OK,in winter time  I've thrown it on the road for traction and I know it can be  used for making lye for soap, but are there any gardening applications for wood ash?

Potash

Roses are said to like it because it seems to be a low grade fertilizer.  

here is a good link I found:


http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/wood-ash-can-be-useful-yard-if-used-caution

Thanks guys. That link was terrific.

Old timers here use it as a repellent on the green beans.
I tried it this , seemed to work. Much like DE, when it gets wet, re-apply.

I dump all the ashes from my indoor wood burner into my garden boxes during the winter.

I've read that you should use it sparingly, however our plants seem to thrive in the boxes (tomatoes, etc.), so I still dump away.

THIS

Growing up my grandpa and parents always used their wood ash in the garden, usually on onions.  You can overdo it I suppose but we never hit that limit.

Wood ash is very alkaline and is like adding lime to the soil. You can definitely overdo it, especially for things that like a more acidic soil (like potatoes).

I went over-board in my garden the first few years because tomatoes like a high pH (basic/alkaline). Then I wanted to grow potatoes... my potatoes ALWAYS have scab (a known side-effect of too high pH)...

If you use a sieve and apply around your veggies, it will kill all the slugs that are ravaging your garden, probably tomato worms and caterpillars too.

Is there any truth about vegetables taking up the radiation present in wood ashes?

Actually pectin and chlorophyll rich foods have loads of anti-oxidants that can scavenge free radicals. Some plants may carry certain radionuclides just to root, some the stems, some to the leaves....and may be just maybe some carry to the fruit.  Even in the worst case scenario a veggie will also have counter nutrients that reduce risk.

If true of wood then wouldn't your furniture, firewood and even cardboard give you cancer?  Some plants can absorb +2 cations like calcium( hence alkaline ash) or radium or cesium well, but unlike calcium, radium or it's parent product uranium typically aren't in the upper soil in much concentration. If there ever were this issue then the soil would already have to be highly radioactive and most likely a human source.  In almost every scenario I can think of a person would have greater environmental exposure (breathing/dermal/drinking water) then the food pathway which typically would not have much or any radionuclides to begin with.  So unless you live on a Superfund site and scientist are growing a target plant for phytoremediation .......it's not an issue.

The theory was: The natural radiation in everything around us was heavily concentrated in the wood ash. The wood burns, but the radiation is left behind.
Cannot remember where I read this( 4 decades ago).                                                                                                                                                                                            
Been burning for 30 years.

Conceivably it could be possible....I wouldn't want any organic substance from Chernobyl.  However, I've never seen a risk assessment citing wood ash as  a concern.  There could also be heavy metals or polyaromatic hydrocarbons or possibly even dioxins at detectable but very low levels.  However, I still ascribe to wood ash is good stuff.  The EPA doesn't even consider coal fly ash a haz waste and that has a whole lot more to consider then wood ash.

ETA:  I wonder if this "heavily concentrated" wood ash is some hippy idea of nuke fallout and solar radiation are released.  I don't believe there is an absorption pathway for plant uptake except through the roots for radionuclides and we all know the pros and cons of sun light, but this theory sounds unscientific.

As long as your soil isn't too alkaline already.

Thank you for your help and knowledge. Hard for me to sort out all the info floating around in the world.                                                                                                            
Still, three cords a year for 30 years is 90 cords. That's a lot of ash for a small 50' x 100' garden.

 
That makes sense. Our tomatoes and peppers do very well in those boxes. We haven't tried potatoes yet. However, the cabbage seems to be doing well, and we actually got some carrots this year.




I think maybe I'll watch this a little more closely, and possibly test my soil at some point.




Thanks!


 

My grandparents always saved a bit for summer and mixed it with dry sand or dirt for the chickens to take dust baths in.  Said it killed mites (or some other chicken infestation).  I don't have a wood stove, so I've never tried it.