Good garden uses for fireplace ashes

Can I use ashes from my fireplace in my garden or composter?

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**FULL QUESTION** Dear *Gardening Life*, We enjoy lots of fires in our wood-burning fireplace insert. Are the resulting ashes good for the garden and, if so, would I apply them directly to the soil or add them to the composter? Our soil here is very alkaline so maybe that is a factor. *—Mary Mulholland Guelph, ON*

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**FULL ANSWER** Mary, Ashes are highly alkaline so adding them to alkaline soil is not a good idea. They are also high in potassium and calcium so make a good amendment for acidic and less fertile soils. However, you can always use ashes to make a line around vulnerable plants to ward off slugs. You can also mix a little in with your mulch to add nutrients as long as your mulch contains lots of organic matter such as manure and ground-up leaves. Add ashes only sparingly to your composter; a little goes a long way. *—Marjorie Harris, Editor at Large* Other questions recently answered by the GL team: Planting under maple trees Discouraging cats from your garden Hints for growing sweet bell peppers Buying exotic plants in Toronto Preventing brown leaf spot Information on peony-flowered poppies Tips for growing tulips and lilies When to move irises Maintaining blue spruces The best way to grow gunneras Getting rid of sawfly larvae on roses Eliminating earwigs from clematis flowers Beetle damage to spruce trees Removing whiteflies from hibiscus leaves Building a cactus garden Maintaining redbud trees Maintaining Boston ivy growth Using black walnut leaves for mulch Stopping powdery mildew on maples Planting trees near a swale Growing on a septic field How to battle weeds between flagstone and alternative options Mysterious orange powder on the lawn What to do with end-of-season potatoes on the vine How to control Japanese knotweed What to grow in a dry area The proper way to plant astrantia What is the star flower and how do I manage it? How do I eliminate my ant problem? Preventing red beetles from attacking lilies Vine types to grow on a new pergola Maintaining purple fountain grass Keeping bougainvilllea healthy throughout the winer How to rid invasive green goutweed

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