I'm a bit of a compost freak but haven't made any leaf mould yet and this
year decided I would. I know that you put them in a bag for about a year. Is
there anything else I need to do? Also, will any leaves with black spot or
other fungal or viral problems, be ok in with other leaves as it's so hard
to separate everything in the garden especially when the leaves are wet.If
everything breaks down properly, will these just be killed off or not?
Liz

I'm a bit of a compost freak but haven't made any leaf mould yet and this
year decided I would. I know that you put them in a bag for about a year. Is
there anything else I need to do? Also, will any leaves with black spot or
other fungal or viral problems, be ok in with other leaves as it's so hard
to separate everything in the garden especially when the leaves are wet.If
everything breaks down properly, will these just be killed off or not?
Liz

I think some people will advise you to keep the leaves that have been tainted
with black spot out of your compost. However, black spot is usually only a
real problem with weak plants. You'd be better off spending your time feeding
your plants and generally looking after their condition rather than worrying
about black spot (IMHO). Roses are the most likely plants to get it and even
spraying with fungicides is unlikely to eradicate it if plants are less than
completely healthy, though they are unlikely to die from being infected with
black spot alone. I'd also add that if you've already got leaves with black
spot on, the spores are already in your garden, and even if they aren't they
will probably find their way in from elsewhere anyway.

As far as killing off the fungal spores during composting is concerned, it's
unlikely to happen unless you have a large compost heap that heats up. The
same goes for roots of some weeds, weed seeds, etc. Personally I'd say compost
away, but as I said, others may differ in their views. I actually wonder
whether you can use anything from your garden and compost it safely as you have
black spot, and the spores will be all over the place. I'll be interested to
read any other views to see what they think of this.

All the best, and happy composting.

Dave.

In article , Alan and Liz
writes
I'm a bit of a compost freak but haven't made any leaf mould yet and this
year decided I would. I know that you put them in a bag for about a year. Is
there anything else I need to do? Also, will any leaves with black spot or
other fungal or viral problems, be ok in with other leaves as it's so hard
to separate everything in the garden especially when the leaves are wet.If
everything breaks down properly, will these just be killed off or not?

My father used to collect up autumn leaves and fill a tea-chest with
them. He would then put a couple of inches of good soil on top of the
leaves as they warmed up and use the tea-chest as an over-winter
propagator for seeds or cuttings. Once the contents had done their job
they would be spread over his very productive allotment.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

On 19 Nov 2002 18:44:07 GMT, (DaveDay34) wrote:

Snip...I'm a bit of a compost freak but haven't made any leaf mould
yet and this
year decided I would. I know that you put them in a bag for about a year. Is
there anything else I need to do? Also, will any leaves with black spot or
other fungal or viral problems, be ok in with other leaves

Snip ...
. However, black spot is usually only a
real problem with weak plants.
I actually wonder
whether you can use anything from your garden and compost it safely as you have
black spot, and the spores will be all over the place. I'll be interested to
read any other views to see what they think of this.
.................................................. .......................................

David.
I couldn't agree more with the latter remark, but would like
to make an observation on the former!

Living in Plymouth where the air is exceptionally clean (except
for atomic radiation) roses have always been subject to savage
attacks of blackspot *except* where they were grown very close
to roads (for instance the 'islands' separating dual carriageways)

There they may well have grown somewhat stunted - but still
very florifulous - but I never saw 'Blind Pugh's Curse' on them.
I'd hazard a guess that it was the almost constant flow of carbon
monoxide across their leaves.

In my own gardens, and treated better than a mother in law, I have
always fought a non stop battle with the damn spot.

John
.................................................. .......................................

David.
I couldn't agree more with the latter remark, but would like
to make an observation on the former!

Living in Plymouth where the air is exceptionally clean (except
for atomic radiation) roses have always been subject to savage
attacks of blackspot *except* where they were grown very close
to roads (for instance the 'islands' separating dual carriageways)

There they may well have grown somewhat stunted - but still
very florifulous - but I never saw 'Blind Pugh's Curse' on them.
I'd hazard a guess that it was the almost constant flow of carbon
monoxide across their leaves.

In my own gardens, and treated better than a mother in law, I have
always fought a non stop battle with the damn spot.

John

It's possible that sulphur monoxide which is one of the chemicals emitted from
vehicle exhausts acts as a mild fungicide. Sulphur powder is used as such and
has been for many years. The carbon monoxide is unlikely (as far as I can work
out) to have much effect on the fungi, but may do.

Interestingly though, sulphur deficiency in the soil affected many plants
before the industrial revolution. Sulphur can be added to make soil more acid
and treat lime induced chlorosis and is used by plants directly too, as far as
I remember. The industrial revolution pumped tons of sulphur into the
atmosphere which came down with the rain and to some extent diminished the
extent and severity of this problem. The interesting point is that with so
much effort being put into reducing sulphur dioxide emissions from cars, etc.
lime induced chlorosis is likely to become more of a problem again, though
probably not for many years.

Hoping that this is interesting, and not too controvertial!

Dave.

In article ,
writes:
| (DaveDay34) wrote:
|
| And for what it's worth, a deficiency in sulphur in the soil makes alliums
| much milder in flavor. The U.S. "Vidalia" onions are grown in an area that
| has very low-sulphur soil; the same sweet onions grown elsewhere will have
| more bite to them. And the currently fashionable "deodorized" garlic is
| similarly grown. Of course, the health benefits seem to be connected to
| the sulphur compounds.... to me, eating deodorized garlic is like
| alcohol-free beer or kissing your sister.

You clearly don't take after Lord Byron, then :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679