Manure tea overwintered outside - is it safe to use?

Mhpoole 4/17/2024, 1:18 pm

I had some alpaca manure that I got Feb 2023. I didn’t use it all, and after a couple of months, my husband shoveled what was left into a bucket and it sat, forgotten until now. It was outside so it filled with rainwater. When I saw it, I thought maybe it would make a good fertilizer. I put some on my strawberries, but then got worried. I know that alpaca manure generally does not carry E. coli, but is this safe to put on my garden since it’s been sitting, uncovered, in water, out in the weather, for many months. Thanks for your help!

**sanderson** 4/18/2024, 12:49 am

The SFG Foundation recommends that all manures be composted, even alpaca and bunny beans. Even if they are considered "cool" manures, they will have intestinal microbes, including coliform bacteria. I had to look up E. Coli, the disease-causing strain of coliform bacteria, and it said there were no known cases of it in llamas so I assume alpacas would be the same.

In the world of row gardening, which we don't do, manures well mixed into the dirt for 4 months are usually safe for planting. Any pathogenic microbes should have been replaced with the good guys at that point.

As far as the strawberries, they probably will be okay. To be safe, maybe remove all of the berries existing at the time of dumping the buckethose down the plants, and just eat the new ones that develop. ??

**Scorpio Rising** 4/22/2024, 11:22 am

sanderson wrote:As far as the strawberries, they probably will be okay. To be safe, maybe remove all of the berries existing at the time of dumping the buckethose down the plants, and just eat the new ones that develop. ??

That’s actually a good idea, just to be safe.

Mhpoole 4/24/2024, 7:08 pm

Thanks for the replies. I removed all of the berries and flowers. I appreciate your help

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Manure tea overwintered outside - is it safe to use?

Manure tea overwintered outside - is it safe to use?

Re: Manure tea overwintered outside - is it safe to use?

Re: Manure tea overwintered outside - is it safe to use?

Re: Manure tea overwintered outside - is it safe to use?

Re: Manure tea overwintered outside - is it safe to use?


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