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  • #1

    Composting & mildew?

    Hello fellow gardeners - I have a question about composting.. My pea plants are completely covered in mildew (to the extent that they are dying) - can I compost the plants? I have the feeling if I don't compost anything that may in some way be affected by something I might end up with very little compost - and I so desperately need more compost than my kitchen scraps provide...
    Thanks for any insights.
    Mia
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  • #2
    Its probably wrong to do it, but I compost my powdery mildew leaves. I reckon if you're going to get mildew, you get it - the spores blow about on the wind from anywhere so having some in the compost is neither here nor there.
    I pour a couple of buckets of water over the mildewy leaves when I add them to the heap, 'cos mildew doesn't like it wet, and with luck the heap gets hot enough to kill the spores.
    Next year it will probably rain all summer, and mildew won't be a problem.
    Location - Leicestershire - Chisit-land
    Endless wonder.

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    • #3
      I compost leaves with mildew, never thought about not putting them in. Haven't had a problem so far. Welcome to the Vine Mia. I hope you're not composting cooked kitchen scraps?
      Granny on the Game in Sheffield

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      • #4
        Mildew and all the other molds are what help to break down the compost anyway I reckon!

        PS Before anyone has a go at me I would NEVER compost clubroot roots or onions affected with white rot. These fungi/mold are pernicious and I would rather not spread them. As far as I know mildew isn't soil borne so shouldn't pose a problem.
        Last edited by Snadger; 19-08-2011, 07:17 PM.
        My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
        to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

        Diversify & prosper


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        • #5
          Bung them in the compost bin.

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          • #6
            Thank you everyone for your replies... Seems to be unanimous that there should be no great harm.
            @mothhawk: I'm surprised there still is any mildew given the rain we've been having. Isnt't it the the rain / moisture that brings it on in the first place?
            Mia

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            • #7
              it's a combination of humidity and dropping temperatures that seems to trigger it.

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              • #8
                down here it seems to start when the air is humid.......but the roots are dry.....so there's a lot of it on the lottie, but at home where I water more, there is none (yet!)

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                • #9
                  Some of my cucumber plants have come down with it but i read spraying with milk / a b soda mix spray keeps it down, fingers crossed it doesn't get worse

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