That’s a great question. According to gardenorganic.org.uk, some diseased plants can be added to your compost, however, plant materials suffering from soil-borne diseases such as clubroot and white rot should not be added to a compost heap.

Anything else can be safely composted in a hot heap. Diseases that don’t need living matter to survive, such as grey mould, mildews, and wilts, may survive in a cold heap.

But heat is not the only factor that will kill diseases: the intense microbial activity in a compost heap also helps to dispose of them. Some diseases, such as tomato and potato blight need living plant tissue to survive and will not last long without it. It is fine to add foliage suffering from these diseases to your hot or cold compost heap. If in doubt, leave it out. Problem materials can be sent to your local council green waste recycling facility where the composting methods are hot enough to kill any problem organisms.

that don’t need living plants to survive – grey mould, mildews, wilts – may survive in a slow, cool heap. But heat is not the only factor that will kill diseases – the intense microbial activity will also help to dispose of them.

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