Cakes said:
<...as far as pests and harmful bacteria from amendments such as manure>>I have never heard of any that affect plants. If you have, I'd appreciate you naming a few.>...
Composting involves the microbial decomposition of piled organic materials into partially decomposed residues, called compost or humus. When made correctly, the finished product has a pH near neutral and a C:N ratio close to 15:1, the majority of weed seeds and pathogens in the original material have been destroyed, and it provides a well-balanced and slow release nutrient supply (Smith, 1994).
One of the worst of course, is
E. coli O157:H7 .
The plant isn't affected by E. coli, but the people who handle the plant will be if it's present. Many harmful bacteria in addition to O157:H7 can be found in animal manure. A quick Google will find them.
Cow manure is the coldest; that is, the least Nitrogen rich. But thats not a bad thingtoo much Nitrogen gives you big plants with few to no fruits and flowers; and cow manure is the most balanced of the barnyard manures, making it very appropriate for all garden uses.
Horse manure is hot; richer in Nitrogen and physically warm to the
eh
touch so to speak. It is
also lower in the fruiting and rooting nutrients Phosphorus and Potassium, which is why we always warn people not to use horse manure on
flowering plants. Use it on non-flowering, nitrogen-hungry plants like lawns, corn, potatoes, garlic, and lettuce; but not on tomatoes, peppers, flowers, and such. This
IS generally the manure most widely available to gardeners, however; so at the very least, take it and incorporate it into your compost, where it will lose its fruit-and-flower inhibiting power.
Sheep: I was surprised in my research (yesI looked stuff up this week!) to see that this is even hotter than horse, with about half again as much nitrogen. But it is
equally rich in Potassium, making it much more balanced. Sheep are smaller (and people say Im not observant!) and less numerous than horsies, so I dont imagine youd ever be offered much. But take what you can get, and use it sparingly. Its balanced, but
rich.
Poultry: Hotter than hot! More than twice as hot as horse manure, so a little goes a long, long way. Mix
small amounts of this material well into your compost piles and the result will be a powerful organic fertilizer. Again, keep the amounts smalland even then, keep an eye on any fruiting and flowering plants that receive this gift. If they get big but under-produce otherwise, back off a little.
Other If the ****-producer is a vegetarian (rabbit, gerbil, guinea pig, llama, elephant, rhino, etc.) go right ahead and incorporate it into your compost pile. (Warningelephant pies are the size of a football, composed of mostly undigested roughage, and take forever to break down. I recommend helping things along with a machete and/or baseball bat. But once it
is finally done, the resulting compost keeps the deer
MILES away.)
If the animal is a meat eater, like a dog, cat, lion or tiger, do
not use the material in
any form; even meat-eaters that are kept indoors can harbor dangerous parasites that are completely absent in veggie manures.
In addition to the bacterialogical problems accociated with fresh manure, many pests are found it it that can be harmful to humans because of their disease carring capibility.
Many kinds of flies;
House Flies
Stables Flies
Horn Flies
Face Flies
Horse Flies