“The fairest thing in nature, a flower, still has its roots in earth and manure.” – D.H. Lawrence

As you lay to rest portions of your garden, now is actually a great time to apply fresh manure. You are already out there, cleaning up the prior year’s debris, and have at least some barren areas. Lay it down now, then work it into the top six inches of soil a month before spring planting.
If you work manure that is less than three months old into the soil in the spring, you risk burning young, tender plants. There are exceptions: manure applied in the early spring is best for flower gardens so they get that burst of nitrogen for their blooms. Although manure can be applied in either the spring or fall for most vegetables grown from seed, fall application is best for potatoes, root crops and acid-loving plants.
All compost has amazing benefits for the soil. Manure is a wonderful source of nitrogen as well as other nutrients, and improves the soil’s capacity to hold water and nutrients.
It’s a fact of life—everybody poops. And all poop is loaded with nutrients. Therefore, you should be able to use anybody’s poop on the garden, right? Well, yes and no. Some types of manure have added benefits, while others have unique risks.

Chickens
Poultry manure (chicken in particular) is the richest manure in nitrogen (N), phosphoric acid (P) and potash (K), the three primary components of commercial fertilizer.

Rabbits
Rabbit manure is prized because it can be even higher in nitrogen than some poultry manures and it also contains a large amount of phosphorus, which is important for flower and fruit formation.

Horses
Horse manure is rich in nitrogen but only half as rich as chicken manure, so it’s less likely to burn plants. It composts well, partially because it is often mixed with hay, straw or wood shavings.

Sheep
Sheep chew their cud so finely that there are no weed seeds being inadvertently applied to your garden bed, making it excellent manure.

Cattle
Cow and other bovine manure have similar properties. It has lower nutrient numbers, which makes it easier to use in as side-dressing and in unlimited quantities.
Circus animals
Every year when the circus leaves town, there is a run on pachy-poo. A single elephant will produce an average of 165,000 pounds of waste per year. Compare this to other circus animals, such as a giraffe, which produces less than 20,000 pounds per year, and you can see why circus manure is generically referred to as pachy-poo.
Elephant manure is similar in texture to horse manure, and is touted by some as the best manure for your garden. Giraffe manure is more like that of a sheep. Both are high in nitrogen and can burn plants if used in a fresh state.

Dogs
Dogs? Yes, dogs. It is widely assumed that dog waste should be contained in a plastic bag, discarded in the trash and hauled off to a landfill where it will be compressed into a hole to be unearthed by future archaeologists. However, dog manure can be handled at home, without your property smelling like dog waste.
As is true of any waste from meat-eaters, dog waste shouldn’t be used on vegetable gardens, since there is risk of parasites or disease organisms that can be transmitted to humans. Flowers and trees, however, are fine, including fruit and nut trees.
View the following website for photographic instruction on making a dog waste composter from a plastic trash can: homepage.mac.com/cityfarmer/PhotoAlbum22.html.

Cats
Cat poop can be handled in a similar manner to that of dogs. There is an additional worry because most domestic cats carry a parasite called Toxoplasmosis Gondii (TG). Although a concern during pregnancy, TG has no effect on other family members, including cats, dogs or other pets, and is therefore fine to use on flower gardens.

Worms
When people think of worm poop, they think of composting vegetable matter, or vermicomposting. This is a wonderful way to compost your kitchen scraps. It is advised to never put animal products, including dairy, into your worm composter. The exception is egg shells. The worms also do not like citrus or pineapple. The worms make rich castings for your garden.

Human
The use of treated people poop, commonly referred to as sludge or biosolids, has been hotly debated over the years. Many factory farms do spread sludge on the fields. At present, sludge cannot be used if the farm is USDA-certified organic.
The biggest concern, aside from the “ick” factor, of using people poop is that heavy metals concentrate in the sludge. The Environmental Protection Agency has no system to track and respond to health complaints related to exposure to sludge.

Remember, keep on pooping!