We put ours on the garden, only because the soil at the front is so black we assumed soot was used before. Anything grows there but I don't know if it has particular properties.

Hi, it used to be thought that putting soot on the garden to make the soil darker or even black, somehow made the soil warmer, this practice has now been abandoned, mostly because of central heating boilers, and the worry of toxins, Derek.

I remember when I was a child,my neighbours used to put it around their Apple trees..why,i don't know,but it was the reason we got a clip round the ear,when denying pinching the Apples..too much evidence to deny it :o) sorry,it doesn't answer your question,Urbanite,but it brought back memories :o)

It depends on what you have been burning in your fire. If it's coal or coal products, then I would be wary about using too much soot on your garden around things that you want to eat as it will contain things like sulfur, tar and other chemicals.

Thanks all.
It's old soot - the chimneys haven't been used for a long time. One had a dodgy gas fire in when I bought the house and the other had been stuffed with a bin liner to keep out the draught and the birds (I found two skeletons when I removed the bag.
I'm guessing that it was coal or smokeless fuel rather than wood that was burnt most.

I've seen one or two snails on the euonymus so I might use the soot around the hostas I've bought. (Along with the following question, I'm stockpiling coffee grounds and tea leaves for the acid lovers)