Manure and Compost

by bam

Four questions about any pile of manure or compost: what is in it, what could be in it, how to make it safe, and how much to put where and when. This course answers them from the documents that set the numbers: the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's manure tables and composting chapter, the federal organic rule (7 CFR 205.203), FDA's produce safety rule (21 CFR part 112), CDC's guidance on two parasites, and Purdue Extension's guides for Indiana gardens. It reads the two federal rules side by side, so you can see that the familiar 90 and 120 days come from the organic rule while FDA's rule leaves that interval blank. It explains why dog, cat and pig manure stay out of a food garden, what 131 °F for three days actually asks of a pile, and how to find your own extension office. It reads George Washington Carver's 1905 and 1936 bulletins, F. H. King and Charles Darwin as primary sources. And it ends with you building a model of your own loop, on a balcony, a backyard or an acre. Educational only: your extension office and your local rules come first.