Eating Vegetables from a questionable burn pile

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JeffinRI Westport, MA Sep 03, 2021

18 years ago I burned old plywood, painted wood, old barn timbers, etc in a corner pile. For the last 17 years, I've annually burned brush, weeds, diseased vegetable plants, etc. And yes, I often got the pile burning with a squirt of mixed old gas/spent motor oil. Every summer the pile grows 3-6 foot weeds which I cut down.
This summer I had some extra butternut squash and tomato seedlings, so planted them in the pile with some 10-10-10. WOW ! very healthy plants and bigger butternut squash than in my regular garden. And the tomatoes are ripening. I'm tempted to eat them, but probably shouldn't??? Any experience with how long it takes for polluted soil to heal. I have no need to move the pile or clear the area. I've got plenty of other land to grow on. Maybe next year just grow ornamental pumpkins.

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MaypopLaurel Cleveland,GA/Atlanta, GA(Zone 7b) Sep 03, 2021

Interior plywood, exterior plywood, treated plywood all have different resins. I wouldn't. Old painted wood contains arsenic compounds and lead. Even old paper ink contains lead, arsenic, cadmium and other toxic materials. Gasoline takes at least two years to degrade. The fact that your vegetables look great is not a good indicator of food safety. Chernobyl is looking like the Garden of Eden with regrowth and animals returning while still registering uninhabitable levels of radiation.

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