For the first time in the 22 years I’ve been a home owner I’m afraid to admit that today I resorted to a bonfire to tidy the garden rubbish up. I’m ashamed. I hate bonfires, dirty stinky things. I’d spent an age recently, cutting back bushes and trees overgrown into our garden from neighbours on all three sides and with the recycling centre not yet open for garden waste and a deadline ahead of me (baby in a few weeks) and my two little girls wanting to enjoy the garden, I gave in. I had cut all the cuttings small and spread them across most of the lawn for 4-5 days to dry…so leaves were crispy at least but blinkin’ heck, it smoked like a 40 a day habitual. I don’t feel too bad though as I did go to all my neighbours before hand to warn them and let them fetch washing and close Windows…. Something to that no one has ever done for me (and as a family of 4: it’s almost a cert that we have washing out when some cretinous goat has a bonfire ).

It was a fine balance I found, too slow to reload and it was too cool and smoked badly, too much loaded to soon and the heat reduced the smoke but the flames were 8+ feet tall. I guess I really needed to let it dry for a few weeks. Oh well, at least I tried to let it dry for a while, again not what the idiots round here normally do. Sat here now with sore smoky eyes and feeling stinky as I wait for the shower to be free, hoping it’ll be another 22 years before I resort to a bonfire again. I made the most of it though, once I had a pile of charcoal and no flame or smoke we toasted marshmallows, yum and a first for my girls. I then doused it with the hose so tomorrow I will have probably 3 to 5 bucket fulls of perfect bio char to add to the compost and then the garden.

It could be a Child’s face next time

I hope you took the precaution of standing back a little

If it is stuff from the neighbours overhanging, then it has to be returned to them. Thus no need for a bonfire!

Think of the baby robins 😢

If you’re going to do it, do it properly.
(S’mores board for the win btw)

properly.

20cl

Aye. Right.

Had only my second bonfire in this house since 1994. Third is due in a couple of nights, all the ‘fuel’ has been drying for 3 weeks. Next to no smoke and we have around an inch of ash left in the incinerator bin.

@scotroutes 😆😆

Overhanging stuff doesn’t ‘have to be returned’ nor should it be thrown back, that can even be fly tipping. It should be given back of requested. They had their chance while I had it drying across the lawn for several days. They are still welcome to the char.

Moab, is that an attempt stump removal? While I could have enjoyed a glass of something I’m trying not to rub the pregnant wife’s nose in it…. She enjoyed marshmallows.

Sandwich, once it’s properly char’s put it out. Bio char is an incredible soil improver, and permanent. Much better than ash. Besides, as I burn through ~8m³ of wood each winter the garden gets oodles of ash!

Feckers round here have been burning what smells like a combination of wood, plastic, turds and plutonium for months now and the powers that be seem to give zero **** about it. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it if I were you.

That’s the funniest thing I’ve read in weeks, thanks for that.

Yeah house behind seems to put their washing out then set a small bonfire of household rubbish right next to it, every evening. Odd. It stinks of plastic. The other night a tetrapack or bottle or something exploded sending burning plastic a few metres to their raised patio and almost set light to the clothes… Probably would have it they’d been dry. They were the one house I didn’t bother to speak to but I could see thru didn’t have washing out our windows open. Within 15 minutes of me finishing, they put their washing out and burnt off the day’s household rubbish.