compost poison?

[orgoveg]

Here's a stumper for ya (maybe not). I use my compost for my organic veggie garden. Last year, I put some plants into the compost pile called datura inoxia. It's commonly called moonflower, but it's a bush, not a vine like the most common moonflower. I just read that all parts of this plant are poisonous. Does that mean that my compost is now contaminated and thus my vegetables can absorb the poisons?

[!potatoes!]

i wouldn't be worried, especially if you're doing hot composting, or at least are waiting for long enough that things break down fairly well. it's not like they're dynamic accumulators of heavy metals, or anything.

[smokensqueal]

I haven't heard of what type of poision in the moonflower is but most compost takes care of a lot of that stuff. The one thing I've heard to stay away from is poision ivy and poision oak. And it's not that it will poision the plant but the poision is oil base which won't break down in compost typically and you can still get it after it's been composted.

[rainbowgardener]

The poison in datura is belladonna alkaloids, atropine, scopolamine and others. They are organic compounds and should break down with composting. They also comprise no more than .7% of the plant, often less. Assuming that the datura is a small portion of what you are composting, it will get pretty diluted. That said, I wouldn't put it in if you are doing vermicomposting... I think it would kill your worms. The main thing to watch out for in a regular compost pile would be if you are handling your compost (in turning for example) before it is finished. People have gotten ill (not died) just from handling datura. Once the compost is finished, i.e. completely broken down, it should be fine.

[cynthia_h]

I know that rhubarb leaves, which are toxic to eat, do just fine in compost. They break down completely. I've been composting rhubarb leaves for just about a year this month. I've turned the compost a couple of times with no ill effects.

This isn't to say that datura is harmless, but it does show the power that composting can have in converting toxic-to-eat stuff into great-for-plants stuff.

According to http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/rhubarb-poison.html , the active ingredient in rhubarb leaves is oxalic acid (oxalates) and anthaquinone glycosides, which may contribute to the toxicity of the oxalates.

And the urushiol in poison oak / ivy *is* a different beast altogether. Into the trash, safely contained. Not the yard trash, the "trash trash."

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[orgoveg]

Wow. I really didn't expect many replies, much less the information you folks provided. I browsed the other forums and I was really impressed with the knowledge and experience displayed here. This website is a great resource with very good participation. I'll have to spread the word.

Thank you very much.