The Day God Protected My Gardens From Catching on Fire or The Benefits of Using Wood Ashes in the Garden

   I was going to be making soap tonight, but today was a little hectic, so I will do something more relaxing, like writing on my blogs.
   There are benefits to adding wood ashes in the garden. Here is a link to an article by Washington Post on using wood ashes in the garden. http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home-garden/the-benefits-of-wood-ash-in-the-garden/2012/03/18/gIQAVBSEgS_story.html
  Many years ago, when we used pure wood in the fire place, I would take the ashes and put them in the garden area. The day after we had the fire in the fire place, I took the ashes out from the fire place and put them in a paper bag. Later on that day, I spread the ashes in the garden.
   The next morning, when I was looking at the gardens from my window, I saw smoke coming from them! The gardens were on fire! Actually, it was the wood that surrounded the garden beds that were on fire. A couple of the logs were charred.
   So, when using wood ashes in the garden, make positively sure there is no fire in the ashes. Use only pure wood in the fire place or place where the wood is to be burned. Do not use charcoal or artificial log ashes in the gardens.
   One benefit of wood ashes is that of getting rid of ants. Another benefit is to add potassium to the soil. There is no nitrogen in the wood ashes, but wood ashes are rich in other ways. Adding wood ashes will make your soil more alkaline, so it is not recommended to use them around blueberries, or other plants that need a more acidic soil.