asphalt in garden
 

Hi,

I've been clearing a piece of land to be used as a vegetable garden. I've
turned all the soil to a depth of 12". On the final corner I discovered
several old pieces of asphalt buried in the ground. My plot is next to a
small road so I'm assuming it's from an older road. Is there any danger
that the asphalt could be leaching contaminants into my soil... oil, etc?
What would you recommend?

Thanks!
Jeff

Jeff wrote:
Hi,

I've been clearing a piece of land to be used as a vegetable
garden.
I've turned all the soil to a depth of 12". On the final corner I
discovered several old pieces of asphalt buried in the ground. My
plot is next to a small road so I'm assuming it's from an older
road.
Is there any danger that the asphalt could be leaching contaminants
into my soil... oil, etc? What would you recommend?

Thanks!
Jeff

If there's no sign of poor growth or anything suspicious (and I doubt
if there is), there's nothing to worry about. Big slabs could
interfere with your digging or divert the root growth of any tree you
may plant on the spot, but any significant chemical action seems
unlikely. If there are few enough pieces to manage, and they really
annoy you, you could take them to the dump or use them as hard core
for a paving or wall-building project. Otherwise, I'd probably leave
them buried.

--
Mike.