Can I put mildewed plants in my compost bin?

[midnightexpress]

The title says it all really. I have several large courgette plants that have got quite a lot of powdery mildew on them. Once the courgettes are done, can I put the plants in the compost bin? Or do I need to bin them/burn them?

Think I would bin them just to avoid the risk of contaminating the compost.

it is best to avoid putting diseased plants into your compost. Bin or burn

Thanks for your replies. Good to know. Such a shame - they're so biiiiiig. It always gives me such satisfaction to put a great big load of stuff in my compost bin from the garden. hey ho.

Ahhh - had first set of plants this year and noticed they have this similar powdery stuff all over but didn't know what it was - thanks!!

Great courgettes though - more than we can keep on top of just with 3 plants!

to be honest I'd compost them. powdery mildew is (IME) pretty endemic on courgettes, and is mostly a response to end-of-season stress: dry roots and damp air. I do compost mine and I only get powdery mildew on really susceptible plants like courgettes, wherever I end up using the compost. If you are lucky enough to get your compost hot it should kill the spores anyway.