Anyone mulching/composting mater prunings and end of season mater plants

kurt · February 14, 2012

Is there any benefit with the seasons end of all the mass of mater leftovers?Naturally not the diseased if any.I cut mine up and sprinkle on the lawn.but not in clumps seems to smother lawn at first but it does grow greener.

bower · February 18, 2012

I started a separate compost pile (a big one!) to dispose of last year's plants. We had a cold wet season and a lot of grey mold (botrytis blight). From what I understand, botrytis is ubiquitous in the environment, and so there seemed no point in burning or otherwise disposing the material except to cover it immediately to minimize spore dispersal, and compost it really thoroughly. This is different from things like early blight (Alternaria or Septoria) or leaf miners where the infected leaves are picked off and burned as soon as they appear. I would have needed a huge bonfire to dispose all the moldy plant material from last year's crowded house!

They say the botrytis spores do not persist in the soil - although they can overwinter on plant material. I reckon when the compost is cooked and well done (2013!), I'll use it for a non-susceptible crop, like mustard greens.

Barbee · February 18, 2012

If my plants are healthy at year's end, they go into my compost pile after being chopped into reasonable sized pieces. That's part of my garden clean up.

bughunter99 · February 18, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by kurt

Is there any benefit with the seasons end of all the mass of mater leftovers?Naturally not the diseased if any.I cut mine up and sprinkle on the lawn.but not in clumps seems to smother lawn at first but it does grow greener.

I suspect the reasons that there hasn't been a lot of response to your questions is because it is the rare tomato plant among us that doesn't pick up some kind of suspect disease by the end of the season. I've never had a plant I would risk it with.

Mine get tossed on the fire pit. The ashes are spread in the garden.

Stacy

http://gardenmutiny.blogspot.com

kenny_j · February 18, 2012

This is my first year of composting large scale, and I made a huge pile that I stacked inside of a plastic mesh enclosure with 5' rebar posts for corners. I rake the entire garden as completely free of all vegetative matter as I can. Most diseases overwinter on vegetation, and if completely composted should be gone. I think using on nin-susceptible crops probably best to be safe.

February 14, 2012	#1
kurt Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Homestead,Everglades City Fl. Posts: 2,491	Anyone mulching/composting mater prunings and end of season mater plants Is there any benefit with the seasons end of all the mass of mater leftovers?Naturally not the diseased if any.I cut mine up and sprinkle on the lawn.but not in clumps seems to smother lawn at first but it does grow greener.

February 18, 2012	#3
Barbee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,818	If my plants are healthy at year's end, they go into my compost pile after being chopped into reasonable sized pieces. That's part of my garden clean up. __________________ *Barbee*

February 18, 2012	#2
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,793	I started a separate compost pile (a big one!) to dispose of last year's plants. We had a cold wet season and a lot of grey mold (botrytis blight). From what I understand, botrytis is ubiquitous in the environment, and so there seemed no point in burning or otherwise disposing the material except to cover it immediately to minimize spore dispersal, and compost it really thoroughly. This is different from things like early blight (Alternaria or Septoria) or leaf miners where the infected leaves are picked off and burned as soon as they appear. I would have needed a huge bonfire to dispose all the moldy plant material from last year's crowded house! They say the botrytis spores do not persist in the soil - although they can overwinter on plant material. I reckon when the compost is cooked and well done (2013!), I'll use it for a non-susceptible crop, like mustard greens.

February 18, 2012	#5
kenny_j Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: holly michigan Posts: 380	This is my first year of composting large scale, and I made a huge pile that I stacked inside of a plastic mesh enclosure with 5' rebar posts for corners. I rake the entire garden as completely free of all vegetative matter as I can. Most diseases overwinter on vegetation, and if completely composted should be gone. I think using on nin-susceptible crops probably best to be safe.