Clippings
Compost contamination on the rise again
Hundreds of gardeners are reporting that their home-grown vegetables and flowers have been damaged this year by having been grown in compost contaminated with the weedkiller aminopyralid. Organic-growing charity Garden Organic says the total cases may be higher a s gardeners don’t always realise what is wrong. “We are trying to find out what the scale really is,” says chief executive James Campbell.
“The GMA will raise the issue with the government”
Similar problems in the past have been traced to the broad-leaf lawn and pasture weedkillers aminopyralid and clopyralid, which were temporarily banned after a notable outbreak in 2008. Traces of the herbicides can pass into grass clippings and manure used to make compost, resulting in distorted, fern-like growth on plants such as potatoes, tomatoes, broad beans, delphiniums and phlox. Gardener and plant supplier Sarah Raven cancelled dahlia trials at her East Sussex garden in 2018 after using compost containing contaminated horse manure, while Somerset market gardener and
