I may ave contaminated the soil in my garden?
Growing novice
Posts: 2
Hello to all, I need some help and advice, I have recently burned a large quantity of painted wood on my vegetable patch, not thinking about possible lead contamination from the ash, is this something I need to worry about or not?
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Posts
Yes, the wood ash will be contaminated by lead if the paint was of the old lead-containing type.
DEFRA has issued a guide to lead hazards on the land, and they advise that ash contaminated by lead be taken away and disposed of at an appropriate Council waste site.
Lead ceased to be used in household paint in the UK in 1963 - how old was the paintwork you burned?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Growing Novice. I had the same problem with lead pianted wood and I followed the instructions from an old guy across the road....He told me not to grow anything in suspected LEAD infested areas. Quote...turn the soil over once a week adding a dressing of compost and some phostrogen, until weeds appear. after 3 months try growing some cheap flowers or seeds until you get some results. But, I waited until the following spring, and the daffodills, crocus, and a few tulips I had planted in December all showed themselves this month . Hope this is helpful. HL.
is there any scientifically backed evidence that you've A: caused any harm, or that B; food grown there will be contaminated? I ask because I don't know the answer.
Quite likley the paint has lead in it, as the house is 1920s, unfortunately the ash has been on the soil for much of the winter so its quite likely any lead will have been washed into the soil now, so I understand it some crops can been grown an safely eaten , salad leaf crops and root vegetables should be avoided, n can't find out about squash? I don't think it's worth the risk though, I'm gutted!