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Views on sawdust and wood ash in compost bin ?

muckyhandsmikemuckyhandsmike Posts: 239
in Plants
Our new place has a log burner. I usually just compost kitchen veg waste and “soft” garden waste but given the ready availability of wood ash and sawdust from chopping up logs and burning them I wonder if I should be adding it all to my compost bin ? Would it be a case of some ash but not too much ? Any views from those Gardeners with wood burners ? Tia
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  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    so long as it's not too much at once. 
    Keep it "little and often "
    Devon.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Ash is very alkaline, so as Hosta says, don't over do it, or it will throw the ph out. I don't use a stove much now, but I used to put a lot of my household waste paper in it. As there were various receipts, cardboard, packaging and envelopes, I didn't feel confident that the ask would not contain bits of sellotape, other plastics etc, so I rarely added it to the compost or garden.

    Sawdust is great to add. The finer it is, the quicker it will break down. You can also make firelighters by wrapping sawdust in tight twists of newspaper. There are  professional recipes for making firelogs online.
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    We add the wood ash after some time to certain plants that are slow to flower...and it does seem to work as they do then flower....but maybe they were going to anyhow!
    Otherwise we add to the compost bins and also add chippings that we have had from small clippings.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The only other proviso would be if it was treated/painted wood, but I expect you aren't using that.  :)

    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • muckyhandsmikemuckyhandsmike Posts: 239
    No fg you are quite right !
    thanks for all replies folks 😁
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Enjoy it while you can @muckyhandsmike. That'll be another thing getting banned at some point, along with gas boilers.  ;)
    I'm surprised they haven't done it already, although a council further north is removing all open fires from their properties. No mention of what's replacing them either. It means many people will have no means of reliably heating their properties. When you consider that leccy supplies are hit and miss in those areas, even without the recent massive storm, it's nonsense.  :/
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • muckyhandsmikemuckyhandsmike Posts: 239
    Yes f.g. I’m aware that log burners are probably going to be phased out. Lots of great ideas about reducing air pollution and environmental improvements but some sensible thinking it through needed by governments and some joined up thinking required .......
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's a real can of worms @muckyhandsmike, and the lack of joined up thinking is worrying. They've had decades to address it, but there are too many short term attitudes in governments. 
    There's also a large element of NIMBYism regarding many alternatives.  :/

    A debate for a different day though...
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    I wonder about this. I suspect the stove makers will up their game and make new models even more super efficient. But if users burn damp wood or use low temps, it's no good. Wood stoves would be a hard thing to ban  - or anything left to home owners' discretion.

    In the UK it must be the lowest point in a thousand years for burning wood. I'm not sure what to make of it.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    What exactly am I supposed to do when I cut down dead tree if I can't burn it to heat my home?
    Devon.
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