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Rabbit Poop in the garden

 
pollinator
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Location: Zone 8B Blackland Prairie, Tx
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So I've done a search through the forums and have seen mention of rabbit poop for gardens quite a bit.
I managed to get a nice sized bag of poop from a friend that raises rabbits and am ready to utilize it in my garden.

I have a few questions though, and haven't been able to find definitive answers.

What I've gleaned from other posts is that the poop can be spread directly into the garden without needing to be composted first.
Is this done as a top dressing, or should it be mixed under the soil? Best before planting, or can it go into the dirt around already established plants?
Do I need to water it down once it's in the dirt, or just let it sit?

Are there any veggies that don't respond well to the droppings?

I'm itching to try it out but want to make sure I don't unintentionally harm my growing plants.
 
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If you are getting the soil ready to plant, mix it in a bit. If you have plants to feed, top dress. only water if it needs watering anyway.  I would stay away from root crops, but I might be wrong for saying that, if anyone else says different, listen to them on that one
 
Carolyne Castner
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Nola Lewis wrote:If you are getting the soil ready to plant, mix it in a bit. If you have plants to feed, top dress. only water if it needs watering anyway.  I would stay away from root crops, but I might be wrong for saying that, if anyone else says different, listen to them on that one



Thanks very much! I’ve actually got both situations right now, so that gives me an idea of what to do in each scenario.
 
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Location: Zone 8a
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I mix the bunny berries right in the bed when I add my composted stuff, and then I plant. My root plants have not had any issues. Since the product is high nitrogen, I don't use too much. Too much being subjective. I don't even measure when cooking... about a half of an orange bucket of berries to a maybe be 5 -6 orange buckets of compost. After that I don't really fertilize except to add the same ratio of berries to compost when I replace a spent plant with new seed or seedling.
 
pollinator
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Location: Dry mountains Eastern WA
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I also add water to half a bucket of berries and use the brown poopy water on my containers etc
 
gardener
Posts: 570
Location: Central Texas
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I keep my rabbits in an enclosed barn, in stackable cages with catch trays, so end up with a lot of poop/pee. While the poop is considered "cool" the pee tends to be quite hot, so I don't put the pee-soaked manure directly on the plants as a top-dressing, though the dry stuff seems to be fine. I've also mixed it into the soil with no issue, and frequently use it as layers in the hugels.
I really like mixing it with the wood chip mulch on the garden and letting it sit (usually over winter). By the time I plant in spring, it's composted enough to make it easy to plant in, while still working as mulch to cover the soil and hold moisture in.
 
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Nola Lewis wrote:If you are getting the soil ready to plant, mix it in a bit. If you have plants to feed, top dress. only water if it needs watering anyway.  I would stay away from root crops, but I might be wrong for saying that, if anyone else says different, listen to them on that one



I don't think root crops should be a problem using manure as a fertilizer. Poop is high in nitrogen, you might have been mistaken with beans perhaps?
 
Kc Simmons
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Daan Coolwijk wrote:

Nola Lewis wrote:If you are getting the soil ready to plant, mix it in a bit. If you have plants to feed, top dress. only water if it needs watering anyway.  I would stay away from root crops, but I might be wrong for saying that, if anyone else says different, listen to them on that one



I don't think root crops should be a problem using manure as a fertilizer. Poop is high in nitrogen, you might have been mistaken with beans perhaps?



I think she was referring to potential risks of pathogens in the manure which could make the person ill?
Either way, I think it would be okay as long as the crops were washed and scrubbed well.
 
Posts: 75
Location: Zone 11B Moku Nui Hawaii
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Bunny berries are the only fertilizer we use.  A layer several inches thick is spread over the top of the garden before planting or whenever a plant looks hungry.  It gets tossed around tree roots, along the hedges, where ever there's a plant.  More bunny berries on the garden produces more greenery which we can then give some to the buns to create more bunny berries.  Bunnies and gardens are really good for each other.  (as long as they're not actually IN the garden eating the veggies you want for dinner)
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