Contaminated mulch?

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dizzy7 Cresco, IA(Zone 4b) Sep 17, 2008

I (and pretty much every gardener in my neck of the woods) had a terrible time this year with Septoria leaf spot infecting our tomato plants. I've read that when I clean out my garden this fall I shouldn't put those plants in my compost pile since Septoria spores can survive in it, but I was wondering if the grass clippings that I used as mulch around my tomatoes would also be contaminated with the leaf spot spores, or if it would be safe to add it to my compost pile? I sure don't want to re-infect my garden next spring by spreading contaminated compost all over it, but I hate to dump all those clippings if they could be turned into useful compost.

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paulgrow Allen Park, MI(Zone 6a) Sep 17, 2008

yes they could be hiding the spores, I wouldn't compost them unless you have a hot compost pile.

Paul

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dizzy7 Cresco, IA(Zone 4b) Sep 17, 2008

Thanks, Paul. I'll take your advice and haul the mulch to the dump along with the tomato plants. My compost pile is pretty much finished and isn't very warm anymore, so it probably wouldn't have sufficient heat to kill any spores in the mulch.

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