[St. Phatty]

I'm mixing in a little yardwork with the deskwork this morning.

I got a patch of poison oak that is solidly dead, sprayed with Roundup or Oxbow or something.

There's been about 6 months for the sun to partially degrade whatever chemicals are there.


Usually, the way I build soil is, layer of sand, layer of leaves/manure, layer of sand, etc.

It has an effect similar to roto-tilling - IF there is enough time for the worms to do their jobs.

I'm hoping that if I get my soil piles constructed by New Year's, the worms will help finish the process.

So I can use it for vegetables around May 1, or maybe Cannabis


Anyway, I have this one stand of broken down poison oak that would make a good 'leaves/manure' feedstock layer.

Or would it ?

Would you trust these chem companies, to make herbicides that REALLY degrade ?


Anybody tried this before - using sprayed poison oak in a compost pile that is ?

[Grimlock]

If I'm not mistaken Round-up has a 22year half life, and there are no known microbes that break it down. Only time. I'd steer clear of it.

[MrBungle]

I wouldn't... I'm sure you'll be able to find something organic to replace it.. why risk it?

[OranguTrump]

You could, but like the others I'd not recommend it.

Too much bad juju - poisons aplenty in that material IMHO.

[FireIn.TheSky]

Why would you put carcinogenic toxins into something so wonderful as compost.

Adding that shit defeats the whole purpose of using compost.

[_tessarecting]

Yeah glyphosate kills everything...I hate how they spray the pole on my property. It can be found elsewhere on properties that have used it. I would burn that shit. This stuff is responsible for many people's deaths and cancer.

[Avinash.miles]

i've been using a photosynthetic bacteria product that is used for bio remediation, supposed to eat hydrocarbons and glycosphate included... "quantum light" with R. palustris bacteria

being used on industrial sites and farms to remove waste & help revive damaged soils

worth using in compost piles with this kind of material in it only 60$ per gallon and it goes a long long way imo.

[Betterhaff]

I’m not sure I’d compost it for 2 reasons. The Glyphosate and the Urushiol (the oil that causes the rash). Urushiol is not water soluble and can last for years, even on dead plants. Not sure how long it would take to be broken down in a composting situation.

I also would not burn it as the Urushiol will volatize and can be harmful if inhaled.

Years ago I read about a homemade weed killer that supposedly kills poison oak/ivy although I haven’t tried it.

1 gallon white vinegar
1 cup salt
2 tbls blue Dawn dish soap (not sure if blue has any significance)

Mix well and put into a spray bottle and spray. Supposedly it will kill most vegetation so be careful when spraying. It will also wash off after a rain so best to apply in a dry stretch and multiple applications may be necessary.

[FireIn.TheSky]

You know one thing I just thought of, if you are composting kitchen scraps from non organic fruits and vegetables chances are you are composting. A fair amount of glyphosate and other toxic residues.


For instance apples are one of the dirtiest food crops and washing and peeling still does not remove all of the toxins.

[St. Phatty]

Originally Posted by Betterhaff

I’m not sure I’d compost it for 2 reasons. The Glyphosate and the Urushiol (the oil that causes the rash). Urushiol is not water soluble and can last for years, even on dead plants. Not sure how long it would take to be broken down in a composting situation.

I also would not burn it as the Urushiol will volatize and can be harmful if inhaled.[/font]

Yes. It causes nasal membranes to swell. Shut.

I have a neighbor who used to work as a fire-fighter who made 7 trips to the ER during his career - because he was having great trouble breathing after working in poison oak country during a fire-fight.


I am super conscious of labor input that goes into the garden, so when I see a layer of humus-to-be just sitting there, heck that's 1 of 4 layers ... the work is 1/4 done !

It's not exactly a compost pile. Basically, the soil sucks ... a 1/2 inch to 12 inches of humus on top of clay, 1 inch of humus in most places.

But with some mixing ... well that's what it needs. The clay sand needs a whole bunch of humus mixed in. So that it can evolve into a sandy loam.

If I was to do that by shoveling clay-sand on top of the Poison Oak ... I'd have Poison Oak humus as part of the silt component in the end-result.

Maybe I'll just put a little labor into it.

Besides I like the idea of putting an inch of sand between me and the Poison Oak !

Sounds like a good area to plant something decorative.