Manure has been used as fertilizer since the dawn of time, but not all manure is the same. If you're a pet owner, you might just have an untapped gardening resource on your hands — it all depends on your furry friend, as one TikToker revealed.
The scoop
This tip came from California gardener Tara (@gardeningwithtara), a lover of both rabbits and home-grown veggies. "If you know, you know," she says in her video. "And if you don't know, I'll just tell you."
@gardeningwithtara Rabbit poo also has higher nutrient levels compared to other manures! Thanks for the free fertilizer Juniper 🐰🫶🏻 #organic #fertilizer #growyourownfood #gardening ♬ original sound - Gardening with Tara
According to Tara, bunny droppings are the secret ingredient in her garden's success. "So rabbit poop doesn't have to be composted," she says, displaying a jar full of pellets labeled "bunny poop."
"It's not considered hot manure like cow or chicken poop, so you can use it directly in the garden."
Manure is considered "hot" if it has a high nitrogen content, Homes to Love explained. This can cause it to burn plants if applied directly, so it needs to be composted to break it down first and release its nutrients safely. "Cold" manures have a high carbon content compared to their nitrogen, and release their nutrients much more slowly, so they don't burn plants even if you put them straight into the garden bed.
"You don't like the idea of just dumping poop in your garden?" says Tara. "You can throw it in the compost bin, but I am all for [one] less step."
How it's helping
If you want to give your garden a boost, fertilizer is a must. However, synthetic fertilizers are expensive, and the runoff pollutes local water sources. Composting is an eco-friendly alternative, but it takes time.
If you have a free source of cold manure, that's a simple, fast, no-fuss way to give your plants all the nutrients they need, all without involving harmful chemicals.
What everyone's saying
Several commenters vouched for rabbit manure as fertilizer. "That stuff is amazing. Makes tomato plants huge," said one user.
"When I was a kid, I had my rabbits right next to my garden," said a second commenter. "Grew ginormous turnips!"
A third user had a suggestion to make cleanup easier. "I use pine pellets for the litter, and I can just dump the whole thing in the garden," they said.
"Yesss!" Tara replied. "My bun is still litter training, but I'm also using a compostable litter so I can do the same!"
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