Our pets are part of the family and we hate to see anything happen to them. Let's be sure there's nothing we're doing in the garden that might be hazardous to their health. Today's discussion is all about avoiding the dangers from our compost piles, mushroom compost, mulch, fertilizers and amendments.
Episode Resources:
Mushroom Toxicity | VCA Animal Hospitals (vcahospitals.com)
Tremorgenic Mycotoxins - Moldy Food Strikes Back - CriticalCareDVM
Common Garden Dangers for Dogs - BluePearl Pet Hospital (bluepearlvet.com)
Dangers of Fertilizers to Pets (intermountainpet.com)
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Welcome back my gardening friends to another focal point
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Friday episode. Let's spend just a few minutes
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together, reviewing a snippet of information, from a previous
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episode, highlighting a new topic or quickly focusing on a
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current event in the food and agriculture world.
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Let's get down and dirty. I have had at least one pet in
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my household since I was 5 years old.
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It started with a cat than a dog and as an adult with many
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children, we've had everything from hermit.
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Crabs, two. Hamsters bunnies to budgies.
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And a myriad of cats and dogs over the years.
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And we live in a rural area on acreage, which means those cats
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and dogs have had the run of the place.
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It's a pretty good life in most cases, but what's not good is
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when one of those beloved pets, gets into something, they're not
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supposed to and it makes them sick, what we might find
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repulsive, like old rotting food, our pets find appealing
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and sometimes downright tempting.
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I can't tell you. The number of times we had to
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fight our horses off to get them away from a new load of compost.
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One year, there was just something in that particular low
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that they found completely irresistible.
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As for the dogs, they can't seem to get enough of the feather
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meal, we use as a nitrogen Amendment, if I spill any, they
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are, they're looking the ground. Trying to salvage as much as
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possible in most instances, these activities are fine.
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There's nothing dangerous there. But there are times when we use
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things in our Gardens, that might pose a threat to our furry
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friends. So, let's go over some of the
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things we might want to keep an eye on.
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When we have our four-legged family members in the garden
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with us. First up is compost, this might
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be a little surprising, let me composting at home.
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Can be a very passive activity especially for those of us who,
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you know? Kind of, take the easy way out
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of just throwing things in a heap and letting it sit there
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for a few years without really paying much attention to it
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while this works fine for use in the garden.
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The problem comes when we have pets that might be attracted to
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what's in that compost. Essentially, the foods from our
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kitchens are molding in that pile.
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Mold start to grow on moist porous surfaces within 24 to 48
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hours and it grows best in warm temperatures between 77 and 88
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Fair. Height and it doesn't need light
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to grow. So, the outer edge of our newly
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formed compost pile, sounds like these exact conditions and while
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we may have enough Brown materials, like dried leaves and
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shredded paper to keep us from being able to smell that molding
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and decomposition, our canine and Feline companions can still
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detect it, and it's attractive to them.
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Now, unfortunately, mold can be very dangerous for our pets to
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consume, and they can contain Our genic mycotoxins.
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Now, these are toxins that when ingested can lead to muscle,
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Tremors, vomiting drooling elevated, heart rate, and
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seizures among other things, most of the time.
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These types of mycotoxins will develop in the molds that are
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found on pastas breads, dairy, foods and Grains.
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So if you're adding any of these to your compost pile, be aware
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and build a barrier. So, your pets can't access your
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fresh compost pile. Now, this also means that mush
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Room compost can be a danger as well.
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The mycotoxins that can form in mushroom compost.
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Actually, come from the mushrooms themselves.
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So, unless we're purchasing a mushroom compost that has been
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sterilized before being sold. Like, if we're using our own a
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spent mushroom blocks, we have the possibility of exposing our
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pets to other types of neurotoxins, present in varying
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amounts in different. Mushroom types ingesting.
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These neurotoxins can lead to weakness.
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Lack. Of coordination, hallucinations
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strange vocalizations. And again, seizures and as a
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side note, this also applies to some of the wild mushrooms that
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may appear in our yards and our Gardens.
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So if you're creating your own compost or you're using large
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amounts of mushroom compost in your garden, take care to keep
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your pets out of it for their own safety.
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Our next concern is mulch. No, most mulches are going to be
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just fine, but in areas where cocoa mulch is readily
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available, this can cause a problem with our dogs, most
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everybody knows. Is that chocolate is toxic to
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dogs and cocoa mulch contains cocoa bean shells that are
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roasted and sterilized, but they still contain the two things
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that are toxic to dogs caffeine and theobromine.
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Now, unfortunately, it also has a lovely smell which can make it
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attractive to our canine companions, which will further
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tempt them to taste. It cocoa mulch, ingestion can
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lead to symptoms as benign as just mild gastrointestinal
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irritation all the way up to vomiting and diarrhea and then
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Two seizures and possibly death so unless you can guarantee your
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dog doesn't have access to the area, I would skip the cocoa
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mulch and then finally fertilizers and amendments can
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also be dangerous to our pets. I think it's pretty obvious that
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any synthetic fertilizer is going to have hazards if our
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pets are exposed and this can come in the form of ingestion
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but also in the form of exposure to their skin or fur.
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Not only can the chemicals be toxic to pets if ingested
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through eating or if Inhaled. They can also be absorbed
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through the skin or ingest it accidentally.
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When the pet is cleaning themselves, Andy of these things
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can cause digestive problems, respiratory issues and skin
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irritation and fertilizers may also contain other toxic
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substances, like, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides
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especially those ones that are used on lawns, which can be even
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more dangerous than the fertilizers themselves.
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But it's not just the chemically derived fertilisers.
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Users we have to worry about even our natural and organic
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amendments can cause problems if our pets get into them.
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Now these are typically leftover byproducts from the meat packing
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industry and they're usually meals of some sort bone meal,
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blood meal, feather meal and fish meal are the most common.
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And while these meals are often included in our pets dry kibble,
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they are also widely used as soil amendment products, and
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fertilizer components. These are highly palatable to
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our pets as Especially our dogs. I mentioned this with the
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feather meal and my dogs. These amendments may smell gross
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to us, but dogs have a different idea of the definition of gross.
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So this means if they gain access to a large amount of
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these amendments, they may Gorge themselves.
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A little ingestion, isn't a problem, but when it's over
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ingested, it can cause gastrointestinal problems like
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vomiting and diarrhea, excessive consumption can even lead.
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To a foreign body obstruction specifically from bone meal,
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congealing into a large solid Mass internally or even severe
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pancreatitis. So even if it's an organic
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Amendment, it doesn't mean it's safe for our pets.
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Keep your furry friends out of the garden for at least, 24
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hours, after applying any fertilizer or Amendment.
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And be sure to keep the bags out of their reach, when not in use.
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Thanks for joining me. On this focal point Friday.
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I'll be back. Back again, on Tuesday for
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another regular episode of the just grow something podcast.
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So, until next time my gardening friends, keep on cultivating
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that dream garden and we'll talk again soon.
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Back again, on Tuesday for another regular episode of the
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just grow something podcast. So, until next time my gardening
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friends, keep on cultivating that dream garden and we'll talk
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again soon.