Is It Safe To Harvest Vegetables Near A Yew Shrub?

Question

Hello, Over the summer we moved into a home a handful of tall yew shrubs. I had placed my vegetable container pots nearby before I came to learn how poisonous these shrubs are. I noticed that some of the spruce tips had fallen into the containers and some of the berries had fallen into the rain water I used to water these plants. I didn’t think much of it until I looked if these berries were indeed poisonous or not. To my dismay, not only are the berries poisonous but all the parts of the shrub is very poisonous. Does the poison from the yew shrub transfer to the edible plants that grow near it? What about the water. Does the yew berries poison the water and then the soil, plant, produce, etc.? Your thoughts and expertise on the matter would be greatly appreciated. Lynn

Answer 1

These rather large molecules will not be taken up by plants, nearby. It will be safe to harvest and consume nearby plants as long as you do not consume the plant itself.