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Ashburnham, MA

I have a team of 10 Alaskan malamutes that I use for dog sledding in the winter. Needless to say, they produce plenty of waste that we compost.

I am a firt-time giant pumpkin grower and I know people use poultry and cattle manure on their plants. Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on using dog waste?

Thanks in advance for the input!

5/10/2000 4:16:06 PM

Commack, NY

you shouldn't use manure from any meat eating animal, ie, dog, it spreads disease, and if you're planning on eating the pumpkin its a no-no

5/10/2000 4:38:57 PM

Yukon, Canada

There are a lot of mushers up here and I know the idea has been addressed before. It seems though, that it is a bit of a non-starter. Farmer Scott is right, there is definitely a risk of transmission. One musher I know researched the idea some years ago. She concluded that Dog waste was something that takes about seven years to composte to a state to be handled safely and to be of some use in her garden. She has had dogs for 20+ yrs and has been using aged dog waste for the past 3 years in her garden. So...if you are going to have a long term supply start now and be prepared to wait. Otherwise better safe than sorry.

5/12/2000 2:29:20 PM

Ashburnham, MA

Thanks a lot to both Farmer Scott and Yukon for the feedback. I really appreciate it. I'm uncertain as to if I intend to eat the pumpkins I grow but it definetely sounds as though it's better to be safe than sorry. I also have llamas so I'll use their manure instead. Any further feedback would be appreciated.

5/16/2000 9:30:56 AM