I would experiment using them in small places and at different rates. Wood ashes contain concentrated potassium.

Aren't most soils in the east acidic? Maybe you can just spread the ashes on your lawn.

Most soils east of the Mississippi river do tend to be acidic, but no one should ever simply put "something" on their soil without first having a good, reliable soil test done to guide that application. Wood ash does contain some necessary nutrients, Phosphorus, Potash, and several other minerals but they are 70 percent Calcium Carbonate and very water soluble so wood ashes can quickly change your soils pH. Keep in mind that the majority of nutrients in the soil are most readily available to plants in a pH range of 6.2 to 6.8 and a soil pH over 7.0 will severely limit the availablity of those nutrients.
Using them to fill holes in the driveway would not be a good fix either since the ashes would disolve in the rain. If you could figure out an application rate that did not have much affect on your soils pH you could spread the ashes that way, but again only after a good, reliable soil test.

The first use which comes to mind is to make lye. Wood ash lye is Potassium Hydrochloride, which can be used to make nice soft soaps. You can also use if for making Hominy.

It also works for traction on ice and snow. Sprinkle it on driveways and sidewalks. Carry a bucket of it in the trunk of your car.

It's a mild abrasive, and is used to remove stains from wood and other surfaces. A little, mixed with water, goes a long way.

It can be used on Aphids and will deter crawlies like slugs and snails. This use, and the use on sidewalks and driveways, can lead to runoff into garden areas, so watch the Ph.

I was glad to find some responses on here this a.m., as we have two bags collected so far, and the wood stove needs cleaning today! "kimmsr," I can never remember basic pH info., so thanks for the reminder. I plan to print this out and put in my gardens binder. I know we need a soil test; last year (my first gardening at our new home), I just put compost on garden areas (I'm guessing the pH of that varies with what's in it, too), and hoped for the best. Now, though, we're under a foot of snow, so the soil test will have to wait.

And donn, I like some of your practical suggestions, however since I'm spend 50+ hours/week on my career, not much chance of me making soap or hominy. Maybe I can freecycle 'em for other soap makers! I do carry some in my car, but that's just one bag's worth, and we keep makin' those ashes! I'm not only concerned about runoff into garden areas, but about polluting our streams and lakes or affecting them negatively. I know, we could just not use wood heat, but it heats better than our furnace.

Over time, we'll try replacement windows on our almost 100-year-old house, and will update the furnace.

For now, though, I welcome even more ideas about wood ashes. I do wonder if I could sprinkle a cup or so every time I turn the heap, and guess I'll just have to start testing.
Would a test kit from the local garden store be adequate?

Mountainsong

I AM not suggesting a use but a forest burns and then regrows, a meadow burns and regrows. There must be a way to use them for a positive result.

Donn,
Curious about the use on aphids - just sprinkle a bit on the buggers? Mix with water and spray or as is (dry)?

Tiff..use it dry, and dust the critters with it.

I am just wondering if any of you know this one. how much ash would it take to move the ph in the soil? One person said it would disolve in water, so in the rainy season, or in my case this time of the year the snow/ice season, would 10 gallons a month over a nice size back yard/garden of about 20,000 square feet, would that really change the ph enough to worry about it? Or even 10 gallons a week?
Just wondering, I don't think I ever have that much, I only have a fire pit in the backyard that gets used about once a week.
Sandy

Wood ash has about half the Calcium Carbonate Equivalent value of lime. Look up standard liming requirements for your soil/lawn, based on soil tests, and use approximately double the amount of lime called for. You can't estimate based on square footage, without a soil test...or several.

Keep in mind the fact that this isn't a one-time effort. The Ph will be altered temporarily only. Wood ash affects Ph faster than lime, and the effect wears off more quickly. Wood ash also has lots of beneficial macro and micro nutrients not found in lime.

Also keep in mind the wood ash should be kept at least 50 feet away from streams, irrigation ditches, wells and other bodies of water.

A standard recommendation of university extensions and other resources is 20# (5 gallons) to 1,000 square feet, annually. I'd test my soil before doing that, though, and I know I have acid soil.

Mountainsong asked, "Would a test kit from the local garden store be adequate?"
Those test kits are notoriously unreliable, although they do kind of more or less give some indication of what you are testing for, except for the pH test. I have, and many others have also, used very similar products to test soil pH and have found that these will give pretty much the same results whether you test garden soil, vinegar, or a baking soda solution, all tests results were the same with the same pH test solutions. So if I tested some soil and the results showed a pH of 5.7 the vinegar and the baking soda solution also would return a result of 5.7.
Mostly those test kits are really a waste of money.

I burn wood for heat, and we go through 5 to 6 cords a winter. About every 10 days I have a 3 gallon bucket of ash. If there is snow on the ground, I stand up wind and fling the ash out onto the snow over the lawn. I also, occasionally, dump the entire 3 gallons onto a flower bed, again preferably covered in snow. I just this morning threw the bucket full on top the compost pile, which is pretty much frozen.

I live on alkaline soils, and have never had any problem. In fact, we have a fixed, outdoor charcoal grill that I find easiest to clean by running water from the garden hose through it, the ash and food residue just washes out on the grass behind. We cook out at least a few times a week, and have done that now for 8 summers, and there is no apparent difference, even though all this hits the same square yard of grass.

The only way you will know whether ashes are having an adverse affect on your soil is with a good, reliable soil test.