Ornamental & Tree Diseases

How about using diseased plant material (prunings of fire blight-infected branches, rose leaves infected with black spot, and similar materials) in my compost? I'm dedicated to recycling and would rather give this material back to Mother Nature rather than leave this material bagged on the curb for the sanitation department

Using diseased plant material in your compost is kind of iffy, but it's okay provided you run a compost in the right way. The "right way" means complete breakdown of all materials added to your compost. Otherwise, you'll end up with more problems than you started with. Contact your local organic gardener, or the County Extension Office for tips how to compost properly. Also see "How's the Health of Your Garden Compost?" for more information on this topic.