Animal waste can be a beneficial way to fertilize your garden, but only if you do it the right way. Here’s how to use manure safely in your garden.

Organic gardeners know that garden health has a lot to do with fertilizer. If you are growing organically, you know you need to avoid most commercial fertilizers that contain chemicals, so you probably make at least some of your own compost.

But there is quite a bit of confusion out there about what should go into your compost. Should you use animal waste in your compost? And if so, which animals are best? Are there any animal wastes that you should avoid? Can you use it around edible plants, and if so, how should you use it to keep your food safe?

The helpful infographic below answers these questions and explains how to safely use animal waste to fertilize your garden, and where to find good sources of manure. (Make sure if you get manure from local farms that you consult with the farmer first and find out how the animals were raised, and what they were fed. Ideally, you will only want to use waste from organically raised and grass-fed animals in your garden to avoid introducing harmful chemicals to your soil.)

Source: Fix.com Blog