Hi everyone! This is my first year planting a garden so I am learning a lot! I have two questions about my compost (I'm using an Envirocycle bin).
About 3 weeks ago my husband sprayed Roundup on dandelions in our yard. It has since been cut, rained on and then cut again. I added grass clipping from the second round of mowing to the compost bin but then remembered a few days later about the Roundup - oh dear!!!

My questions- 1. Is this compost safe to use?
2. How would I dispose of bad compost? I live in a development with other houses on all sides.

Thank you in advance for your advice!

Were just the dandelions sprayed, or was the entire lawn sprayed? What percentage of the material is made up of those grass clippings and when do you actually plan to use the finished compost? I would throw some seeds (something that sprouts quickly) into the compost when I got ready to use it and see what happens, if the seeds sprout and grow I would use the compost.
If you ever do have some "bad" compost , try to spread it out and let the sun, rain and nature's other weapons attack it. Mix in a high quantity of other materials, or even good compost. I hope there are very few lawn poisons out there that don't break down in over a year that are used in residential areas.

Seedfork - thanks for your reply. Just the dandelions were sprayed sporadically throughout the grass. So even if a seed will grow in it, will the vegetables be safe to eat?

I can not make that judgement for you, but if only the dandelions were sprayed, and if there was a large quantity of clippings and those were mixed with other materials, I would say the vegetables would be safe to eat. That is my opinion.

KB2121 said:Hi everyone! This is my first year planting a garden so I am learning a lot! I have two questions about my compost (I'm using an Envirocycle bin).
About 3 weeks ago my husband sprayed Roundup on dandelions in our yard. It has since been cut, rained on and then cut again. I added grass clipping from the second round of mowing to the compost bin but then remembered a few days later about the Roundup - oh dear!!!

My questions- 1. Is this compost safe to use?
2. How would I dispose of bad compost? I live in a development with other houses on all sides.

Thank you in advance for your advice!

Weed Killer Residue Over Time

While all herbicide residue degrades over time, it is still dependent on several factors: climatic conditions (light, moisture, temp), soil and herbicide properties. Even if there are some residual, non plant lethal chemicals left in the soil after the weed killer has evaporated or broken down, these chemicals most likely will have been leeched away after one or two good rainfalls or waterings.

Read more at Gardening Know How: How Long Does Weed Killer Last In The Soil https://www.gardeningknowhow.c...