The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: franksolich on March 11, 2010, 07:12:22 AM
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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=268x3297
Oh my.
panader0 (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:27 PM
Original message
Anyone know of a good use of wood ashes?
I've gone through quite a bit of firewood this winter, partly because I've been at home quite a bit (not much work). There's a lot of ash, mostly from mesquite and pecan. I built a block wall for a local pecan farmer and he sells me his wood at a good rate, so I've been burning it up. There must be a good use for the ashes. Any ideas?
H2O Man (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:31 PM
THE LACHRYMOSE PRIMITIVE
Response to Original message
2. Ashes are good for gardening.
panader0 (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:35 PM
Response to Reply #2
7. Yeah, I've been scattering them in the garden but I have so much now.
H2O Man (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 09:45 PM
Response to Reply #7
16. If you compost, they are a great addition. If you have neighbors/family/friends who garden, you could probably get rid of a substantial amount of ashes.
realisticphish (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:32 PM
Response to Original message
3. They're ok for snow traction
some areas use them in lieu of salt for anti-ice purposes
Warpy (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:41 PM
THE DEFROCKED WARPED PRIMITIVE, #09 TOP PRIMITIVE OF 2009
Response to Reply #3
8. I'd use them in an icy driveway
I tried using them on the walks one year and didn't like mopping the floor three times a day. Oh, my ex and I took our boots off, it was the cats tracking them in.
I throw mine in the compost pile with clippings and v****e scraps when I've got the garden well coated.
panader0 (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:46 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. Not much ice around here.
I blame a lot of stuff on the cats too.
Demeter (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:32 PM
THE DEMENTED PRIMITIVE
Response to Original message
4. Ashes used for soil improvement contain or produce potash when mixed with water.
Amazon natives would burn over the rainforest to produce long-lasting charcoal to provide growth medium for good bacteria.
Ashes were also used in soap production--mixed with urine, I believe, produces lye.
Thothmes (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:34 PM
Response to Original message
6. good for polishing brass.
mattvermont (209 posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:43 PM
Response to Original message
9. If you can purify the lye from several washings...it becomes a key part of the "bio diesel" reaction when mixed with alcohol and vegetable oil.
Cirque du So-What (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:46 PM
Response to Original message
11. You could make your own gunpowder
or maybe not.
Maybe use them as an organic fertilizer.
haele (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:49 PM
Response to Original message
13. We always used ash in the garden, mixed it up with the soil before planting season.
Glassblowers sometimes use ash to color and texture their glass mix, and some re-creationist type dyers and potters might also use it in their colors.
Kali (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 09:15 PM
NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE BITTER OLD VERMONTESE CALI PRIMITIVE
Response to Original message
14. hey panaderO!
I dump them down by the corrals - great natural de-louser for livestock. Ask any local ranchers you get along with or you can haul them out here!
We also dump them at the end of the piping of our "solar composting system", for odor control.
They are good as a soil amendment except we tend to be alkaline here in the west, but if you are in the oaks at all it will be OK. Some garden plants are picky about pH - might test soil if problems show up after using a lot of ash.
applegrove (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 10:04 PM
Response to Original message
17. If you own an outhouse you can use the ashes there.
conscious evolution (1000+ posts) Tue Mar-09-10 09:52 AM
Response to Original message
21. Its good for breaking down clay in gardens.
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Not much of a Giaist if it burns cords of wood.
Imagine that a hypocritical DUmbass.
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Not much of a Giaist if it burns cords of wood.
Imagine that a hypocritical DUmbass.
It's OK.......he only burns wood that has the "Al Gore Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval".....not to mention that he also buys carbon credits from Al as fast as Al can print them out.
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Okay, who here owns an outhouse ? Is it ashy ? :-)
I scoop the ashes up, put them in a bag, close the bag, throw it in the garbage. Then I vacuum out the fireplace. TA DA.
I had no idea people saved ashes. Go figure.
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Okay, who here owns an outhouse ? Is it ashy ? :-)
I scoop the ashes up, put them in a bag, close the bag, throw it in the garbage. Then I vacuum out the fireplace. TA DA.
I had no idea people saved ashes. Go figure.
We used to do that at the deer camp I belong to. Now, we throw some bacteria down there, and they take care of the shit that accumulates throughout the season.
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Okay, who here owns an outhouse ? Is it ashy ? :-)
I scoop the ashes up, put them in a bag, close the bag, throw it in the garbage. Then I vacuum out the fireplace. TA DA.
I had no idea people saved ashes. Go figure.
Yeah, it's okay in small amounts to add to compost. Then again, there aren't too terribly many people who burn wood as a primary source--mostly it's oil, propane, kerosene, or pellet stoves (which leave virtually no ash.)
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Can't he add some glue and make them into gifts for next Generic Winter Special Day?
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Can't he add some glue and make them into gifts for next Generic Winter Special Day?
No. That's what table scraps are for.
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I use wood as my primary heat source during the winter, and dispose of the ashes into an ash pile on my property. Never have I just thrown ash into my garden. Adding ash is fine if you are attempting to raise the pH level of your soil. Otherwise, it can be harmful.
In other words, buy a soil testing kit, you cheap primitives.
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I like to know what kind of wood he's burning that produces so much ash.
I've burned over 6 pickup loads this winter, and have disposed of about 20 gallons of ash, mostly in the garden, or soon-to-be garden....
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I like to know what kind of wood he's burning that produces so much ash.
I've burned over 6 pickup loads this winter, and have disposed of about 20 gallons of ash, mostly in the garden, or soon-to-be garden....
It's not my primary heat source, but a winters worth like you say would fit in 4, 5 gallon buckets. I spread them around in my corrals to keep the bugs down. When the horses are in there they mix 'em in pretty good. Does wonders for the control of stable fly's. Also shines their hooves up.
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It's not my primary heat source, but a winters worth like you say would fit in 4, 5 gallon buckets. I spread them around in my corrals to keep the bugs down. When the horses are in there they mix 'em in pretty good. Does wonders for the control of stable fly's. Also shines their hooves up.
In my experience, leaving the bark on wood when burned produces the most ash. I burn mostly oak, and if I strip off the bark, I have negligible ash deposits.
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Could use'em to make soap......but a hippie would have no use for that.
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For those that hunt deer or any kind of game and when the kill is made throw away the hide, because of the expense to have the hide tanned there is another way, the American Indians taught us this.
Strip the hide, be it moose, rabbit, squirrel, deer or bear.
Let stand in the sun for one week, bring in at night to keep it dry.
Cover with a foot or so of ashes preferablbly OAK but most any ash will do.
Bury it in a dry area for 3 months, dig it up and begin the stretching of the pelt and the scraping of the inside of the hide. it will take a month or more to get he hide flexable enough to be made into garments, shoes, or blankets.
A good thing or a bad thing , who knows, when we went west and wiped out the Buffalo herds counted in the millions, the bones were sent East to be ground up into fertilizer that gave a big punch to the mid western soil, that area is now our bread basket and feeds the world.
Who knows what any ashes will be valuable, in a future time of Sci-Fi, it may be that there are no more cemetery's, the ashes of the deceased may unlock a time of use for prevention of disease or a new way to feed the world with a new fertiliser.
There is a reason why we speak of ASHES to ASHES, perhaps we are not paying attention.
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ASHES to ASHES
There was a slight misprint...it was supposed to be 'asses to ashes'....which means DUmmies and democrats.
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panader0 (1000+ posts) Sun Mar-07-10 08:27 PM
Original message
Anyone know of a good use of wood ashes?
I've gone through quite a bit of firewood this winter, partly because I've been at home quite a bit (not much work). There's a lot of ash, mostly from mesquite and pecan. I built a block wall for a local pecan farmer and he sells me his wood at a good rate, so I've been burning it up. There must be a good use for the ashes. Any ideas?
Ashes make a great laxative.
Go ahead and eat a bucketful but be careful!! Taking a DUmp afterwords will guarantee a loss of 60 IQ points for a DUmmy.
Of course you could always build another block wall from your brick turds...
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Ashes make a great laxative.
Go ahead and eat a bucketful but be careful!! Taking a DUmp afterwords will guarantee a loss of 60 IQ points for a DUmmy.
Of course you could always build another block wall from your brick turds...
They already have a huge supply of bricks already. The ones they shit over everything that happens, like life. :lmao:
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Ashes make a great laxative.
Go ahead and eat a bucketful but be careful!! Taking a DUmp afterwords will guarantee a loss of 60 IQ points for a DUmmy.
Of course you could always build another block wall from your brick turds...
So, then--wouldn't that make a negative IQ? :hi5: