Fire ash into the garden - what to be wary of?

I have an old fashioned stove in my house and want to be as green as possible. I know that wood ash in moderation can be good for soil, but my other half thinks that you can only do this if you haven't used newspaper to light the fire (acids in the ink or something).


Can anyone shed any light on this, or on other things to avoid in a fire if you want to recycle the ash. What about coal ash?


Cheers

Fire ash into the garden - what to be wary of?
Wood ash provides the soil with potash. Sprinkle it lightly round the tomatoes or any plant that is fruiting. It doesn't matter if you lit the fire with newspaper the very small amount won't hurt.





Coal ash is not good for the garden. It's quite sterile and acid, I think. We used to make paths from the cinders.
Reply:I doubt the coal ash, but you should be able to google that easily enough.





We do BBQ ash and that seem to work okay - but only in moderation.
Reply:http://www.homeownerschat.com/archive618...
Reply:It is OK. a lot of people put newspaper in their compost bins, me included.
Reply:I compost newspapers in my compost bin when I have too much green manure and no twiggy bits so that should be OK. Ash is good for putting around plants when you want to deter slugs. Spread it in a circle around individual plants.


If I have wood ash I mix it in with compost before I spead it on my garden. My parners relatives in Estonia seem to burn most things in their stove and spread the ash on the garden. They grow beautiful vegetables