Isn’t the no tomatoe thing just bc of the diseases tomatoe plants can get? And if you’re not hot-composting good enough then the blight will just grow in the compost??
sittingaround1
I compost it all blight or not . Let nature happen .
Steampunky
Sure. Same with tomatoes.
brooknut
This is a great question, and an excellent example of following the advice from crowdsourcing without understanding why it might be good advice – or not. Hydrangeas can host several issues that are also common to vegetable crops, like anthracnose, cercospora, powdery mildew, root rot, leaf spot, or botrytis – all can be serious problems if they aren’t managed.
The reason why tomato plants are not recommended for composting is because they harbor a lot of diseases, and particularly early blight and Septoria, which are not necessarily destroyed by the composting process. When that is the case, if you spread the compost, you are also applying the spores that will spread the disease – and some of those spores can survive in the soil for several seasons, and even several years in some cases. So even if you practice good crop rotation, it’s possible to have the disease become endemic, and become a risk to your crops for years. Many diseases that affect tomatoes can also spread to other nightshades, so potatoes and peppers and eggplants can also be vulnerable even if you decide not to grow tomatoes because of the repeated disappointment you get from failing to mature a good crop.
There are disease issues that are specific to hydrangea that can be spread to other crops, and one reason for active hot composting is to minimize the risk of giving the disease organism a hospitable spot to spend the off-season until another host becomes available. If you are seeing evidence of disease, there are several ways to minimize the possibility of spreading it, and still being able to use the material in your compost. What I do most frequently in those cases where I know disease is present is to burn any material that shows evidence of disease, which is the best way to eliminate risk. An alternative is to submerge it in water for an extended period – months – not ideal if you have issues with mosquitos, but effective if you have a way to manage it. The least effective but most common control is to maintain at least one hot compost system that will help to reduce the risk. It isn’t hard if you have the space to have a specific pile that is actively managed, and other piles where you deposit the regular waste products that aren’t creating as much risk and don’t require such active management.
If you have time, the best practice is to remove ALL material that shows evidence of disease as soon as you find it – this reduces the risk of spread among the plants and to the soil. If you have plenty of material to add to your compost, don’t add anything that is questionable. NEVER leave plant residue of diseased plants in the garden, and don’t mulch plants with plant material from the same species, even when you don’t see evidence of disease. There are many issues that are commonly spread between species – that’s the reason why currants and gooseberries have been discouraged in states where white pine is a significant economic crop.
Heysoosin
Lets say you never add any diseased tomatoes to your compost pile, your compost pile heats up to 165 for atleast a couple weeks, and you cure it for over 6 months after the thermophilic stage.
Your garden will still get diseases from your neighbor who buys their tomato starts from a nursery. They will blow in on the wind from a farm 2 miles up the road, and the spores were already in your soil BEFORE you even decided if you would compost your diseased plant materials or not. The spores are waiting for a chance to infect a plant in the right enviornmental conditions.
Nature has to run its course in my opinion. No sense in wasting good biomass, trying to prevent something that was under your feet all along.
Dealing with fungal plant diseases has very little to do with keeping infected material out of the compost, and has everything to do with soil health, variety selection, watering practices, airflow, and pruning tool cleanliness. Save seeds from tomatoes that resist it too.
Popsickl3
These are great for wet piles. I use my peony and hydrangea stems for the winter pile.
7 Comments
Why no tomato?
I think either should be fine.
Isn’t the no tomatoe thing just bc of the diseases tomatoe plants can get? And if you’re not hot-composting good enough then the blight will just grow in the compost??
I compost it all blight or not . Let nature happen .
Sure. Same with tomatoes.
This is a great question, and an excellent example of following the advice from crowdsourcing without understanding why it might be good advice – or not. Hydrangeas can host several issues that are also common to vegetable crops, like anthracnose, cercospora, powdery mildew, root rot, leaf spot, or botrytis – all can be serious problems if they aren’t managed.
The reason why tomato plants are not recommended for composting is because they harbor a lot of diseases, and particularly early blight and Septoria, which are not necessarily destroyed by the composting process. When that is the case, if you spread the compost, you are also applying the spores that will spread the disease – and some of those spores can survive in the soil for several seasons, and even several years in some cases. So even if you practice good crop rotation, it’s possible to have the disease become endemic, and become a risk to your crops for years. Many diseases that affect tomatoes can also spread to other nightshades, so potatoes and peppers and eggplants can also be vulnerable even if you decide not to grow tomatoes because of the repeated disappointment you get from failing to mature a good crop.
There are disease issues that are specific to hydrangea that can be spread to other crops, and one reason for active hot composting is to minimize the risk of giving the disease organism a hospitable spot to spend the off-season until another host becomes available. If you are seeing evidence of disease, there are several ways to minimize the possibility of spreading it, and still being able to use the material in your compost. What I do most frequently in those cases where I know disease is present is to burn any material that shows evidence of disease, which is the best way to eliminate risk. An alternative is to submerge it in water for an extended period – months – not ideal if you have issues with mosquitos, but effective if you have a way to manage it. The least effective but most common control is to maintain at least one hot compost system that will help to reduce the risk. It isn’t hard if you have the space to have a specific pile that is actively managed, and other piles where you deposit the regular waste products that aren’t creating as much risk and don’t require such active management.
If you have time, the best practice is to remove ALL material that shows evidence of disease as soon as you find it – this reduces the risk of spread among the plants and to the soil. If you have plenty of material to add to your compost, don’t add anything that is questionable. NEVER leave plant residue of diseased plants in the garden, and don’t mulch plants with plant material from the same species, even when you don’t see evidence of disease. There are many issues that are commonly spread between species – that’s the reason why currants and gooseberries have been discouraged in states where white pine is a significant economic crop.
Lets say you never add any diseased tomatoes to your compost pile, your compost pile heats up to 165 for atleast a couple weeks, and you cure it for over 6 months after the thermophilic stage.
Your garden will still get diseases from your neighbor who buys their tomato starts from a nursery. They will blow in on the wind from a farm 2 miles up the road, and the spores were already in your soil BEFORE you even decided if you would compost your diseased plant materials or not. The spores are waiting for a chance to infect a plant in the right enviornmental conditions.
Nature has to run its course in my opinion. No sense in wasting good biomass, trying to prevent something that was under your feet all along.
Dealing with fungal plant diseases has very little to do with keeping infected material out of the compost, and has everything to do with soil health, variety selection, watering practices, airflow, and pruning tool cleanliness. Save seeds from tomatoes that resist it too.
These are great for wet piles. I use my peony and hydrangea stems for the winter pile.