Talkback: Garden bonfires: ashes to ashes

Gardeners' World Web User

What utter nonsense. Think of the CO2 put out by a bonfire! Any 'unsuitable' diseased plant material should be taken to your local municipal compost heap, where the higher temperatures generated (compared with your average garden heap) will destroy all pathogens. There's never any need to burn garden waste.

Gardeners' World Web User

Running a shredder, whether electric or non-green petrol, costs money, a bonfire is the price of a match

Gardeners' World Web User

My best childhood memories are of having a bonfire with my dad to burn garden waste. I wounder how many children of today will have such happy memories of such a simple task.

Gardeners' World Web User

There are so many pros and cons as with everything, e.g. some countries rely on our travels to support their tourist industry, or the export to us of crops such as bananas to support their farmers.
On balance I think an occasional bonfire at the right time of day, and using material as dry as possible to reduce smoke, produces useful ash - and a warm glow for the family to enjoy. We have an old water tank with cover, to keep everything as dry as possible, and no hedgehogs can get in.

Gardeners' World Web User

Can you spread ash from bonfires and dig it into the soil?

Gardeners' World Web User

Arkle46: You can - roses in particular like wood ash- but better to put it in the compost heap first

Gardeners' World Web User

I agree, whoever thought them up should be shot at sawn. Or at ten to dawn for preference so that they don't get to see the sun rise at all.

Who buys the things? There are vast areas of them laid out in GCs, but I have never seen one in anyone's garden. Are they a guilty garden fetish?