Bracken!!!?

[Skipper]

Hi folks

In the decembers 2006 edition of GYO,on page 42,under the heading "Best Weeds To Improve Your Garden" it mentions bracken as a excellent compost and a good mulch despite containing carcinogenic spores My questions are :

1) what happens to these nasty little spores when they are in the compost?
2) and has anybody used bracken in theirs.

Hmmm--!!:confused, comments please.


(As we live on the edge of the Lake District there's loads of the stuff here abouts).

[nick the grief]

I think the Spores are only as problem when breathed in Skipper - could be wrong.

I used to use Bracke in my chooks nest boxes as I seem to remember it had mild insecticideal properties & i never had problems with Red Mite - could just have been lucky!!

Lakeland Gold do a compost with composted Bracken in just for toms and it looks good albeit expensive.

The Victorians used loads of bracken to cover crops with in hte days before fleece.

[Alice]

Hello Skipper, intersting question about bracken. I wouldn't grow it in the garden - very space consuming and very invasive. It is indeed listed as a carcinogen and countries which use it in the food chain (Japan) have very high rates of stomach cancer. Those little spores - they get everywhere.

In the good old days we used it as ground mulch and for the winter protection of plants. Also good anti midge properties. Now, I would definately go for bark and fleece. In a word - to be avoided.

[Skipper]

Thanks for your replies,I'm still unsure about it so I'll give it a miss, there's still a lot of other material I can use to go into the compost.

[Burnzie]

Re bracken, I've seen the older show growers use it in their compost mix for growing potatoes in.
The tubers come out with smooth shiney skins.

Tony

[Snadger]

Re bracken, I've seen the older show growers use it in their compost mix for growing potatoes in.
The tubers come out with smooth shiney skins.

Tony

I think lime in the soil causes scab. I imagine that bracken will be very, very acid judging by where it grows.....could this be why the spuds come out scab free and shiny?

[Earthbabe]

I'd go with that Snadger. An alkaline soil for pots is a no-no so I understand for disease reasons as cited.

[rustylady]

I used to live right on the edge of Dartmoor, down in Devon, and they used to let the bracken grow on the moors all year and then burn it down. The farmers there wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. I suppose if you've got loads of it nearby you could try composting it, but as already said in this thread it's very acid.

[Digger-07]

There was a report on a Countryfile programme earlier this year about a farmer who diversified after F&M and began making compost out of bracken. There seem to be very few concerns about making it or using it.

[nick the grief]

there is a factsheet about bracken on the HDRA members area and part of it says -

Are there any risks from bracken toxins in compost?
It is highly unlikely that composted bracken used on the garden is in any way dangerous to human health. No work has been done on the survival of toxic substances from bracken during composting but it is most probable that they are readily broken down by micro-organisms as part of the composting process. Even if this breakdown was not complete, plants are not likely to take up such substances from the soil, so they would not pass into food crops.

I have just downloaded the whole thing & the main concern seems to be the spores.

[Snadger]

Appologies for going off topic slightly but I have never used rhubarb leaves in my compost because of the toxins in there leaves, but have recently read somewhere (don't ask me where) that they pose no risk on a compost heap! I will be composting the leaves from now on!

[Skipper]

Thanks for the info Nick....It always concerns me when I read reports with a lot of if, buts, and maybe's in them .... I tend to grow things in the knowledge that what I'm using is ok and when it comes to chemicals or other suspect materials I'm not sure of, I err on the side of caution,after all it's not the end of the world if I don't use them.....I may be wrong in my outlook, but that's me

[Alice]

I think you're right there Skipper. The jury is definately out on bracken, so why risk it.

[Pete]

Remembered a similar thread earlier this year, although it started out as a seaweed thread
Seaweed/Bracken

Copied the links I posted then:

Garden Organic Factsheet GG5

University of Aberdeen

[Skipper]

thanks for doing the homework Pete....there is a lot of info on the sites you posted but I think I will still treat it as a no no.... cheers