Composting dog poop.

I noticed from a different subject, dog poop can be composted. My question is
what do you add to it to compost it down.?
As my one dog is quite generous with his donations, I want to make use of it.
Any advice?

 

I can answer this

I'm intending doing the same, liliana, and my research tells me that I need
a) a composter - going to buy a darlek style one, or two, from the local council outlet;
b) some straw (or other "brown" stuff e.g. cardboard/twigs/paper etc) and
c) dog pooh!

What you cannot do, is use it on your fruit/veg patch The temperatures in our climate are unlikely to kill all of the not-so-nice stuff that lives in dog doings.

Now, I have straw in abundance (it's used in my duck house/run); if I did not have it, I would go the cardboard route; if I did not have cardboard, I would be using:- free newspapers/junk mail/shredded 'personal' details from mail, plus twiggy cuttings from shrubs/trees.

Composting dog muck is not new, it's just some people shy away from it from fear of any toxins it may contain. But, like any well rotted compost, it does have it's uses!

 

I guess you face the same challenges in terms of pathogens as you would face in getting rid of human poo, which leads me to suggest a bit of research in the term 'tree bog'.

Basically, certain plants form symbiotic relationships with certain micro-organisms, and some of those good micro-organisms can fight the bad micro-organisms, so with a combination of the right plants, and time, poo can be made safe.

A tree bog is usually built from willow and surrounded by comfrey.

Other strategies feature reed beds with willow, which does the same job.

I'm not sure how practical any of this would be in a typical suburban back garden though.

 

Sounds a bit of a faff (if you don't mind me saying, clue )

I have researched this and I stand by my post; layering it with straw is the best option, but, layering with card/paper is the next best thing. The proviso is: do not use it on edibles.

 

This was discussed here a couple years back and the final answer is----NO do not do it.

 

i wouldn't be too keen on this at all tbh

 

To be honest I don't think this is a good idea. Would I want children playing near beds etc where this has been used? Not really. What about the smell?

 

I would suggest not using a darlek as this would be too expensive just for using dog poo, unless you have one lying around. Just buy a cheap round dustbin, remove the bottom and sink it 2 foot into the ground. The depth should be enough for any "deadly pathogens" to disperse deep in the soil.

Also the worms will be able to digest the waste much quicker than a traditional compost bin as the waste will be dragged back into the soil. You need add a huge amount of carbon based waste to counteract the huge amount of nitrogen you are adding to it. The best thing to use is either straw or woodshavings. I'm not sure if cardboard would have as much carbon in it compared to woodshavings or straw.

I know of a few people who have had success with this method and they don't seem to get much compost out of it in the end to worry about disposing of it.

 

What you feed your dog may also have an effect. If you're feeding Bakers or the like which is full of nasties, then would it take longer to break down? It would certainly smell really bad.

I feed mine on a good quality all natural food, which gives a nice crumbly texture which breaks down easily and doesn't smell half as bad.

Having said that, still don't fancy composting it

 

We all eat some thing which has had poo to feed plants, farmers use cow poo on grass which is fed to cows to make milk, wheat for bread, biscuits etc has had cow poo and some farmers use human poo to feed there crops, (but the human poo crops are not to go for human food chain but this does happern some times )

 

I hate to say it but treated human poo does directly go back into the human food chain! It's not meant to but does if you count grazing lambs on pasture which has been "fertilised" by human poo. I think (not sure of my facts) that the spreading of treated human waste has been banned in England but not in Scotland. The waste is meant to be ploughed in immediately after it's spread and then crops grown for animal feed, however that is not always the case. The smell from treated human waste is beyond description! and there is so much Chlorine? in it that when it's 1st spead you can't go outside as your eyes sting and nose burns. Give me cow poo any day, even chicken manure is preferable and that's saying something!

 

I'd prefer my children playing near a bed of composted pooh as opposed to playing in the local park/field or even street, where people have (or, in some cases have not!) merely picked up the lumps with a bag, leaving behind some matter

 

I have two dogs, but I cannot imagine for one minute wanting to spread that around the garden Having said that that they manage to do good job themselves by spreading it quite easily all over my lawn, and the cats all in my beds...hate digging that up

 

True

 

You could always turn the poo into charcoal instead. No pathogens to worry about then.

http://www.nakedwhiz.com/makinglump.htm

I can't see how it could even smell because the gases escaping from the 'material' have to leave via the outer drum, where the fire is, so will be immediately burned off before they get as far as the open air.

The guy in the article is making his charcoal from wood, but any carbon based (organic) material can be used.