Hi
Now the nights are getting colder and longer I have been using some coal to help eek out the log supply. I know I cant put the ashes in the compost bin but after the riddle on the stove has spearated the ash from the cinders, would the cinders be any use for paths between my raised beds?
Coal Cinders- any use for paths?
Moderators: KG Steve, Chantal, Tigger, peter, Chief Spud
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Molly
I used to be the proud (dirty and exhausted) owner of a coal-fired kitchen range, and went through a period of usefully recycling the cinders onto my veg plot paths (or so I thought). The main problem I found was that cinders tend to be quite rough and will stick to your boots very easily. It was quite a job trying to get my boot soles clean after a day's gardening! Another problem was that, the lumps being fairly lightweight, they would tend to stray off the paths into the soil, so I was constantly needing to redefine the path edges - I suppose some kind of edging material could have solved that, but in the end I felt that the cinders were creating more problems than they solved. Hope you have better luck, if you try it.
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Molly
Whoops, I forgot to mention that I've always been under the impression that, while wood ash is OK for putting into the soil, coal ash isn't - certainly the boiler nuts I used in my range emitted a nasty chemical smell when red-hot! Maybe coal suitable for an open fire wouldn't be such a problem, but if I were you, I'd ask your coal merchant before allowing any spent coal waste near your vegetable crops.