Wood ashes into Lye, getting started

Getting the few items together that you will need for this project is actually the hardest part. The rest employs time, gravity and a tiny bit of heavy lifting on your part. Here is a list that I find helpful, you may copy & paste it or jot it down.
1. An ash dripper (these are home made contraptions that will hold the ashes and allow water to drain through them. I know of no pre-fabricated store bought ones on the market and really why spend the money) Some examples, rudimentary designs and ideas will follow. Feel free to use your own creativity or do your own research here. If you come up with something good share it with the rest of us please :)
2. Good amount of DRY and COOL wood ashes (at least a 5 gal bucket full to start with).
3. A large, NON aluminum pan to catch the water in. Ceramic is nice, wood is great although hard to find, I am suspicious of plastic because of chemical leaching but if this doesn't bother you go ahead. I use an enameled stock pot.
4. About 1/2 bale of hay, straw or equivalent amount of heavy grass clippings and small twigs.
5. Several buckets of rain water. If you must use tap water, let it sit for a few days so the chlorine evaporates.
A well ventilated, kid & pet free area in which to drip the lye.

Making an ash dripper is not hard, it does require a little ingenuity and a few supplies, which will vary depending on what kind of one you choose to make. Mine doesn't get any simpler, there are pictures of it in the lower left part of the blog page. Please don't laugh at the pathetic little contraption, it works like a charm and cost no money to put together. Upon inspection of it you will see 1/2 a hollow log (a lucky find) to which there is a "V" shaped framework attached.  The hollow log forms a natural trough for the lye water to run down and trickle out into the pan. The "V" shaped frame holds the nest of hay/straw which in turn holds the ashes.  I learned this design from one of the old Foxfire books, I don't recall which one I found it in at the library. By the way, those books are awesome, if you own them keep them as they are hard to find.  Digest this for a couple days, comment and share, then we will get to the next logical step.

Ashes ashes we all fall down

If you burn a lot of wood for your winter heat, as I do, then you also have lots of ashes. I used to view them as a cumbersome thing to be gotten rid of once I knew they were cold. It turns out that wood ashes have many interesting uses. They are great for renewing minerals and micro-nutrients back into the soil, this is done by application to the garden/yard either by hand sprinkling or you can use the same type of spreader you would use for lime and prepared fertilizers. If you are interested in the chemical components check out this article: http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~blpprt/bestwoodash.html 

Another interesting use of wood ash that is no longer common knowledge in our society is making lye from wood ashes and then using the lye to make soap. Upcoming blog entries will discuss how to do this, how to tell when its "done" and will relate my 1st soap making experience.  For right now, I would really like to hear how you have used wood ashes and if you know of any other ways to recycle & reuse this handy byproduct of wood heat.

Wood burning stoves, firewood (best to worst)

Its winter in North America and nothing gets you warm all the way through like wood heat. Yes, its kinda messy but I like the smell and the look and the feel. I have an interior wood stove, made by Earth, and its very efficient. A friend of mine has an exterior wood system that they seem rather happy with. I would enjoy seeing some discussion from you all about interior vs exterior and your experiences.

To the inexperienced fire builder any old wood will do, but we know this is not only a false statement but potentially dangerous. My favorite wood to burn is oak and hickory, a nice dry elm is good too.  It has been my experience that walnut burns fast and makes lots of ash. Hedge is dangerous in interior wood stoves and fireplaces because it burns too hot. My exterior stove friends tell me they can get away with burning hedge in their stove, just not super big pieces of it. Some of the stickier woods, those known for really gooey sap are often bad choices because they cause creosote to build up in the chimney. Also the greener (less dry/seasoned) the wood is the more potential for creosote. Ones to particularly stay away from are pine, sweet gum and green cedar. Other things to watch out for are burning toxic plants with your kindling. Oleander is poisonous when burned, the smoke from poison ivy can give those that are sensitive to it a bad outbreak and they won't even know where they got it.  This is not a comprehensive list and I encourage readers to share what you know. In fact I have a question, has anyone had experience with hackberry?  How did it burn? Did it make a lot of ash or creosote? Please feel free to report on any other types of wood you have had experience with.
Thanks for stopping in!

The Renaissance of Old Ways

OMG its 2011! Have you noticed that for all our technological advances and gadgets there is a growing interest in how things used to be done?  The interest in healthy food that started a few years ago has grown into a grassroots movement of niche farmers, all natural stores and restaurants. This is just the beginning and I believe that it is wonderful. This blog is going to focus on the Old Ways of doing anything, well anything legal and let's all keep it clean too. Some examples of what I want to explore with you, my readers, are food preservation, making all natural soap, incense and teas, recipes and anything else that comes up in our brainstorming. We are only limited by our imaginations (well maybe by time and money, but we'll work on that too). I want your ideas, recipes and experiences when you try something new. In turn I will share my ideas, recipes, tips and the outcome of my Old Way projects (yes even the failures for this is how we learn).