Brick dust all over veggies!

earthbound_misfit

Stupid (and loads of expletives) builders doing work on neighbouring property and covered my veggies in brick dust (loads - they've been repointing). I am livid with them as the agreement was they were supposed to cover up the plants. Anyway is there a good way to get it off? And what about it running into the soil (it's all in pots as in a concrete yard)? What will happen will the plants be ok?
It's broccoli, sprouts, potatoes and courgette that looks like it's been through nuclear winter...

bloss0m

I am sure a good downpour or a hose down would loosen most of the dust

earthbound_misfit

And how will a dousing in concrete dust affect them? Water and lime is acid rain!

Elsewhere

No it isn't - lime is alkaline and will probably do your soil good.

http://www.which.co.uk/documents/pdf/lime-and-ph-154032.pdf

bloss0m

But you initially said it was brick dust only mention of concrete was your yard. Either way cant see why a good shower wont remove much of the dust and if it bothers you that much in the soil just scrape the top couple of mm and replace it. I doubt any harm can be done with your plants unless you leave it on the leaves in which case they might die due to not getting enough light and photosynthesis

earthbound_misfit wrote: »

And how will a dousing in concrete dust affect them? Water and lime is acid rain!

earthbound_misfit

oops yes I did say brick dust - I meant the concrete stuff between the bricks, they scraped it all out and as it's a quite enclosed space it was thickly covering the plants.
I've repeatedly washed the leaves off, most things okish now but the potatoes still have a thin layer of dust on them - not sure how much is too much?
I'm sure concrete is bad for plants as they are not supposed to let too much into the water system! Perhaps it's not the lime though.
Also it's not just dust on the top layer of soil, obviously it's run in now I've watered it...
And yes it does bother me because this little garden means a lot at a time when life is difficult; it was an achievement for me to create it and it's horrible that these idiots can just waltz in and damage things.

zaax

You could slap them with an injunction (DIY its only £120); send them a bill or let them get away with it.

Elsewhere

I think you are worrying unnecessarily. Think of all the people who've had alterations to their houses, or those living on new housing estates - while the work is going on the ground around looks like a wasteland. But within months lovely gardens are growing and florish despite the concrete etc that lies just under the surface.

I can understand your irritation, especially as the builders said they would protect your plants, and you are probably correct thinking leaving a thick layer of dust on the leaves isn't good for the plants, so you've had to take extra time and trouble to wash them off. However, I think they'll be fine in the long run.

Pity they didn't wrap your garden, though - you could have made a packet selling it as a work of art, like Christo!

jnrm24

I really sympathise with you. We're having lots of building work done following a house fire and the depth of dust from repointing is awful.
Our garden has been organic for years. I keep telling myself that whatever we grow is probably still an awful lot healthier to eat than buying from the supermarket.

theoretica

I expect one reason they aren't supposed to put too much in the water system is because it is a solid, silts out and clogs things up.

Mortar is made from sand, clay, lime - carefully chosen ground up rocks really. Soil is a mixture of weathered rocks and rotted stuff (compost etc). So what has happened is a bit more of one component of the soil has been added - and irritating gritty stuff all over your plants.