How to Burn Wood & Leaves to Make Potash
- 1). Burn your leaves and branches to ash. Do not douse the fire with water. It is important that you do not wet the ashes before they are in the pot. This washes any potash out of the ashes before you have time to collect it.
- 2). Gather the ash in a large metal pot that holds at least four times the volume of the ash.
- 3). Pour water on top of the ash, at least three times the volume of water as ash.
- 4). Skim off all the ash that floats to the top of the water and discard it. Try not to take much of the water with the ash. The potash is dissolved in the water.
- 5). Boil the water away or let it evaporate in a sunny spot.
- 6). Collect the white residue or "pot ash" from the bottom of the pot. Always wear gloves when handling potash. It is a skin irritant. If you get potash in your eyes, flush it with water immediately and head to the emergency room.
