Smiths Falls Horticultural Society

09/02/2026

I just watched this on 60 Minutes! I intend on wearing a mask when working with bagged potting mixes. I wear gloves also. Who knows what spores are lurking in these bags.

I keep seeing a recent news report about the dangers of contracting Legionnaires' disease from bagged compost/potting mix. A gentleman in Australia nearly lost his life from it earlier this year. If you aren't aware of this issue and the risks, here are the facts:

1. Legionnaires' disease is a kind of pneumonia caused by the microbe Legionella longbeachae. Most people survive if they contract it, but older people, smokers, and those with underlying illnesses have a higher risk of fatality.

2. You contract Legionnaires' disease by getting the microbe into your lungs. That can happen if you inhale dry compost/potting mix or handle it and then touch your mouth and ingest it.

3. Legionella longbeachae has been found in 56% of potting mix in Australia. New Zealand is also a hot spot for it. It's uncommon outside of those regions, but cases have been reported in Japan, the UK/Europe, and the USA. This means you have a much higher risk of contact down under, but it's not unheard of to be in mixes in the Northern Hemisphere.

4. You can avoid being infected by wearing gloves and a mask when handling bagged potting mix. This advice is printed on bagged potting mix in Australia and New Zealand, but I've never seen it in the UK. Still, the RHS officially recommends that you "consider" wearing gloves and a mask when handling it.

Knowing all of this can help you make informed decisions about how you garden and handle bagged potting mix. I have seen them and will continue to handle it without wearing PPE because of lower risk factors—this might not be the case for you, though.

I'll pop a link to the news report below, and drop a comment if you have any further information or experience with Legionnaires' disease from using bagged potting mix.

08/03/2026

I spent a good chunk of my thirties on my knees with an old kitchen knife, scraping dandelions out of the patio cracks. It’s a miserable job, and entirely pointless. You see, nature absolutely hates an empty space. You can fight it every weekend, or you can do what I finally did and let plants do the hard work for you. There is a handful of tough-as-nails, low-growing creepers that actually *thrive* getting trampled between hot paving stones. Once they lock in, the weeds can’t get a foothold. Some of them even release the most incredible, earthy scent when you step on them. Save your knees this season. I've put together a list of the rugged little gap-fillers I actually trust to choke out the weeds—and exactly where you should put them.

08/03/2026