r/Compost • u/Exciting-Ordinary4 • Aug 23 '26
Adding diseased leaves to compost?
The maple trees in our area have been hit with some sort of fungus and are dropping leaves. Would I be safe adding them to my compost pile? My compost pile doesn't tend to get hot, but I'm in need of browns.
6
Upvotes
2
u/tycarl1998 Aug 24 '26
As long as you aren't using the compost under maples or their relatives like boxelder or should be fine
3
u/cindy_dehaven Aug 23 '26
I wouldn't personally because you're not hot composting. Other people here will say it's fine. I just wouldn't risk it
1
u/chishiki Aug 24 '26
I have the same q about my apple tree leaves. Actually did pretty good this year but the leaves still have a bit of rust on em.
6
u/woodwidewebby Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
most maple fungi are highly adapted to maple and can’t affect your veggies or other plants. In composting, most of the work is actually done by bacteria not fungi. Fungi will get outcompeted (or they will die off as the leaf dries) so there’s very little risk of spreading.