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Coal dust in soil ... is this ok?

DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
in Problem solving
A friend on the cookery forum I'm a member of posted this query the other day (we have a little gardening section) and no one has an answer for her, so I said I'd ask you lot ... this is what she said ... 

"... I am tidying my elderly neighbour's garden. I came across two sacks of garden rubbish and had to tip it out as the sacks were heavy and disintegrating. The contents had, I thought, turned into nice soil, but when I transferred some into a pot I discovered that amongst everything else, there had been coal in the sack. It has disintegrated into the other organic matter and the soil has a rich coal smell. I have emptied some into a pot but wonder if anything would grow in it and if so, anything in particular. Any ideas?..."


Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    Fresh coal dust might be a problem, but in our last garden, the Alpine section was made on the area where over the years the householders had emptied the ashes from their coal fires. That soil was fill of bits of unburned coal. Things thrived.
    Try testing it with some annuals or even a fast growing ephemeral weed.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2021
    Thank you @palustris ... I'll pass that on  :)

    Any more thoughts anyone?  Particularly as it's 'fresh' coal dust rather than ashes and cinders. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    I wouldn't use it for anything edible but it should be fine scattered through a border. It was once a tree of course, albeit a very long time ago :) . I have bits of coal scattered through an unmade drive and it doesn't seem to inhibit any weed growth.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    edited July 2021
    As long as it is spread about, I think it will be fine - after all, there's a lot of natural coal in the soil in many parts.  I think the only worry is with any heavy metal contaminants which may be present in deep mined coal, but as long as only non-edibles are grown in it, that wouldn't be any kind of health worry.  Coal is almost pure carbon, so it may even have beneficial effects in small quantities. :)
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Thank you folks  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    Perhaps be careful what you may breathe in whilst sorting thru the sacks ?

    Does the Coal Board still exist ?  If so, some enquiries there may give an idea of the best/safest way to either use or dispose ?

    I can't remember when I last burned coal so I don't really know .
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I haven’t used it on the garden, only wood ash, but they do say that coal dust burns roots.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    If it’s dust rather than ashes and cinders, it could be a chimney sweep’s sweepings, so different to natural ground coal, more like fly ash, which can be problematic, something to do with extreme alkalinity plus the heavy metals. I have a vague memory of some sort of chemical reaction with water from somewhere creating a nasty soup, but can’t recall 🤔 I failed chemistry, so worth checking in case I’m talking b*llocks. I’m sure in small quantities spread about it’s fine but probably wouldn’t spread it around the base of a potted plants, especially acid lovers, just in case..
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I don't think it'll be an issue. When we started sorting the garden after we moved here, when we started clearing long grass and weeds out of the border at the front, it became obvious that someone had had a load of coal dumped on there at some point - there was a layer of coal dust and some lumps too. We picked out the bigger lumps but mixed the rest into the soil, and it's been fine ever since.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited July 2021
    @Dovefromabove    The old slag heaps round the defunct coal mines in Mons and Charleroi and thereabouts are now covered in trees and shrubs and wildflowers that have arrived by themselves and re-occupied the land.  Full of bits of coal.   major wildlife refuge now.

    I had 2 gardening friends who lived near Charleroi and gardened on what was effectively coal shale.  Both had gorgeous gardens full of interesting plants and fruit and veggies too.   Both improved their soil with plenty of garden compost and manure when they could get it as drainage could be fierce but otherwise no probs at all with coal.

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
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