I'll start by saying I work for a company that owns and operates coal power plants. Right now one of the industry's biggest concerns is the EPA's impending decision of whether or not to consider coal ash "hazardous waste". Without getting into it, would you add anything even close to being considered hazardous waste to your vegetable garden? It's great for making concrete and levees but keep it out of your garden. Don't be concerned (or intrigued by) sulfur. It burns during combustion and is not left in the ash. Do be concerned with Mercury and other heavy metals. They certainly exist in coal, I'm not sure how much in the bottom ash left over in your stove, but enough to keep it out of your garden. Coal is important for heat and electricity, but does not belong in your garden.

I have just found out why my acid-loving plants like Japanese maple don't like EarthGro bagged topsoil, Moo cow manure, nor Scott's Premium top soil. I tested them and found that they turn more green, thus very alkaline in red-cabbage indicator than my native soil (pH of 7.7). Here's an excerpt from http://www.natureswayresources.com/DocsPdfs/boiler.pdf "To keep costs down and profits up some producers of mulch, compost, and other bagged soil amendments use various types of "fillers." These include sawdust, ground pallets, plywood and glueboard dust (may contain dangerous chemicals), spent mushroom substrate that is called compost for marketing (high salts), paper mill sludges, bottom and fly ash from boilers (turns material black), etc. Boiler Ash (bottom ash) from coal is the most commonly used toxic industrial waste in the Houston area. It is so alkaline it will chemically burn mulch black in a few days. It is applied to ground up wood to make it look black or composted. Boiler ash tends to be high in salts and extremely alkaline. The products produced tend to be alkaline with high salt, with very high carbon to nitrogen ratios." I called my 87 years old Mom, who put wood ashes in her 5 acres garden for 35+ years with good results. She said, "I keep the ash away from roots of plants." The NPK of wood ash is 0 nitrogen 1 phosphorus 5 potassium - very high in potassium. Most soil are deficient in potassium, so wood ash would enrich the soil, but applying it directly to plant roots is not a good idea. I put coffee grounds NPK of 2.08 0.3 0.3 around my 10 rose bushes - they bloom more, and leaves are turn dark green. Coffee ground is a buffer, good for alkaline soil. It'a safer bet directly on plants than wood ash. Below is a good link for nutrients content of various substance: different manures, leaves, chemicals, coffee grounds, and cottonseed meal. Here is a link that might be useful: Nutrient Composition of various fertilizers

I rented a house with a small back yard. The property manager stated that he placed bark in the 10x10 area that was unpaved that was guaranteed to kill all manner of weeds for at least 18 months. This made it pretty much impossible to grow anything in that area, so I didn't try to plant anything whatsoever. I enjoy barbecuing very much. I usually use Kingsford Charcoal to grill my steak, lamb, chicken, and whatever else, and I had done so for most of the two years that I lived at the unit with only a few exceptions. I placed the charcoal into a caged compost pit along with weeds plucked from the front yard and vegetable scraps among other consumer bi-products which are acceptable for such purposes as gardening. After dumping the, alleged, toxic charcoal ash, "waste" into the compost heap, I noticed that it started to leach out into the rest of the yard. I never worried about this since I read that the ash from past volcanoes actually helped to restore the environments they once destroyed. Of course these are two different circumstances , but carbon is a major bi-product of both events. It took around 6 months then started to notice the weeds that started to grow in the same place that was once toxic to all plant life. They grew uncontrollably in the area. At this point I think it is fair to say that the weeds owned that yard when I moved. I attribute this fact to carbon's ability to bond to other elements; thus, cleansing our environment. I wouldn't use Charcoal brick ash in my vegetable garden, but I think that carbon should play a role where toxins are present in the environment. Furthermore; ones ashes from a fire place should be completely safe to use in ones compost heap.

Here are a few photos of my backsplash. The filigree tiles behind the range top are from a different tile manufacturer. Our perimeter counters are Silestone in Cygnus. The lighting isn't great and they're not quite as blue as the photo suggests. I'm going to have more pictures once I post in the finished kitchen blog and will post a link in this thread. This post was edited by AJinNH on Thu, May 1, 14 at 14:00