a week. That is when my neighbor comes to get the ashes. I make sure it contains no hot ashes.
I have a OWB so when it gets a pile of ash in it I scoop it out with a shovel and fling it onto the yard or out in the horse pastures, good for the soil. Or if it gets icy were we walk or out in a pasture I toss it onto the ice, hot ash with some small red coals works really well to give traction on ice.
Ours go into the garden. Ive heard about people putting them on their gravel drives, but doesn't it track?
In my former career, fly ash was a significant ingredient in our non paved roads. That would lock up like concrete. I don't see stove ash doing the same thing though I have heard many times that it does indeed act like a binder.
I usually dump it in the woods at the back of my property. Sometimes I'll sprinkle it around the yard. It's wet enough here in burn season that I don't usually worry about them being hot.
I have been spreading mine in the garden for 3 years now. It has many benefits. Calcium, potash, helps loosen clay soils, and the little pieces of char that are still in there make bio-char. They sell it by the bag for gardens. It's not cheap. I get mine for free. Basically it gives a place for beneficial bacterial and fungi to live, and helps aerate the soil. I had the best garden so far this year. Hard to tell, but the tomato stakes are 6 foot 6 tall.
We store the ash in barrels through the winter then using the tractor take it out to the gardens and food plots to spread it. It is important to SPREAD IT THIN! Otherwise you may not grow much there for a while.
I like your thought on using ashes for lye to make home made soap. I make soap but use commercial lye, but always wanted to make it with ash, just for the old tradition.
I believe I already did confirm that if it gets wet, oh boy does it track. Real bad. However, if you run out of salt, then I wouldn't hesitate to use it in a pinch.
Also I was told from my composting expert neighbor that you should resist the temptation to sprinkle it in your compost pile. It can inhibit the growth of some bacteria when you want those bacteria to thrive in the pile.
