Why dog poo can become a nutrient
Rather than becoming a pollutant, dog poo can become a nutrient for your garden, by being composted in your backyard.
If you have a garden you can make your own compost bin by adding the dog poo to grass clippings, plant or other organic waste, and even sawdust as a source of food for the microbes. The microbes then break down the organic material into humus. During this process the temperature in the compost mixture rises to 50-60℃. Over time, the heat will kill most canine bacteria, as they are adapted to live at lower temperatures in the dog’s gut.
Compost contains billions of microbes per gram of material and competition from these (as well as the environmental conditions of the compost that are very different from the dog digestive system) assist in promoting destruction of pathogenic canine microbes, if present.
The compost needs to be turned over weekly to ensure uniform composing and oxygenation. Over days or weeks the temperature in the compost drops, indicating when the decomposition process is complete.
Then it’s time to use your compost to improve your garden!
Winter is here, but there are always gardening questions. Get answers from Ask an Expert, an online question-and-answer tool from Oregon State Universitys Extension Service. OSU Extension faculty and Master Gardeners reply to queries within two business days, usually less. To ask a question, simply go to the OSU Extension website and type in a question and the county where you live. Here are some questions asked by other gardeners. Whats yours?
Q: Last season several of our artichoke plants produced artichokes that had few leaves. Not the plants themselves; they were robust and healthy. It was the “fruit” that didnt develop completely. This happened on two different varieties (Violetta and Globe). Others in the garden were just fine. Any thoughts on why this might be happening.
Q: I continue to puzzle over how and when to prune my fig trees. I am in Corvallis. – Benton CountyDont Edit
A: Walnut trees (Juglans ssp.) have a chemical (juglone) that keeps many plants from growing and/or thriving if located near them. In addition, their shade is too deep for many flowering plants. Here is a list of plants that can grow near walnut trees. Azalea is an understory plant (shade) not listed as being tolerant, so it may be doing poorly due to the juglone. – Kris LaMar, OSU Extension Master GardenerDont Edit
Q: What are the best varieties of elderberries to grow for jam or juice? They would be planted on a 2-acre lot, north of Eugene. – Lane CountyDont EditDont Edit
When Can Dog Poop Work as Fertilizer?
You can use dog poop as fertilizer after it has fully composted as part of your compost pile. The composting process reaches a temperature of up to 60 degrees Celsius. This is sufficient to kill the harmful pathogens in dog poop.
Once the compost is ready, you can use it to fertilize the flower plants in your garden. But make sure it does not come into contact with your vegetable plants because it may still contain traces of dog poop. This can make you sick if the vegetables are consumed without a good cleaning.
Dog Poo Compost – Recycling the SMELLY stuff into GARDEN GOLD
Everybody poops. Everybody, and that includes Fido. The difference between Fido and you is that Fido may, and probably does, think it’s perfectly okay to defecate in the garden. Given that pets have a natural disregard for the sanctity of your tomatoes, how do you go about sanitizing garden soil?
If there are pet feces in the garden, is disinfecting contaminated soil even necessary? After all, many gardeners add manure to the soil, so what is different about dog poop in soil?