Poisoned pumpkin vine

[Pauljm]

Hi All,
Our property backs on to some public land that is overgrown with weeds and bush. I have sweet potato and pumpkin vines growing out there to curb the weeds which works a treat. One of the pumpkin vines grew about 10m past my fence line to behind my neighbors place. It had 2 large butternuts on it nearly ready to pick. My neighbour hasn’t poisoned behind his house for a couple of years but decided to do so which killed the vine with the pumpkins on it. So my question is would the pumpkins themselves have poison in them to the point where it would be inedible or dangerous to eat. Seems a waste but also not worth the risk? Opinions anyone?
Thanks in advance… Paul

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I wish I knew.
I would personally be cautious if you left them linger in the poison, but if you took them as soon as you noticed I would make sure to really give them a good wash and then check how they go. Do note with this I am not in the least an expert and you will have to either depend on your own gut feeling or (what I hope) someone else has an answer.

 

[Pauljm]

Hi Mandy and Thanks for the reply. Yep its a shame as I have waited for the big butternuts for it seems a couple of months to fully ripen. Just chopped up another jap one that was out there that wasn’t poisoned but had a big hole chewed out of it by a rat or possum or something. Only a half inch deep or something I assume the rest of it is fine?Thanks again…Paul

 

[ToeNailz]

the way Poison works is it gets into the plants "blood stream" and circulates killing the plant ... so yes it would be in the fruit/pumpkin ...

this also means DONT feed it to any pets/chickens or into your compost .....

personal experience of both poisoned chickens and a toxic compost that didn't let anything grow or killed anything it was put on

best advice ... Bin it in normal waste (not organics that gets turned into compost) or if allowed burn in a campfire/incinerator

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

the way Poison works is it gets into the plants "blood stream" and circulates killing the plant ... so yes it would be in the fruit/pumpkin ...

this also means DONT feed it to any pets/chickens or into your compost .....

personal experience of both poisoned chickens and a toxic compost that didn't let anything grow or killed anything it was put on

best advice ... Bin it in normal waste (not organics that gets turned into compost) or if allowed burn in a campfire/incinerator

Sad to hear that, but thank you for letting us know!

 

[Pauljm]

Yep thanks toe nail I still wonder or question whether the fact the actual pumpkin stems were dried out and brown (ready to pick) would change the uptake of poison to the actual pumpkin itself. If only my neighbours grew edibles instead of weeds outside their back fence we could all live in harmony and eat healthier at the same time. Thanks for your reply…Paul

 

[ToeNailz]

Yep thanks toe nail I still wonder or question whether the fact the actual pumpkin stems were dried out and brown (ready to pick) would change the uptake of poison to the actual pumpkin itself. If only my neighbours grew edibles instead of weeds outside their back fence we could all live in harmony and eat healthier at the same time. Thanks for your reply…Paul

if the stem was completely DRIED up then there is NO "Blood Stream" so to speak of
but also depends how long ago he poisoned it eg ... was it just before the centre of the stem dried up completely ???

 

[ToeNailz]

and do you know if he sprayed it directly over the pumpkin ?? or just in 1 spot ???

 

[Pauljm]

and do you know if he sprayed it directly over the pumpkin ?? or just in 1 spot ???

Hi again… the closest to the pumpkin he would have sprayed would be a few metres away. I have got others ready to pick so I might play it safe and toss them out. I assume you would get sick or something if they actually contained poison?
Paul

 

[ToeNailz]

Hi again… the closest to the pumpkin he would have sprayed would be a few metres away. I have got others ready to pick so I might play it safe and toss them out. I assume you would get sick or something if they actually contained poison?
Paul

indeed you could end up very unwell .....

its also more the "what if" that you cant risk in this situation .... very sad loss but in this case better safe than sorry

 

[JP 1983]

You should check which poison was used. If it was glyphosate ("Round-up"), I would avoid not only eating anything that died as a result of it, but also anything that grows on that same area for the next few years. Glyphosate is a known carcinogen and gets inside everything it comes into contact with (even plants it does not kill), and breaks down in the soil very slowly. It's worse than DDT but big Ag has the $$$ to throw around at regulatory agencies and governments to ensure it's never banned anywhere. Scum of the earth Monsanto. /rant

 

[DThille]

Apparently under certain conditions it breaks down quicker, but that may be a hen’s teeth sort of situation outside of lab conditions.

I concur with your rant. As a teenager I worked summers at a local park (campground / playground / golf course) and one day was tasked with spot spraying dandelions with 2,4-D. It was at the end of the day that I read the precautions on the label…I was a bit grumpy after that.