Love that the byproduct of the wonderful wood heat is a valuable soil amendment. I've been spreading it on the lawn with a shovel after I screen the little bits of charcoal out. Is there a better way to spread it? The rotary garden spreaders didn't work, the ash is too fine and it cakes up. I make a mess when I use the shovel. Particularly my shoes.
I dump the bucket and hit the pile with the leaf blower to spread it out. Stand upwind, blow downwind, and you stay clean
I drop it through a screen standing upwind. I really don't worry about it going on kind spotty because the rain disperses it once on the ground and I've never seen a green or yellow spot in the lawn. It's a fairly weak fertilizer it seems. At least for what the lawn wants. I tend to put it in the garden anyway. I put the 'charcoal' in the compost - maybe it will absorb and bank some of the nutrients that might be washing out of an open pile. It certainly doesn't hurt. Sometimes I'll put the charcoal back in the stove. LOL -cheap Yankee. I tried some on moss in the lawn to see if affect and - not much. Which further convinces me there isn't a whole lot of nutrients in ashes. Not none, just not a lot. Or it washes out pretty darn quick, or as well.
I take the bucket to some part of the field or garden or compost pile, depending on the wind direction, and toss it out like trying to spread it.
We put cold ashes in barrels like the one pictured below. In spring, barrel goes into FEL of tractor and taken back to field. Dump it in field then use bucket on FEL to sort of spread them out. Works nice. Before we got the tractor, I used a scoop shovel for spreading them in the field. Do only when you have a light wind...
They actually have a product that you can buy called biochar that is advertised to do exactly what you are intending in your compost. Second good byproduct!
If the corner of the road near the house gets slippery than heck, I'll spread them out around the corner...we're talking winter no of course. Stuff works better than sand for providing traction.
I give ashes to my neighbor. He provides 5 gallon plastic buckets and I fill them with cold ashes. He has a long gravel driveway with a little bit of a climb to get to the road. We both win.
I dealt with my bucket of cold ashes today. Using a long handled shovel, I broadcasted them over the snow-covered lawn. To the left of the snow blown path, I probably should have waited another couple of days, with 10-12 inches more snow in the forecast, with the 12-18inch line not far away. The dark ashes would help with the snow melt. Oh well....
Looks like our lawn last week. I used a small plastic scoop this time. Did about two years worth. Much better to do about 1/3 seasons worth at a time, way less tedious. It did help melt the snow, but they are calling for another foot today and tomorrow...
Mine has been full of staples and nails lately. It helps to enrich the soil at the landfill, one cardboard box at a time
