Composting phyto-remedial plants?
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Offira G
May 14, 2009, 1:48:35 PM5/14/09
to CompostingNYC
There was an article in the times today about lead contaminated soil
in a lot of gardens in nyc. It was giving recommendations on ways to
remediate the soil in order to grow plants, and it suggested phyto-
remediation whereby you plant veggies such as Indian mustard and
spinach, and let that grow a few rotations in your garden. It
apparently soaks up the lead in the soil so afterward you can plant
regular veggies for eating. My question is, it then follows, "you
obviously cannot eat OR COMPOST these greens, and they must be
disposed as toxic waste." Technically though, I thought that you can
compost these items, just like you can compost non-organic greens,
because the toxins are removed during the decomposition process, no?
Does anyone have an opinion on this?
Thanks!
in a lot of gardens in nyc. It was giving recommendations on ways to
remediate the soil in order to grow plants, and it suggested phyto-
remediation whereby you plant veggies such as Indian mustard and
spinach, and let that grow a few rotations in your garden. It
apparently soaks up the lead in the soil so afterward you can plant
regular veggies for eating. My question is, it then follows, "you
obviously cannot eat OR COMPOST these greens, and they must be
disposed as toxic waste." Technically though, I thought that you can
compost these items, just like you can compost non-organic greens,
because the toxins are removed during the decomposition process, no?
Does anyone have an opinion on this?
Thanks!
Julia Corwin
May 14, 2009, 2:55:05 PM5/14/09
to compos...@googlegroups.com
Hi,
It is my understanding that phyto-remediation for lead has not yet been successful. I have not seen this NYT article, could you send it to me?
I've browsed through several articles and it seems that while bioremediation works for metals like cadmium, zinc, and copper, it is not very effective for lead. Lead does not generally accumulate in the plant itself, the danger is mainly from ingestion of soil contaminated with lead.
I've pasted some info below from the U of MN cooperative extension, found here: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG2543.html:
"Studies have shown that lead does not readily accumulate in the fruiting parts of vegetable and fruit crops (e.g., corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, strawberries, apples). Higher concentrations are more likely to be found in leafy vegetables (e.g., lettuce) and on the surface of root crops (e.g., carrots)."
This doesn't answer the question about composting things grown in soils with lead...and I didn't find anything to directly answer this question. However, one of the main remediations of soil with lead is to add compost, partly to have more healthy soil to plant in, but also because compost diminishes the possibility of lead uptake by plants. Decomposition does not remove the toxins, but organic compounds bind lead and make it less available to the plant. Also, a pH of over 6.5 helps prevent lead uptake by plants.
Hope this helps. I thought the website above was quite useful.
Julia Corwin
Queens Compost Project
Queens Botanical Garden
43-50 Main Street
Flushing, NY 11355
718.886.3800 ext. 221
It is my understanding that phyto-remediation for lead has not yet been successful. I have not seen this NYT article, could you send it to me?
I've browsed through several articles and it seems that while bioremediation works for metals like cadmium, zinc, and copper, it is not very effective for lead. Lead does not generally accumulate in the plant itself, the danger is mainly from ingestion of soil contaminated with lead.
I've pasted some info below from the U of MN cooperative extension, found here: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG2543.html:
"Studies have shown that lead does not readily accumulate in the fruiting parts of vegetable and fruit crops (e.g., corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, strawberries, apples). Higher concentrations are more likely to be found in leafy vegetables (e.g., lettuce) and on the surface of root crops (e.g., carrots)."
This doesn't answer the question about composting things grown in soils with lead...and I didn't find anything to directly answer this question. However, one of the main remediations of soil with lead is to add compost, partly to have more healthy soil to plant in, but also because compost diminishes the possibility of lead uptake by plants. Decomposition does not remove the toxins, but organic compounds bind lead and make it less available to the plant. Also, a pH of over 6.5 helps prevent lead uptake by plants.
Hope this helps. I thought the website above was quite useful.
Julia Corwin
Queens Compost Project
Queens Botanical Garden
43-50 Main Street
Flushing, NY 11355
718.886.3800 ext. 221
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