composting "sick" soil?

I'm growing a basil plant in a pot right now that looks sick (the plant, not the pot.) Leaves keep getting black spots on them that look like some sort of blight or fungus. I've got new seedlings started that are ready for their new home. I'd like to get rid of the soil in the pot and start fresh to hopefully stop this blight, and I'm wondering:

Is it safe to add the soil to my composter? Or will that then infect all the compost with whatever is causing the blight?

I'd rather not just throw it out, but I'd really rather not have everything I own with blight spots!

Thanks for any advice!

tucsonjill: I would find a spot out in that Arizona sunshine and let it work on that soil.

Jill, the trick is for your compost to get hot enough to kill weed seeds and other bad stuff. The things I have found that make my compost pile(s) heat up are grass cuttings and coffeee grounds. HTH.

So Mary, if it kills weed seeds it'll kill fungus? That's what I'm afraid this is, and I sure don't want to spread it around my yard!

I was thinking, after the advice of gloria125 above, that after we're done with rains (like now?), I would spread it around in our cracked wading pool and bake it for a bit before tossing it in. Doesn't seem like that could hurt anything...

Thanks, gloria and Mary!

I think so Jill, but I'm not completely sure about that. I'm new at this stuff too. Maybe someone more knowledgable will wander in.

And since it looks like we're gonna get rain again this afternoon (maybe), this just might have to be an end-of-September project... don't wanna just make mud!

Huh - I've never known basil to get anything - you might want to take an affected sprig to one of the nurseries or up to the County extension office and see if they can ID it. It might be a number of things - a bug, for instance. And even if it *is* a fungus, whether or not it is soil-borne or not is yet another issue.... so, before you dump out your pot, you might wanna delve a little further.

U of A also has a pretty extensive plant pathology web page or two - complete with pictures - if you don't feel like getting out.

But yeah, your bright, hot sunshine will kill just about anything!

Good idea, pagancat--and thanks for giving me another excuse to go to the nursery! Can't just barge in and pick their minds and NOT buy anything, now can I? :)

Here's a pic from earlier this summer. You can see the dark spots on some of the leaves, with sort of a light-ish colored center. The problem has gotten progressively more severe. I cut the plant down to all healthy-looking nubs, and the regrowth has the same problem, and badly. I'm suspecting a fungus merely based on the fact that lots of tomato foliar fungi have a similar look to them, but that's hardly scientific. None of my other plants (tomatoes or otherwise) have the same problem. Odd. I've got new seedlings that are ready for a new home, so at least I won't be without my basil fix for too much longer!

There ya go!

I dunno, Jill - I'm thinking it might be a bug; they look awfully healthy otherwise.

You might also want to pick up another type of Basil, assuming that you can get a variety that doesn't have the same problem. I did a Black Opal strain this summer - gorgeous dark purple, but it seemed to go to flower awfully early... still tasted great on mozzarella and prosciutto...

No signs of bugs anywhere (and trust me, I've looked!) This is standard genovese sweet, which I've successfully grown before. I'm stumped, but I'm also not willing to go without! :) I will try the nursery tomorrow and see what they have to say.

Best of luck!