Question about green compost material

Razed Bed 4/13/2015, 1:19 pm

We have a large source for many cubic feet of compost greens, but we are not sure whether we can use it or not.

Our dog is confined to a 50 by 20 dogpen, and she does her business in the pen. We clean up as much of the poop as we can with our scooper, but we miss some when the grass and weeds get high. Because she fertilizes the pen, it grows thrice as fast as the rest of the yard.

In other words, I can cut the dogpen every 4 or 5 days and have a ton of clippings for compost.

My question is: If we find the poop and remove it from the clippings, are the clippings safe to throw into the compost pile? Does the poop release pathogens into the grass even if there is no evidence of the poop itself?

CapeCoddess 4/14/2015, 10:52 am

What a great question. My guess is that the grass clippings will take up only what they need and leave the rest to the earth. Personally, if all the poo was removed, I would use the grass. But hopefully someone with more knowledge will respond.

CC

CapeCoddess 4/14/2015, 11:37 am

Well, I learned something new today:

Dog waste is a
safe soil additive
for revegetation
and landscaping
when it is
composted
properly

Dog waste compost can be used as a soil additive
for revegetation, lawn establishment, and planting
beds. It should not be used on crops grown for
human consumption. When used in a potting mix or
flower beds, a 25 percent compost blend is
recommended. Compost has a relatively high salinity
and is not recommended for germinating seedlings.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_035763.pdf

So, since you can use it on lawns and plants other than edibles, then those plants or parts thereof go into the compost pile, it seems to me that using the grass in your dog run is safe as long as you can get the poo completely out first. But then, your dogs poo isn't composted as stated in the article. So the question may still be open.
CC

Razed Bed 4/15/2015, 6:55 pm

It is so tempting to use it, but we only grow edibles. Even our flowers are edible. I guess I will just let the clippings stay in the pen and compost the lawn there.

Thanks for coming up with something official enough to convince me to let sleeping dog poo lie.

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Question about green compost material

Question about green compost material

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I figured as much

Re: Question about green compost material


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