Wood stove ashes

[woodmills1]

now rocks I got ifin they be caused by lumps I don't know.

[Robert R]

If you have water-holding clay soil low spots in your yard or fields, sprinkled liberally it will cause the soil particles that cling together in the clay to separate and improve drainage.  I have used this to make hog wallers go away with pretty good success.

[SwampDonkey]

woodmills,

You knew we was just kid'n, right

[woodmills1]

I swear somthin makes em grow round here

[rpg52]

If you stay in the same area for years, it's possible to over-do the ashes in a garden.  (Depending on the size of your garden and your climate, potassium accumulates in soils.)  I still use some in my garden, but I take much of it back out and spread it in the forest where it came from.  I also burn all my poultry bones in for the extra calcium and phosphorus.  Seems like the main thing is to not put metals or plastics in them so that natural processes can recycle them back into plants again.
Ray

[Timburr]

A few ash/soil benefits

Wood-ash is a soil-conditioner, except when liberally applied to very alkaline soils....it changes the ph and makes the soil more alkaline....good for neutralising acid soils.
 It is the residue of unburnable mineral salts, which as a nutrient, has to be good for plants.
The small calcium content helps to release locked nutrients in the soil and make them available to plants - akin to liming.
Another benefit, is, like Robert R says, to break down heavy soils and improve drainage.

So all in all, a good all-rounder eh