That is what many people think the pile is for.

Dan

I know it seems like a dumb question, and maybe it is. But I was wondering if there were plants other than tomatoes that should be avoided. Obviously I'm not putting flowering weeds in either. But what about something like laburnum where all parts of the tree are poisonous? Would cold composting neutralize the toxins? Some of this compost will end up in my vegetable garden.

My experience has been that its ok to add weeds, weed seeds, tomato vines, & diseased tomato vines to the compost pile. We have an open pile, and all material is in there for around 18 months before it is considered done, and ready to use. I do have to pick out a few sticks that need more time, but that is all the processing our finished compost receives.

If it grows - or once grew - you can compost it. Chopping up the material will speed up the process in any type of composting process and a hot compost will adequately address disease and weed issues if the correct temperatures are achieved and maintained for the proper period of time.

This is the first time I've ever heard mention of not using tomato plants.

I had an unsuccesfull garden last year, but it did produce alot of plant material that all went into the CP. Toms, diseased cucurbits, corn(after being a fall decoration on the front porch), basil (woody material lasted longest), and I have continued to do so this year. I did throw out the base of my SVB infested plants hoping to kill the SVB in the garbage can.

Compost all of your yard waste that is not mulch mowed back into the soil and tomatoes are very acceptable to compost as would be the kale. Not composting any plant material that has been bothered by an insect pest is not a good thing either since you will not be spreading that insect pest anywhere.

I've been composting for a long time. I'm always adding tomato plant parts. Prunings, spent plants, bad fruits, etc. My garden looks great. I've never heard of not using tomato vines and if anyone had tried telling me not to in the beginning I would have asked for a decent scientific explanation as that makes no sense to me. I also use diseased plants. If it was alive and not sprayed with tons of pesticides, it gets composted. Well, if it's poison ivy I don't compost it either.

Thank you all for your help.

Glad I found this post. My wife says you can't plant tomatos in the same soil once they have had tom's before. I had also heard the no composting tom's one.

I am glad these scurrilous rumors have been disabused! (I can plant in the same soil next year right? It will have been composted and turned etc long before then)

The only reason I can see for NOT shoivng the tom's into the compost is that when I do it they always seem to self seed (which strangely this year proved to be the best tom's that grew!, even though I didn't know what type they were when I transplanted them out of the flower garden)

There is composting, and then there is composting. We don't all follow the same procedures, and we don't all achieve the same results. Our pile is slow, and I see to it that the finished compost that is dug from the "pit" every spring contains material that has been in the pile for over a year, typically 18 months. I have never seen any evidence of pathogens in our compost, no evidence of plant disease in the garden that could be attributed to our compost. Since we don't have a source of manure, and our pile is mostly browns, it never gets very warm. Its up to the bacteria and fungi in the pile to kill the pathogens, and they seem to be doing the job.

Actually, NOT planting tomatoes in the same place each year is a very sound gardening practice and not a 'scurrilous rumor' :-) Rotating the plantings on a three year schedule with non-tomato family crops is an excellent way to avoid or control the proliferation of soil-borne tomato diseases. Tomato family crops are members of the Solanaceae and include peppers, potatoes, and eggplants in addition to tomatoes.

However, it is not a requirement and if you have never experienced any disease issues with your toms - wilts or blights - you can safely replant in the same location.

Here is a link that might be useful: tomato crop rotation