Would creosote taint the taste of my tomatoes?

Jonny Lewis, by email

Stefan says:

This season, your greenhouse tomatoes had a very peculiar taste and the only thing you can think of is that you creosoted the greenhouse several years ago and haven’t grown tomatoes there since, until now.

I do hope it was several years ago, as creosote was banned for amateur use in 2003. It’s possible for the tomatoes to have picked up the taint from the creosote as they’re notorious at collecting chemical contamination of all sorts, although 20 years is a long time for it to persist, even though it will have been protected from the elements. But in future, use a safe, modern timber preservative, of which there are many kinds, most of them safely water-based.

I wonder also if you’ve used any weedkiller nearby or perhaps some type of disinfectant in the greenhouse. And was the compost new and fresh?