Garden with used Kitty litter (forum)

snottiegobble starts with ...
I am interested to know if anyone incorporates used kittylitter ( bentonite variety) into their soil or use it as a mulch? I have placed it around a cape gooseberry with good results,but wonder about its effects on citrus, vegies etc?

Time: 7th April 2011 11:09am

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Jason says...
We use it the paper? based pellet stuff around the garden, it goes good. But for us it's loaded full of rabbit pee, not sure on the nitrogen content of rabbit pee but by the smell of it, it's loaded. It's certainly got tons of calcium in it, so much that rabbit pee is just white powder once it dries.

I don't know about the rest of you guys but I've developed a real mental problem with peeing in a toilet :0 associated with not wanting to waste good free fertiliser

Time: 7th April 2011 12:28pm

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snottiegobble says...
Yes I agee Jason! My lime trees certainly get visits from me on a daily basis & we have learn how to press the flush button so that there is minimum water wasted. Isnt Rabbit manure supposed to be pretty good as a fertiliser? I know some people swear on pigeon poo!

Time: 7th April 2011 2:56pm

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kert says...
The smaller the animal the more concentrated the waste ;hence the need to compost it in order not to burn the leaves. Be especially careful with blueberry and its shallow roots. Why not set up a urinal that goes directly out to the plants ;no middle men or is it piddle men. Pee in the comfort of your own bathroom secure in the knowledge that moments later a plant will get the "Piss of Life"

Time: 7th April 2011 4:16pm

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Brad says...
kitty litter would be terrible as a mulch SG - was that a slip up??? You do not want a mulch absorbing water, you want the water to pass through it (e.g. gravel)

Time: 7th April 2011 4:24pm

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kert says...
No, it ain't necessarily so! What matters is how tenaciously the mulch holds onto the water and whether it is available to plant roots.

Time: 7th April 2011 4:30pm

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Brad says...
sounds like we have a different definition then. I want soil (containing roots) that holds water (for roots to get at). I want mulch that covers the soil, keeping sun and wind off the soil. If mulch absorbs and hold water, it will reduce the amount of water going into the soil (where roots can get it) and also has capacity to sponge water out of the soil. (This is the black crap so often sold in Perth.)

when organic mulches break down and add to the soil, they're no longer 'mulch' but soil improvers. which is where bentonite is good.



Time: 7th April 2011 5:39pm

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kert says...
You cannot arbitrarily divide mulch from soil. Practically anything,other than rock ,will be infiltrated by roots eventually even carpet or newspaper. Hence my point -kitty litter may be OK if it does not hold onto water too tightly.

Time: 7th April 2011 5:43pm

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Nick says...
A bit late, but in response to Kerts comment about composting rabbit manure, I have 2 rabbits and frequently use their crap (theres plenty of it! :P) on and in the garden and its good to know that their manure is one that can be applied directly fresh. It is also the manure with the one of the highest levels of nutrients.

Time: 7th April 2011 8:50pm

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snottiegobble says...
So in effect used kitty litter would be OK if dug in, but not left on the surface. & the Great Sandy Desert is full of rabbit sh-t just waiting to explode with life? :)

Time: 8th April 2011 12:01am

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kert says...
Huh?? Let's see .Using the same concrete thinking Australia's National Debt can be paid off because rabbits sell at 5$ each at butchers ;multiply $5 by all the wild rabbits in Australia and you get 230 Billion dollars. No debt.

Time: 8th April 2011 6:39am

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adamus says...
Be Careful what you ask for. One day, you might get it.
I tried the compressed paper stuff as a deterrent to snails once. It worked fine, until it got wet, about twelve hours, and then they just went over the top.
As I live in the country, we use Rabbits as fertilizer, not only their poo.
We eat the good bits, and then rot down the rest. It
s also used in some brands of Blood and Bone.
I reckon they should call it bunnies and moo moo cows.

Time: 8th April 2011 7:17am

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Brad says...
"You cannot arbitrarily divide mulch from soil"
the dictionary does. Mulch covers soil.


Time: 8th April 2011 11:44am

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Jimmy says...
At the "great gardens" expo's and aother such public events eg TV gardening shows like garden gurus etc the following rule is king:

fine mulches store water in themselves that leads to rots in the stems of the plants and little applied water goes through to the subsoil.

coarse mulches allow the sub soil to get the water and allow the soil to breathe via its porosity.

Time: 8th April 2011 1:32pm

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Jason says...
What I do and there's no saying it's correct :)?. But what I do is have broken branches, leaves, sticks etc as a mulch maybe with some dried grass on top also. Then whenever I'm adding green mulch to that I lift the dried mulch and poke the green stuff under it. Fertilizer or poo just goes on the top of the mulch so the rain can take it to the feeder roots nice and gently.

The whole idea for me is to make a good habitat and breed up those little Amphipods creatures that live on the surface of the soil until they are almost a plague, they eat rotten stuff and dig up the soil a bit and make a surprising amount of poo themselves for such little things. There's also grubs, beetles and stuff living in the mulch but most of the hard work seems to be done by the amphipods

Time: 8th April 2011 3:55pm

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amanda says...
I agree about that black crap Brad...it's also very water repellant and can contain diseased material and nasty weeds...been there - done that :-(

The "quality" of manure can depend on the animals diet also. Eg: horse manure from racing stables has more nitrogen than paddock horse poo. Domestic rabbit poo is going to be better than wild rabbit poo too.

Julie Firth (arid zone permaculturalist) showed me her citrus trees with rings of bricks embedded flush with the ground (the ones with holes in them) they were working beautifully at keeping the soil moist - yet allowing water to percolate down freely. In WA sands I feel this is important as too much mulch can also "hold up" the salts - especially as summer heat and drying progresses.

Julie also recommended half the thickness of mulch in low rainfall areas (which was Geraldton quite a few years ago - with double the rainfall we get now...) as compared to waht the TV gurus recommend. Also remember that too much organic matter added to sandy soils, too quickly, can cause a waxy water repellance due to the unbalancing of the fungi/bacterial ratio...if anything we need more fungal help in our sands...

Time: 8th April 2011 10:03pm

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Jimmy says...
Does Julie Firth have a website?

I'm slowly changing my opinion of bentonite, from rotary hoeing the vege patch it was interesting to note the water retained in the treated areas.

I put about 10mm thick layer down 6 months ago.

Time: 11th April 2011 10:50am

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Brad says...
www.permaculturenursery.com.au is her site/nursery (yilgarn seeds)

Time: 11th April 2011 11:09am

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kert says...
Yes, coarse mulches allow free ingress of applied water to the roots . And conversely they allow free passage of water vapour and consequent evaporation. What do you clasify carpet underlay,my favourite? After a while the roots infiltrate the underlay so that it is not possible to lift the "mulch"
One can theorise forever about how many angels can land on a pin. The real test is to check, during a dry spell, under the mulch and see if there is moisture still present.

Time: 11th April 2011 2:35pm

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benstyles1 says...
hey all, is this forum is still active???

Time: 30th March 2018 11:59pm

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi benstyles

It will if you want to reopen it by throwing in a few questions or a question. Somebody might know the answer and respond to your call. The last time somebody answered this forum was 2,457 days ago to this day 01/04/18.

Happy gardening :-)

Time: 1st April 2018 10:37am

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benstyles1 says...
Can anyone suggest me anything about it ? https://catevolution.com.au/

Time: 8th May 2018 1:02am

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benstyles1 says...
I was hoping if anyone could share any suggestions on it, pls see my last message, thanks
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1

Time: 16th May 2018 3:51am

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Ben

Are you a cat or plant person or both? I looked at the website that you have quoted and all of the products advertised are for cats unless you are planning to harvest your cat poo or used kitty litter to fertilize your fruit trees and plants then you can share some of your experiences here and other forum members might also share theirs. Most people here are 'plantaholics' maybe some of them have cats but this forum deals mostly with green leafy things, obviously most of us in this forum are not 'felis silvestris catus' experts.

So please enlighten us if we are missing something here or vice versa.

Time: 17th May 2018 7:58pm

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benstyles1 says...
hi Fruitylicious1,

after reading your reply , i realized that i am both, the plant and the cat person. and i loved the idea you put in that i can use the fertilizer from the kitty litter for my garden. can you please guide me the way in ehich i can pursue your idea?
thanks

Time: 23rd May 2018 12:48am

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Ben

Most of the plant based food that we eat today are somehow fertilized by animal poo largely by chicken manure and that of cow, sheep, horse and the occasional wildlife like skippies and rabbits and in China it's not uncommon to use human excrement to augment the soils nutrients.

So if you are not overly grossed by using pet poop to fertilize your garden then by all means compost your pet poop. But there are a few reminders before embarking on this activity.

1. You cannot use the compost laced with pet poo within 18 months in your edible garden because of the pathogens that might be present. You can use it in your ornamental garden bed though in less than 18 months.

2. Use plant based bio degradable cat litter only like plain sawdust, cat litter made of pine or cedar, wheat based litter or from recycled newspaper.

3. Always use gloves when handling excrement.

Begin composting by first adding a layer of sawdust, soil, or leaves, simply dump your cats litter laced with poo and urine directly into your compost bin or pile. Cover it with a 1 inch layer of sawdust, soil, or leaves, and leave it alone. You can also add grass and plant clippings, off cuts from your veggies, chicken, cow, or sheep dung. When the time comes to empty your entire litter box, simply do the same, and add another layer of composting material. To speed up the composting process, it's a good idea to aerate the litter every few weeks. Do this in accordance with the manufacturers instructions, or, if you've built your own bin, simply turn the litter using a shovel or pitch fork. Also monitor the moisture of the compost pile. It shouldn't be too dry or too wet. When its already black, moist, and crumbly its ready to use. Remember the 18 months holding period. Store it somewhere safe if your bin is full and you need to do another batch.

Happy cat litter composting :-)

Time: 26th May 2018 6:43am

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benstyles1 says...
hi Fruitylicious1,
thats great man, i try to do all you advised. will tell you
cheers

Time: 30th May 2018 3:00am

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benstyles1 says...
hi Fruitylicious1,

just a quick question, can i use the dirt from my automatic self cleaning cat litter box as fertilizer?

thanks

Time: 7th June 2018 2:04am

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Ben

If the dirt is biodegradable and organic you can add the dirt to your compost heap as well.

Happy gardening :-)

Time: 8th June 2018 12:28pm

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benstyles1 says...
thanks, i will have to do a research on it

Time: 14th June 2018 5:01am

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benstyles1 says...
Done some research, will come up with the pictures for more guidance.

Time: 4th July 2018 9:11pm

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benstyles1 says...
hey quick question, will it be effecting the taste of fruits if use the fertilizers made out of poop from my cat litter box?

Time: 11th July 2018 11:33pm

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Fruitylicious1 says...
Hi Ben

A resounding NO! When I was growing up we have a few fruit trees near the outhouse, the taste of the fruits were still the same as the ones grown far away from the dunny.


Happy gardening :-)

Time: 12th July 2018 10:07am

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benstyles1 says...
Hi Fruitylicious1,
thank you so much


Time: 17th July 2018 11:23pm

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