In article ,
Ed ex@directory wrote:
I have a couple of large compost bins on my allotment which I regularly
fill with compostable materials from home, but this only accounts for a
few percent.
For the most part, I go to the local riding stables where they bag up
the horse manure and leave it outside for people to take for free.
In the winter time, when the horses are inside the stables, the mix is
heavy with straw and bedding. But now in the warmer months with the
horses outside , it is mainly stuff gathered straight off the paddock
areas where the horses pass their days.
The thing is this. The bins are 4'x3'x3' and I just do not have the
energy or strength to turn them. So , in effect they are cold compost
heaps. I let the contents rot down over a 2 year period.
But is there a danger that the pathogens in the horse dung will not die
off (as they would if I were operating a hot heap) and that my family
could become seriously ill if I use this composted material on my
vegetable plot even if it is 2 years old?
Ed
(South-East UK)
Worst case scenerio, take 2.
Forgot my cite
))
http://www.mastergardenproducts.com/...drain_field_ga
rdening.htm
Vegetable Gardens and Drainage Fields
Sometimes the ideal place to put a vegetable garden seems to be over the
leach field, raising the question of bacterial and viral contamination
from the effluent. Soils vary a great deal in their ability to filter
viruses and bacteria. Clay soils work best, eliminating bacteria within
a few inches of the drain trenches, but sandy soils may allow bacterial
movement for several feet. A properly operating system will not
contaminate the soil with disease-causing organisms, but it is very
difficult to determine if a field is operating just as it should. If at
all possible, use your septic drain field for ornamentals and plant your
vegetables elsewhere.
If you must plant vegetables, take the following precautions. Do not
plant root crops over drain lines. Leafy vegetables could be
contaminated by rain splashing soil onto the plant, so either mulch them
to eliminate splashing or don't grow them. Fruiting crops are probably
safe; train any vining ones such as cucumbers or tomatoes onto a support
so that the fruit is off the ground. Thoroughly wash any produce from
the garden before eating it. Do not construct raised beds over the
field; they might inhibit evaporation of moisture.
-----
The moral is, don't use fresh manure on the edible portion of something
you may eat in the next three months.
--
- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is
now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of
conception until death." - Rachel Carson
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7843430.stm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go