I wouldn’t put Bracken in the compost, wouldn’t have OH shredding or cutting it up. its destroyed the wild flower hedges along our lanes, Ok as a compost if you can hot compost it, I haven’t got those facilities so wouldn’t put it on veg beds. It’s a toxic plant with very deep roots that spread a long way and is carcinogenif. Not one I would touch except to burn. They're not allowed to burn it off the Moors now, but some fires do accidentally start.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
Using bracken for composting or as a soil improver
The young green fronds of bracken can be collected for the compost heap where they will rot down slowly, enriching the nutrient content of the compost. Bracken stems are too woody to be added to the compost or leafmould heap, unless they are first shredded or chopped into small sections.Bracken produces numerous spores, but these seldom seem to germinate and grow in the compost heap. Small sections of the roots can regenerate, and therefore should not be used in the compost.Dead bracken collected in autumn can be rotted down to make mulch, in the same way as tree leaves are collected and rotted down to make leafmould.
I looked it up recently as we had some piled up down the allotment and there were a few sites warning about how carcinogenic the spores can be (which have been linked to stomach cancers, even through eating animal products that have eaten bracken). It was advised you hot compost it, which significantly reduces these spores.
I guess the risk depends on the volume and I've added a little to our compost, shredded and layered, but the majority of the heap was moved to a quiet area to decompose naturally.
I've used dead bracken as a thick cover for my non lifted dahlias, for a few years now, and it works perfectly but still looks the same come spring when not shredded. I dry it out, pop it in the shed and it's good for a few years.
Apparently sheep ticks like to hang around bracken, so you might need to make sure you haven't brought any "stowaways" home with you after cutting and collecting it.
I guess that in future, cutting and composting it in spring while the shoots are still soft might be safest, from the point of view of avoiding both carcinogenic spores and sheep ticks, as well as eliminating the need to chop up woody stems. And apart from avoiding the spores, my understanding is that you don't need to worry about your health unless you eat the stuff.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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its destroyed the wild flower hedges along our lanes, Ok as a compost if you can hot compost it, I haven’t got those facilities so wouldn’t put it on veg beds.
It’s a toxic plant with very deep roots that spread a long way and is carcinogenif. Not one I would touch except to burn.
They're not allowed to burn it off the Moors now, but some fires do accidentally start.
RHS>
Using bracken for composting or as a soil improver
The young green fronds of bracken can be collected for the compost heap where they will rot down slowly, enriching the nutrient content of the compost. Bracken stems are too woody to be added to the compost or leafmould heap, unless they are first shredded or chopped into small sections.Bracken produces numerous spores, but these seldom seem to germinate and grow in the compost heap. Small sections of the roots can regenerate, and therefore should not be used in the compost.Dead bracken collected in autumn can be rotted down to make mulch, in the same way as tree leaves are collected and rotted down to make leafmould.I guess the risk depends on the volume and I've added a little to our compost, shredded and layered, but the majority of the heap was moved to a quiet area to decompose naturally.
I've used dead bracken as a thick cover for my non lifted dahlias, for a few years now, and it works perfectly but still looks the same come spring when not shredded. I dry it out, pop it in the shed and it's good for a few years.
I guess that in future, cutting and composting it in spring while the shoots are still soft might be safest, from the point of view of avoiding both carcinogenic spores and sheep ticks, as well as eliminating the need to chop up woody stems. And apart from avoiding the spores, my understanding is that you don't need to worry about your health unless you eat the stuff.