wrote:

...It's *not* the same and and never should be used on a vegetable
garden...unless of course, you'd like a nice dose of ecoli
(a single gram of dog feces can contain 23 million coliform bacteria),
roundworm...[etc... snip]



I guess we're all doomed, since there's no way to keep the local
omnivores/carnivore (e.g. raccoons) population from defecating in our
gardens.

The above argument applies only to root crops and crops which have
contact with the soil. Bacteria/microorganisms do not travel through the
plants' vascular system to the fruit.

If the poop is properly composted, the bacteria/microorganisms do not
survive. The key word is "properly". It involves work, such as turning
your compost pile regularly to maintain a high temperature.



Just to start a parallel thread, the real problem with ecoli etc is the
overuse of bactericidal soaps etc. "In the old days" people would
occasionally get sick from such things but they weren't really bad and
people built up natural defenses/immunities. They have mutated in
response to our fight against nature so that they are now really bad.
Nostra Culpa.

Dwight Sipler wrote:
: wrote:
:
:...It's *not* the same and and never should be used on a vegetable
: garden...unless of course, you'd like a nice dose of ecoli
: (a single gram of dog feces can contain 23 million coliform bacteria),
: roundworm...[etc... snip]

: I guess we're all doomed, since there's no way to keep the local
: omnivores/carnivore (e.g. raccoons) population from defecating in our
: gardens.
: The above argument applies only to root crops and crops which have
: contact with the soil. Bacteria/microorganisms do not travel through the
: plants' vascular system to the fruit.

This isn't relevant. If soil is contaminated, any part of plant can also
become contaminated through rain splash or human handling. In parts of
the world where human wastes are still used to fertilize crops, bacillary
dysentery is endemic. There's a reason travellers to those regions are
advised to wash their vegetables and fruits thoroughly with bleach water.

: Just to start a parallel thread, the real problem with ecoli etc is the
: overuse of bactericidal soaps etc. "In the old days" people would
: occasionally get sick from such things but they weren't really bad and
: people built up natural defenses/immunities.

And which old days were those? Well into the early 1900s, people,
especially the very young and the sickly, died in significant numbers from
a very common diarrheal malady called 'summer sickness'. Sanitation of
human and animal wastes was poor, food handling practices were unsafe, and
there was no modern fly control.

If you want to 'recycle' dog waste safely, get a Doggie Dooley. Don't put
it on your compost pile.

-- Karen

The Garden Gate http://garden-gate.prairienet.org
================================================== ===================
"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, no
culture comparable to that of the garden ... But though an old man,
I am but a young gardener." -- Thomas Jefferson, Garden Book, 1811
================================================== ===================
On the Web since 1994 Forbes Best of Web 2002

Karen Fletcher wrote:

...If you want to 'recycle' dog waste safely, get a Doggie Dooley. Don't put
it on your compost pile...



I'm not familiar with that item (not having a dog). Can you describe its
function more precisely? What does it do to/with the dog waste?

Dwight Sipler wrote:
: Karen Fletcher wrote:
:
:...If you want to 'recycle' dog waste safely, get a Doggie Dooley. Don't put
: it on your compost pile...

: I'm not familiar with that item (not having a dog). Can you describe its
: function more precisely? What does it do to/with the dog waste?

Your thirst for knowledge on the subject of dog waste disposal is
admirable, all the more so for being curiosity in the abstract. Try a
search for "Doggie Dooley" on Google.

Helpfully,

Karen

The Garden Gate http://garden-gate.prairienet.org
================================================== =================
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."
^and cats -- Cicero
================================================== =================
On the Web since 1994 Forbes Best of Web 2002

Karen Fletcher wrote:

... Try a
search for "Doggie Dooley" on Google...


Having done so, I find
http://www.uniquedistributors.com/doggiedooley.html. For the benefit of
other newsgroup lurkers, this site describes a "Doggie Dooley Toilet"
which appears to me to be a container which you bury in the ground, into
which you place the pet waste. It is described as a pet septic system,
although the website includes the caveat "units may not function
properly when ground temperature reaches 40 degrees or less". I looked
at only one model, which had a height of 15 inches (or a depth of 15
inches when buried). Operation, as described, is (paraphrased): insert
waste, add water and "digester powder" and close up. The "digester
powder" is described as an all natural mix of bacteria and enzymes.
Probably similar to the stuff you can buy to speed up your compost pile,
although it is likely tailored to the C/N ratio of pet waste.

I wouldn't describe it as a septic system. It's more like a cesspool. It
has to drain (since you add water), so the solids are basically
composted and the liquid filters out into the soil. This explains why it
may not work at low temperatures (i.e. when the ground freezes). I
suspect that here in New England, where the soil sometimes freezes to a
depth of 2 feet, the system would be only seasonally useful.

What strikes me is that this is am unnecessary solution. Everyone who
has indoor plumbing has a way to dispose of pet waste that is better
than this one. For one thing, your toilet works in the winter (I should
hope). For another thing, your toilet doesn't contribute to groundwater
pollution, at least to the extent that your own septic system (or
municipal waste treatment plant) is working properly. The only real
disadvantage to using your toilet is that you have to carry the stuff
through the house. However, most pet owners have some sort of litter box
so the pet waste is in the house anyway.