Planting in weedicide-contaminated soil

[jina hon]

Hi,
I just joined this forum 'cos the compound where I live has been completely contaminated with weedicide (by the landlord). The weeds have also been burned to the ground.

I want to make a fresh start to plant herbs, spices n veggies again.

Can anyone tell me:
1) How long will it take for the weedicide to clear out of the soil?
2) Will planting on the soil help the soil to recover?
3) How long will it be before it is safe to eat the produce of plants growing in such conditions?


Thank you!

jina

[applestar]

That's terrible! Hazards of renting/leasing though sometimes neighbors can cause problems too.

I would find out from the landlord exactly what products were used and look up the actual safety information for each of the chemicals in the product. No way to say, really, without knowing what they were.

To grow anything for eating, for now, I would completely barricade the growing medium from the ground -- containers raised up away from the ground with no chance of ground contact or contaminated water wicking up. Splashing up might also be a hazard.

2) Will planting on the soil help the soil to recover?

This was a really good question. Look up "bio-remediation" "phyto-remediation" and "myco-remediation"
There are plants and mushrooms that can be grown to absorb the toxins (they need to be harvested -- often roots and all -- and disposed of away from the site). Their biological interaction with the soil will also help the soil to restore and recover.

[Juliuskitty]

+1 on growing in a sealed container. Global buckets are homemade self watering containers that are easy, inexpensive, materials should be very easy to get.
Heres a link https://www.globalbuckets.org

[tomf]

It may be your only option is to plant in containers like raised beds, and put in soil form a different source such as buying bags of it.