Rabbit manure and fertilizer?

[mensplace]

Having been an ER and ICU chaplain I repeatedly saw the effects of resistant strains of staph and strep. Our use of anitbiotics is carefully controlled in hospitals, with several that are almost a last ditch tool in fighting newer, more powerfuls strains of illness and infection. Not so in China where they routinely use these very controlled antibiotics and they are routinely found in a broad range of products including feed components, fish, honey and far more. These are increasingly found in their exports to the U.S.. Trouble is, by being routinely exposed to those that are reserved for the most severe cases, we lose their effectiveness when needed. Animals fed these products pass those in their manures. Even when antibiotics are not directly added by U.S. manufacturers, they already exist in the components they add from China. Antibiotic laden manures with antibiotics added by the US manufacturers and the Chinese manufacturers then pass from the manure into plant tissues, hence to the gardener when they unknowingly feed a significant range of animals. Composting those manures properly so that they hold high heat levels is one of the few ways to kill those antibiotic strains, so that when you do need them, you will not unknowingly have ingested them and, in so doing, lost your ability to take them effectively.

[Ross]

.....and, chickens and cows are thee most antibiotic-laden animals in the traditional American food-chain.

[mensplace]

Originally Posted by Ross

.....and, chickens and cows are thee most antibiotic-laden animals in the traditional American food-chain.

After reading an incredible book about the mystery of honeybee hive collapse around the world and the fact that we have virtually lost them in the U.S., not due to Varroa, but due to such "medicinal" sprays which give them a form of instant Altizers so that they can no longer find the hive..a truly worldwide calamity that will show itself in our food supplies, I am more aware than ever of two threatening trends...bacterias and viruses are mutating rapidly in ever strong and resistant strains and, too, our vastly increased use of antibiotics is making us even less able to fight disease and infection. This hits us at all levels are antibiotics are now making their way into the vegetables we grow in our own gardens...and I DO NOT mean just those listed on the labels as they are already there in the components used to make MANY products. SO, you make think your own homegrown manures are safe BUT today you have to consider everything that goes onto pasture grasses as well as off the shelf feeds. In most cases even the manufacturers don't know what is in those products since they import so many ingredients. With genetic engineering being pushed by American ag, the plot thickens as resistant strains of crops now already have such things as Bacillus engineered into the DNA of plants. It is no longer sufficient to save your own seed when you grow, because the trail of what makes it's way into our food supplies is long and will be ever more complex with the enactment of CODEX ALIMENTARIUS next week.

[Fusion_power]

Organicbaby,

You can overdo it with rabbit manure but it takes a LOT. I have used up to 20 pounds of wet rabbit manure per tomato plant well worked into the soil and had outstanding production. If you get much more than 20 pounds, there is too much nitrate available and production can be reduced. 20 pounds wet is equivalent to about 10 pounds dry. Dig it in deep early in the season and let it decay so the nutrients are available to the plant.

Darrel Jones

[organicbaby]

Darrel, thanks for hiking around the derailment to get back to me, lol. That's exactly the info I was in need of. I think I'm good to go with the amount I've spread around already, just have to dig it in when it gets a little warmer.

[brokenbar]

I have a friend who is a world-renowned "Iris" breeder...he is shameless about spying to see who has rabbits and goats and literally " whisking the manure out from under the nose" of others who had previously spoken for it! (gardeners..the only people on earth who are so interested in poo...) He claims that those manures are the reason his Iris are world champions. I have used goat manure extensively. I do know that both rabbit and goat, as well as alpaca, camel and llama "poos" are basically weed free whereas horse manure is not. CHicken or other poultry is extremally hot as poultry does not "pee" seperately. Both by-products come out in one parcel. It takes a long time to leach the urea (pee) part out of poultry manure. I would be delighted to receive rabbit poo for my vegetable garden.

[rhynes_boomer]

Hi Everyone,
I am new as well. I have used all kinds of manure in my garden, but, I am a true believer in aged Horse manure and rabbit. You would not believe this, maybe not, but, this last couple of years I have been throwing my old tomatoe vines in a compost pile where I throw my dog manure when I clean my yard. The cherry tomatoes and cucumbers when NUTS! I just let them grow wild. This last season I bet I pulled 700-800 little cherry tomatoes from 3 PLANTS! Probably around 80 cukes from 2 plants! They would have took over the back part of my yard if I had not staked them up. They grew to be taller than my 8' privacy fence.

I need to build my garden up and wanted to know if anyone had a suggestion on how to keep my soil from washing away? I have tried putting sheet metal as a border but, somehow the soil is still washing out.

rhynes_boomer

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by rhynes_boomer

I need to build my garden up and wanted to know if anyone had a suggestion on how to keep my soil from washing away? I have tried putting sheet metal as a border but, somehow the soil is still washing out.

Mulch! At this time of year, whatever organics you can find will help, and will start decomposing in the spring to nourish your soil.

Good soil structure will also help keep soil in place, which means organic matter added on top regularly, no tilling, and mulch. You can use straw or chipped branches (free from tree trimmers, if you're in a suburban area), or even lawn trimmings. Healthy soil life (large populations of a variety of microfauna) will produce a substance called glomalin that "glues" soil particles into clumps, which produces good soil structure that allows water to flow through while allowing enough air between clumps for the microfauna.

[dice]

[rabbit manure and nitrogen]

Bacteria eating the straw that your beds were mulched with
should soak up any excess nitrogen once the straw and rabbit
manure are turned under together in spring. (Straw is a
high-carbon material, and rabbit manure is not really an
extreme nitrogen source.)

[erosion]

You could try cover crops and no-till gardening. Here is a good
description from someone that does that on a large scale where
erosion was the specific problem that got them started doing
it:

http://www.cedarmeadowfarm.com/Publi...es/News10.html

You are not going to need a large, custom, mechanical planter
to do this in a backyard garden, of course, and a weed-eater
will do as well as a flail to knock down a cover crop in spring.
Depending on your soil and climate, you might want different
cover crops than what Groff used in Pennsylvania. I seem to
recall people using crimson clover and Austrian winter peas
a lot down in Oklahoma and Texas.

[rhynes_boomer]

Thank you for the feedback. I have never used the straw. I have always taken it away before tilling. So this year I will leave it in my garden and add just a little manure and see how that holds it. Great advise, appreciate it!

Kat (rhynes_boomer)

[organicbaby]

Just wanted to post a follow-up about the rabbit manure/toms...hopefully can post a picture soon.

I ended up not adding anymore manure than I'd already put down back in the fall, coming close to the amounts Darrel recommended and this is without a doubt the best looking stand of tomatoes I've ever had. They were planted in trenches back on March 7th. They are gorgeous and chock full of blooms...tiny tomatoes on 3 plants, woohoo! I'm really looking forward to the tomato harvest, lol

Thanks again,
OB