when they say manure...

[Papa Deuce]

for compost, can that also mean dog poop? I mean horse poop... dog poop... it's all the same?

 

[LoveWDW]

I don't know, but here are my thoughts. Horses are vegetarian, so their manure is all plant materials and will rot. The manure of carnivorous dogs would contain meat matter and would draw maggots. This is conjecture. Also, I would wonder about diseases in the dog manure. I do know that expectant mothers are told not to handle cat manure because of disease possibility. Even though manure used as fertilizer is usually aged or composted, I would be wary of disease.

 

[wdwmom2]

The only difference between horse and dog poop would be size!!! Only joking. I don't have the answer, but here are a few links...


http://mailman.cloudnet.com/pipermail/compost/2001-April/008268.html
http://www.compostinfo.com/tutorial/DogWaste.htm
http://www.hdra.org.uk/factsheets/gg4.htm

 

[rockyroad]

I wouldn't put dog poop into a garden where I was growing food.

Do you know anybody with a horse?
If you do, you would still probably need to age the stuff, depending on the bedding. The wood shavings can cause problems if not well aged.
If your garden is small you might try alfalfa pellets from a feed store too...depending on the price.

 

[amid chaos]

Yup, you need to make sure the horse poop has been aged and appropriatly decomposed. No dog poop, not a natural diet like the horse.

 

[marydmjj]

NO dog or cat poop - their waste can carry diseases and parasites like e-coli and giardia. When it composts down it doesn't kill the bad stuff. You can compost the waste of vegetarian animals.

 

[mtblujeans]

Know anyone with a cow? That's the best....

 

[loriandmatt]

if you live near a place that sells mulch or better yet - a mushroom farm....

ask for mushroom soil. it is horse manure that has already had mushrooms grown in it. nicely broken down, won't burn your plants, but still very good fertilizer and capable of producing great compost. we till this in with our regular soil a few weeks before planting. monster plants with tons of fruit/flowers/veggies.

-lori

 

[TN Traveler]

Defintely do NOT use dog or cat manure for above stated reasons. Plus the acid/PH ratio will be different than cow/horse. We have black angus and hereford cattle as well as goats so DH cleans out our barn every spring and then spreads it over our garden. About once every 3 or 4 yrs he spreads it over the yard. Other than this year, we have an awesome garden. Lack of rain this year has left me w/o any corn, green beans and other veggies I always have. Chicken manure is good for roses--or so I'm told....don't have chickens....or roses.

Karen

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Cat manure has toxoplasmosis, whipworms, roundworms, pinworms, tapeworms...all transmissible to humans. Same with any other carnivore. It's pretty much all about the parasites. It's not the bacteria...that occurs pretty much in all poop. And it's not about a natural diet...bovines and equines are just about as full of antibiotics as any other animal, probably more so with cows. All poop makes good compost, but don't use carnivore poop because of the parasites. And make sure if you use chicken poop, you compost it a good long time...very high in nitrogen, will burn your plants used fresh. Horse poop is great, but full of weed seeds. Horses only have one stomach, so digest incompletely...many weed seeds make it through unscathed. Cow poop is quite wonderful...well-digested, quick composting. Best is from cows raised organically.

 

[Steve Jacobs]

Don't know exactly what is available in the US but over here we have a number of different manures available. Many are supplied by garden centres or horticultural suppliers in bagged form. The best are either farmyard based manures ( horse, cow, chicken poo) or derived from composted seaweed. If these are not available you could try the following.
1 Composted garden or kitchen waste (but only vegetative material)
2 Small domestic animal waste ( rabbit or guinea pig etc)
3 Nettle, comfrey or seaweed liquid. ( ie a large bunch hung in a barrel of water a few weeks till the nutrients leach out).
4 Green manure. (fast growing seeds of the bean family that are dug into the soil about a month after sowing. These can be bought fairly cheaply from many stores as dried pulses, alfalfa etc. which need to be soaked in tepid water for 24hrs prior to sowing.)
Horse poo is OK but I prefer to use it as a liquid feed, again suspending some in a net bag inside a barrel of water. This help with the undigested weed seed and also makes the fertilizer safe to use in a very short time.
One special "treat" I have access to, mainly because of my work with a number of wildlife parks here in the UK is a product called Zoo Poo. A mix of Elephant, Rhino, Zebra etc. waste. It is sold commercially here in the UK but I am also lucky enough to be able to help myself !!!
Steve

 

[fkj2]

Clicked on this board by accident but saw this thread.

Cow manure can be spread on a garden and rototilled (or plowed down) and plants/seeds sown immediately. Horse manure will "burn" the plants and if you use it, it should be spread the fall before the spring when you plant.

Both are great fertilizers, although I would prefer cow manure for a garden.

 

[DebºoºS]

One special "treat" I have access to, mainly because of my work with a number of wildlife parks here in the UK is a product called Zoo Poo. A mix of Elephant, Rhino, Zebra etc. waste. It is sold commercially here in the UK but I am also lucky enough to be able to help myself !!!
Steve

Wow, now that's good poo!!!! Must be like gold dust in the garden

 

[Steve Jacobs]

Wow, now that's good poo!!!! Must be like gold dust in the garden

The plants think so but I cant see anyone wearing it as jewelry though

 

[Steve Jacobs]

How do I get rid of the code that keeps appearing at the bottom of my posts?
( just worked it out)

 

[dianeschlicht]

One of the best manures for yards and gardens is sheep manure. It is also odorless and not at all messy. My dad used to buy it from a sheep farmer, but it also comes commercially.