The unfortunate reality of life is that mistakes happen. One person had a garden tragedy when they accidentally used compost that contained herbicides.
Homeowners and hobbyists share successes, failures, and everything in between in the r/gardening subreddit. One gardener took to Reddit to warn about the dangers of using store-bought compost.
"Accidentally killed my plants with contaminated compost," wrote the poster. They went on to explain that they were in a new home and hadn't built up their own compost pile yet.
The OP cautioned, "Make sure your store-bought compost is OMRI certified. … I figured I'd probably be fine. … I was wrong."
They realized their mistake when their plants began to die, adding, "Now I'm looking at five beds full of nothing but dying plants and aminopyralid-contaminated soil."
Aminopyralid is an herbicide most commonly used to kill weeds in grass pastures and wheat fields. The EPA writes that it is intended to control a wide range of weeds, including broadleaf plants. This category of plants includes trees, shrubs, and many flowering plants. One distinguishing feature is that the "leaves of broadleaves have one main vein from which smaller veins branch," according to the University of California.
While the OP is likely hoping for a solution, the only treatment may be time. This herbicide seems to take a long time to break down.
The state of Maine released a statement warning, "There have been several incidents across the country in which certain broadleaf herbicides have persisted in hay, plant materials, bedding, manure, or compost and later caused plant injury in broadleaf vegetable crops."
In Utah, hundreds of trees were accidentally treated with aminopyralid, and it will take two years and nearly half a million dollars to replace them.
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As the OP said, check your store-bought compost for Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) certification. This organization does independent testing to make sure companies are keeping organic standards and not using prohibited ingredients.
Commenters on the post had sympathy and advice to offer.
One person had a similar experience and gave detailed suggestions, "[Pull] out the contamination … we had luck with sunflowers, shiso, oregano, and thyme. … These guys grow fast and will pull the herbicide out."
They also said, "[Nurture the microbiome so they help eat/break it down. … UV exposure is also supposed to degrade it, so we left the soil uncovered for the first few months."
Commiserating with the OP, they added, "Best of luck!! It's miserable seeing all your efforts shrivel up."
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