Troubleshooting · 29 of 30
Disease appearing after using compost
Blight, clubroot or damping-off appearing in beds that were dressed with compost containing diseased plant material.
01Symptom
Blight, clubroot or damping-off appearing in beds that were dressed with compost containing diseased plant material.
02Why it happens
Diseased foliage composted in a cold pile or left on the outside of a hot pile, where temperatures never reached the level needed to kill the pathogen.
03What to do
- 01 Bin or burn diseased foliage in future; do not compost it.
- 02 If you must compost it, bury it in the core of a pile that will hold 55 °C for three days.
- 03 Do not spread suspect compost on beds growing the same family — tomatoes, potatoes, brassicas.
- 04 Rotate affected beds away from the host crop for at least two seasons.