As anyone with a dog or multiple dogs can attest, there is a lot of dog poop to deal with. Dog poop is also known as dog waste. According to the dog poop composition theory, most agricultural extension experts will tell you that it is not good for planting and should be put in bins. Unless you conduct extensive research and discover that, with some proper measures, dog waste can be successfully handled and controlled.
No. Dog poop does not make good fertilizer.
Below are some of the reasons why dog poop is not a good fertilizer:
1. It May Contain Harmful Parasites
The dog’s feces contain millions of bacteria and may also contain parasites. Most parasites can even affect humans, including roundworms, parvovirus, hookworms, trichinosis, and giardia.
2. Time-Consuming to Break Down
Dog poop takes a long time to break down completely. A single pile may be in your yard for an entire year if it’s not disturbed. This is among the reasons why dog waste does not make good manure.
3. It Does Not Have the Right Nutrients
A dog’s diet contains many proteins; as they break down, they become acidic, which is unsuitable for your plants. When you want to make manure, you can use cow manure, which works well as fertilizer for your plants, such as vegetables, since it starts as vegetation.
Is Dog Poop Good Fertilizer for Flowers?
When you have a pet dog and a garden, you may wonder whether or not your dog’s poop could be used as fertilizer. In dog fertilization, many people have different questions based on dog poop, such as, “Is dog poop a good fertilizer for trees?” Is dog poop good fertilizer for roses? Is dog poop good fertilizer for vegetables? And is dog poop good fertilizer for grass?
Yes. Dog poop is good fertilizer for flowers when you can create compost. When you add dog waste to a compost pile along with organic materials such as dried leaves, vegetable waste, straws, and grass clippings, you can give it a few months to compost, which will be used as fertilizer for your flower plants.
You should not be advised to use new dog waste in your garden or flowering plants since it contains pathogens that can harm you and your pets. You are advised to use the dog waste after it has fully composted as a part of your compost pile. The composting process reaches about sixty (60) degrees Celsius in terms of temperature, which is enough to kill the harmful pathogens in dog poop.
When it becomes ready, you can use it to fertilize your flower plants in your garden. Still, it would be best if you were keen to make sure it does not get in contact with your vegetable plants since it may still have traces of dog waste, which may make you sick in case the vegetables are consumed without a good cleaning.
Steps for Composting a Dog Poop
The following are the five step-by-step methods for composting dog waste:
1. Collect the Materials Required
To ensure a successful composting of your dog waste, you will need the following pieces of equipment:
(a). Dry carbon material
(b). Compost thermometer
(c). Lidded container
(d). Pitchfork to turn the compost
(e). A way to keep a record of compost temperature
2. Choose a Location
You should find a relatively dry area in your yard to keep your container. The location should be relatively dry and directly in the sun. The lidded container should keep the water level moist but not wet, and the sunlight will help maintain a high temperature in the center of the compost pile.
3. Add Poop and Carbon
For every two parts of dog poop, one part adds carbon in the form of grass clippings, sawdust, and chopped hay or leaves. When you have reached a maximum of 2-4 feet of the mixture, add water until the mixture is as moist as a wrung-out sponge. When the bin is complete, do not add materials again. Allow it to decompose as you monitor the temperature.
4. Temperature
It would be best if you considered monitoring the temperature every day. Every day, insert a long compost thermometer and record the temperature. The temperature should trend upward, and once it starts to decrease, turn the mixture.
Make sure to completely turn it so that all materials reach the high temperature required to kill all pathogens.
5. Safety Precautions
Use gloves when you handle dog poop, and wash your hands when composting. Do not use the waste from affected dogs, which may contain parasites, roundworms, and tapeworms, among others.
Is Dog Poop Good Fertilizer For Fruit Trees
There are unique reasons many gardeners do not use dog waste to fertilize their fruit trees and a particular food crop.
No. Dog poop is not good fertilizer for fruit trees. As the dogs consume high-protein diets, their waste is more acidic. The dog poop breaks down, causing the nutrients not to be compatible with the needs of the fruit trees. Dog poop can cause a plant to dry up by burning its roots. Because dog waste lacks potassium, it promotes leafy herbaceous growth at the expense of fruit trees.
For this reason, it also answers the question many people are likely to ask themselves: Is dog poop good fertilizer for shrubs? Too much nitrogen can make it impossible for a fruit tree to produce seeds and fruits as you expect.
How to Remove Dog Poop safely?
When handling dog waste, you should be careful. Below are the three steps to safely removing dog waste from your lawn:
(i). Use Gloves
This is the most crucial step you should conserve, and it is a trick to treat dog waste. This will prevent direct contact with the poop.
(ii). Garden Tool
You can use any garden tool to lift the poop. You can also use a dustpan to remove the poop, provided you don’t touch it directly.
You should be careful about how you get rid of the poop because it has bacteria that can make people sick. Avoid disposing of waste at the nearest open water source or places you visit regularly. It would be best to keep it isolated to decompose the dog waste.
