As you harvest your rhubarb stalks this spring, you’ll find several websites warning you against putting the leaves in the compost. After all, every gardener knows you can eat rhubarb stalks, but that the leaf blade itself is toxic. And it just seems logical that putting poisonous leaves in the compost would be a no-no. Wouldn’t they poison the very microbes that make the compost bin function?
No they won’t, actually. Not putting rhubarb leaves in the compost is just yet one more of the oh-so numerous gardening myths that simply refuse to die.
Let’s take a closer look at the situation.
Oxalic acid
The principal toxic element in rhubarb leaves is oxalic acid (C2H2O4), a product that is toxic to mammals, birds and some insects if it is ingested in large quantities. And that’s why rhubarb plants produce oxalic acid: to help protect them from their enemies.
But oxalic acid is only made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. It’s a natural product and like most natural products, decomposes readily. Soil microbes break it up in no time. Earthworms even have, in their digestive system, bacteria specifically designed to break up oxalic acid. If you simply leave rhubarb leaf blades on the ground, they quickly decompose and disappear. Why wouldn’t they do the same a home compost pile?
Besides, oxalic acid is only harmful in large quantities. Really large quantities. Humans consume oxalic acid all the time. It’s what gives spinach and Swiss chard their tangy taste, notably. And it is also found in tea, chocolate, nuts, parsley and poppy seeds. Our own bodies even produce it.
Besides, it’s a mistake to assume that something harmful to humans is also toxic to microbes. They can, in fact, handle almost any natural poison.
But Will the Compost Be Safe to Use?
Being safe to microbes is one thing, but won’t the compost derived from rhubarb leaves remain poisonous to other plants?
Not in the least. Oxalic acid is simply never poisonous to plants. And when oxalic acid decomposes, it loses any toxic properties. It will actually break down into products plants need: oxygen, water, carbon, etc. In fact, if ever it didn’t break down for whatever reason, plants simply couldn’t absorb it: it’s too big a molecule for roots to handle.
So be reassured: there is no risk that plants exposed to compost made from rhubarb leaves will become toxic in their turn.
What About Other Toxic Plants?
The same goes for other poisonous plants in found in our homes and gardens: monkshood, dieffenbachias, foxglove, jack-in-the-pulpit, brugmansia, nicotiana, etc. They all contain products that are toxic to humans and some animals, a vast range of different poisons in fact… but there isn’t one microbes can’t handle. All will quickly break down in a compost pile, turning into safe compost you can use even in your vegetable garden.
And think about it: potato leaves and stems are toxic to humans and yet generations of gardeners have been safely composting them. Why would rhubarb or foxglove leaves be an exception?
Walnut Leaves
What about walnut leaves? The leaves of walnuts (Juglans spp.) produce juglone, a product well known to be toxic to other plants. In fact, walnut roots poison the ground around them to prevent other plants from taking over their space. This is called allelopathy. But even juglone decomposes in the compost bin. In this case, it is helpful to chop the leaves up before adding them to the compost, as that will help it decompose more quickly. You’ll find more information about composting walnut leaves here.
Plants Poisonous To the Touch
So far we’ve only looked at plants that are poisonous to humans if ingested. But what about plants that cause skin reactions when you touch them, such as nettle (Urtica spp.), giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) and poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)?
Nettles (Urtica spp.) have long been promoted as an excellent addition to the compost pile. While they may be irritating to the touch, they are very rich in nitrogen. It is even considered to be a compost activator. But only put stems and leaves into the compost bin, not roots or seeds. That’s because, if ever the latter escape decomposition, you could accidently spread them to other parts of the garden.
Nettles, of course, should of course be handled with great care: gloves, long sleeves, long pants, etc.
Authorities warn against composting giant hogweed and wild parsnip, but that is mainly a question of safety when handling them and of accidentally moving an invasive plant to a new site. The two plants, in fact, break down quickly in compost and that includes the furanocoumarins that cause reactions in humans. Besides, their foliage disappears in a few weeks if just left on the ground, a sign that microbes like it.
If you are absolutely certain you can protect yourself properly during handling them (add a hat and safety goggles to gloves, long sleeves and long pants recommended for nettle), you can put their leaves and stems (again, not their roots or seeds) in the compost bin. However, it would be wiser to just let them break ground where they were cut.
Urushiol, the oily toxic product present on the leaves, stems and fruit of poison ivy, is a very different substance. Slow to decompose, it can persist for months, not only on decaying plant material, but also on the walls of the composter and on any tools used to turn the compost. This is one of the very few plants you simply should not put in a compost bin.
If you cut back poison ivy, the best thing to do is to bury it where it falls and not disturb that area for a full year. Any clothes worn should be destroyed and any tools used, carefully cleaned before reusing. Poison ivy is one badass plant!
Hello Laidback Gardener, please let me know if you can compost leaves from these two trees (unfortunately both alien to South Africa): Cestrum Parquii and Citharexylum Spinosum (spiny fiddlewood). Also, can these leaves be used in a composting worm bin? I have tried to find out online but am not coming up with anything, despite hours of searching. Many thanks and have a lovely Saturday. Kind regards, Sarah in South Africa
Hi there,
Thank you for the good read!
I have a pecan allergy, and my husband accidentally used pecan mulch in our garden without realizing it. Is it safe for me to consume the fruits or veggies that grow from it?
Thank you!
Great article!!!! Thank you!!!
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Hello, I’d love to see your sources for the breakdown of these toxins within the soil. Almost every site says not to compost toxic plants like hemlock and hogweed but none of them show their sources. I’d like to read any studies I can find that prove or disprove that these toxins remain in the soil for very long so I can know once and for all, but I’ve yet to find a good study determining how long it takes the toxins to break down. Tackling toxic invasives is going to be a major project where I live and I don’t like the idea of sending more plastic to the landfill just to bag up what should be compostable.
Thank you,
Taylor
You’d need to look up specific sites for hogweed and (I’m assuming) poison-hemlock (there must be a dozen plants called hemlock).
Can you compost umbrella tree/schefflera arboricola leaves for edible vegetables? They seem not to break down easily. And are they ‘green’ or ‘brown’ when dry?
They’re a bit slower to decompose than some leaves: chopping them up finely will speed things up. They’re only slightly toxic to begin with and none of the toxins will affect vegetables, so you can compost them. They’d be considered “greens” in composting if used fresh, but “browns” once they harden and turn lose most of their nitrogen.