Planting a Garden in an old Dog Run??

[Stimw]

Does anyone know of problems planting a garden in an area that was a large dog run?
I don't know how many dogs or how long ago they were kept there. They were raising and training Greyhounds for years.
I am looking at 7 acres to buy and the old dog runs look like the best spot for a garden.
My best guess is it's been 6 months or more since they were there.
I worry about the feces/other contaminating the ground. ??

 

[orezok]

Does anyone know of problems planting a garden in an area that was a large dog run?
I don't know how many dogs or how long ago they were kept there. They were raising and training Greyhounds for years.
I am looking at 7 acres to buy and the old dog runs look like the best spot for a garden.
My best guess is it's been 6 months or more since they were there.
I worry about the feces/other contaminating the ground. ??

The biggest problem will be the over abundance of nitrogen in the soil from urine. Think yellow spots in grass. Too much nitrogen will greatly affect plant growth resulting in huge top growth but little product.

Test the soil to be sure.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Does anyone know of problems planting a garden in an area that was a large dog run?
I don't know how many dogs or how long ago they were kept there. They were raising and training Greyhounds for years.
I am looking at 7 acres to buy and the old dog runs look like the best spot for a garden.
My best guess is it's been 6 months or more since they were there.
I worry about the feces/other contaminating the ground. ??

I personally wouldn't do it. Here's an article to get you started:

Advice on Composting Dog Poop - Organic Gardening - MOTHER EARTH NEWS

 

[OldMcDonald]

I have never seen proof of what I have been told time and time again since I was a kid - never ever use dog or cat manure in your vegetable or ornamental garden areas. I have tried on several occasions in the past to find the reasoning behind this, and all I could come up with was that both animals carry diseases that might or might not affect them, but could be extremely serious, possibily fatal for us.

As I say, I have not been able to find definitive proof, nor can I remember the diseases that were mentioned in the scant info I did find. Maybe it is not true, but I have never taken the chance. In the western world I am fairly sure that it is not customary to eat any carnivorous mammal - possibly for similar reasons.

I am sure there are plenty of people out there who have used manure from both and lived to tell the tale. It just does not seem right to me.

#3 posted as I was typing this. The link explains a few things.

 

[deanwerden]

So your thinking about pulling the pin on a piece of property because of the location of your soon to be garden ?

 

[dave1949]

I would garden there after some precautions. Plow it with a moldboard plow to turn the surface under first, and then plant a cover crop for one growing season before gardening.

Whatever parasites were present aren't going to be confined just to the run area IMO.

People here eat bear, an omnivore. Pigs, another omnivore, will gladly eat meat too if given the chance.

 

[Jstpssng]

I would garden there after some precautions. Plow it with a moldboard plow to turn the surface under first, and then plant a cover crop for one growing season before gardening.

Whatever parasites were present aren't going to be confined just to the run area IMO.

People here eat bear, an omnivore. Pigs, another omnivore, will gladly eat meat too if given the chance.

Good points. We also are adviced not to use human waste, yet the Chinese have been doing it for centuries. (The landscaper I once worked for used composted sewerage sludge when putting in lawns and raised bed gardens for people.)

 

[Jstpssng]

I would garden there after some precautions. Plow it with a moldboard plow to turn the surface under first, and then plant a cover crop for one growing season before gardening.

Whatever parasites were present aren't going to be confined just to the run area IMO.

People here eat bear, an omnivore. Pigs, another omnivore, will gladly eat meat too if given the chance.

Good points. We also are adviced not to use human waste, yet the Chinese have been doing it for centuries. (The landscaper I once worked for used composted sewerage sludge when putting in lawns and raised bed gardens for people.)

 

[Stimw]

Good points. We also are adviced not to use human waste, yet the Chinese have been doing it for centuries. (The landscaper I once worked for used composted sewerage sludge when putting in lawns and raised bed gardens for people.)

If you have ever heard of "Mill-orginite" it is processed waste from a sewage plant!
To a dog the whole world is a toilet!

I signed an offer to buy today but I was looking for more info because the dog runs would be the better place for a garden.
Googling I find that some say OK and others say He// NO!

 

[randy41]

if the ground is well drained there should be no problem. whatever crap was in the crap has washed away.