I'm very concerned about the health hazards of eating food grown in the beds where our dog has pooped. At this point, I could build a fence around the whole garden to stop any further damage, but I'm wondering about the existing and persistent harm of bacteria or worms that may now be in the soil.
If we clean up all the feces now, will the soil be safe in March to begin planting food plants in it? And will the strawberry patch ever be safe to eat from if a few plants have had feces on them?
It is critical to keep dogs and cats from pooping on the garden area. Dogs and cats have parasitic pathogens and roundworms which can transfer to humans. Use a fence, an aromatic soap, or some way to distract animals and keep poop out of the garden.
Here are some tips for how to save your garden after a pet has relieved itself in it:
- Remove all of the manure and keep manure out of the garden area.
- Plant cover crops. Examples include blue grass, or fava or red clover.
- Consider plants that have a big root system and are large plants, such as tomatoes, green beans, pole beans, peas, squash, pumpkins, and cucumbers.
- Let the rain clean the soil, and add lime at 80 pounds per 1000 sq feet.
- After one year, then you can plant rooted veggies.