Category: Wood Stove

Spreading Ashes On Gardens

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Kitchen Wood Stove Ashes

Many of us in this neck of the woods heat our homes in stoves fueled with firewood; and that firewood creates ashes. Often those ashes are just discarded, or tossed out. However, there are a number of uses for firewood ashes from Wood Stoves. 

Yes, seriously, ashes can be used for everything from Stain Remover and Deicer to Household Cleanser and Odor Remover! Read what Napoleon has to Say!

So, if you have Wood Ashes you’re not using please let us know we’d really appreciate having them. We actually want them for a replacement for chemical fertilizers and garden lime! 

There’s nothing like wood heat to comfort us during our cool, damp winters. Unless it’s the vegetables that have been helped to grow by using the firewood ashes of our Wood Stoves! We may even use some of them to make Lye, for making Goat Milk Soap! Read more about Soap Making on Countryfarm Lifestyles.

Whether from Hard, or Soft, wood, ashes contain phosphorus, potassium, calcium, boron, and other elements that growing plants need. Ash is also very alkaline and sweetens and raises pH levels of soil. Click here to read The Chronicle and see what it says about replacing Lime with Ash. 

In fact, ashes may also be used to deter insects and other garden pests! 

Perhaps I shouldn’t tell you all of this, after all, we’d like you to give us your Wood Ashes! Or at least your extra wood ashes! 

By the way, never use Wood Ashes on your Potatoes, or where you plan to plant them! It’ll probably cause them to become scabby! 

Do you have other uses for Ashes from your firewood Stove? 

If You have ashes you’re not using, we’d love to have them…

Please contact Brian at Briden Farm 902-907-0770. 

Cutting Firewood To Improve Our Gardens

Cutting Firewood to Improve Our Gardens

That might sound a little strange! After all, how does cutting ones firewood improve one’s garden?

Great Question! Glad You asked! 

I think this Video will help explain it better…

So, gardens need fertilizer, the more natural that is the better, water of course, and sunlight! Over the past couple of years we’ve worked tirelessly, Ya! Right! I think tiringly would be a better word, if it we’re actually a word! I’ve got it to a point where the soil looks good, we make our own compost and have manure and we have even added water hoses. Yet, the gardens still aren’t growing as well as I’d like. Although they are improving, making gardens from woodlands means they are still surrounded by Trees! Trees are great! Problem is, the tree canopy’s block sunlight! So, cutting the trees around the gardens open up the gardens to more sunlight! Thus, we’re cutting firewood to improve our gardens! 

A Day at the Beech

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A Day at the Beech

So, it’s probably not the first thing You think of, when you hear we had a A Day at the Beech! However, it is exactly what I did today! From cutting it down with my Stihl Chainsaw to cutting it up, loading it on the truck, and piling it up! One Day, One Tree, and about Half a Cord of Fire Wood. Now, if I can do it seventeen more times, I’ll have our Winter’s Fire Wood.

Last Year was the first year I did our own firewood! We used our kitchen enterprise stove, and had furnace oil and electric backup. This year we plan to have a living room stove and burning both stoves to help eliminate the oil and electric which are already too expensive! 

Thirty years ago, I was a weakling, and my self image was just as weak! I knew I was a weakling and, “I couldn’t do it!” Now, thirty years later, having worked on my self esteem, and in more recent years my physical self, now I’ll tackle about anything! 

As a result, I love working in the wood, and the sense of self esteem and accomplishment that comes from processing one’s own fuel, and food from our gardens, is fun and rewarding. If you’d like to have some fun, and join in, call Brian at 902-907-0770