vegetable patch under yew tree

does anybody know if my recently prepared new vegetable patch will be effected by being partly positioned below an old yew tree. My concern is that the poisonous leaves, seeds etc that now lay on the surface may in some way dangerously effect my crop.
any advice very gratefully received by an enthusiastic & concerned beginner!

 

Hi Guy
Your Yew tree should not affect the ediblity of your crops unless you accidently ingest some of the seeds, (the toxins cannot transfer by osmosis to your veg!) Suggest you rake off as much of the detritus as possible before sowing/planting & continue to hoe inbetween plants- what crops are you growing? I would suggest inspecting & washing all your harvest thoroughly, just to check if any of the sticky seeds have got attached (the fleshy part of the berry is NOT poisonous, by the way). I'd be more concerned about shade & soil dryness from the tree. Veg do like their sunshine, & moisture (although there are crops that do fine in shade) Hope this helps!

[ May 04, 2005, 06:18 PM: Message edited by: Bayleaf ]

 

Hi Bayleaf
very many thanks, this sounds less worrying than I thought. I am growing asparagus here so when we do eventually get a crop then there is little chance of picking up seeds.
The tree is up some steps from the patch. Therefore it only cuases a shadow at the end of the day and the rest of the time the position is good in that its against a south facing wall and water drains down this wall as there is no gutter.
fingers crossed, very helpfull & thanks again
Kind regards
Guy