Alpaca Manure.....

Mike in Ohio · #1 01/23/10, 04:32 PM

So I've heard good things in the past so when I saw a post on Craigs list for free alpaca poo near me went and got 125 gallons. When I got home I decided to doublecheck and googled a bit.

So now I'm confused and I turn to the brain trust.

Some say it can go straight on the garden beds and others say compost first. What say ye?

This also has some fine lime and a bit of hay mixed in.

Mike

SRSLADE · #2 01/23/10, 05:17 PM

Here is something else to think about : my brother is a herdsman for alpacas and I was offered all the manure I wanted (tons!-big herd).He happened to mention to me;"are you aware that alpacas harbor syphilis in their guts?".I immediately wanted to puke and just walked away.No thanks!He never elaborated on it and neitheir did I.What's that all about and what does this mean to the gardener?

Mike in Ohio · #3 01/23/10, 05:28 PM

SRSLADE,

A quick google shows that to be incorrect.

Mike

Gary in ohio · #4 01/23/10, 05:31 PM

Camilids (alpaca/llamas) have great direct to the garden manure.. Since they use a communal pile I would use my rototiller to grind it up and make a spreadable miix. Worked great for me.

SRSLADE · #5 01/23/10, 05:38 PM

Where do I look Mike?

artificer · #6 01/23/10, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SRSLADE

Here is something else to think about : my brother is a herdsman for alpacas and I was offered all the manure I wanted (tons!-big herd).He happened to mention to me;"are you aware that alpacas harbor syphilis in their guts?".I immediately wanted to puke and just walked away.No thanks!He never elaborated on it and neitheir did I.What's that all about and what does this mean to the gardener?

Alpacas are not capable of carrying T pallidum (syphilis) as far as I know. The myth is apparently from the 1800's, but has been disproven. Maybe others know more about it.

According to the following sites, you can directly apply the manure.
http://www.o2compost.com/content/Alpaca_Facts.htm
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Fertilize...aca-manure.htm
http://www.jenncriaranch.com/

If it smells, it probably has a lot of urine in it, and should be composted. If it doesn't smell, you can apply directly.

Michael

Mike in Ohio · #7 01/23/10, 05:45 PM

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=alpaca+syphilis&start=30&sa=N
There are a number of references to a U.S. Public Health Service study in the 1970s. Dig a little.

Mike

Jyllie63 · #8 01/23/10, 06:02 PM

Mike...I'm not sure where you live...but you can have all the alpaca poo you want for free from my farm...I'm in the Newark area

Mike in Ohio · #9 01/23/10, 06:32 PM

Thanks for the offer Jill. I think it's a bit far to haul (I'm in Strongsville) and I think my (new) local source can provide plenty. I'm just trying to decide what I want to do with what I got.

I think for the moment I'm going to unload the containers (25 gallon tree pots) from the trailer and set them by the garden area. I can decide to compost them or spread them later. It's supposed to rain overnight/tomorrow.

Mike

Callieslamb · #10 01/23/10, 07:29 PM

I hear a lot of things...and I put chicken poo directly on my garden anyway. It's dry and I don't put it ON the plants - just around them. I have never had a moment's difficulty. Don't expose plant roots while scratching it into the soil. Just put it on top and be gentle with the scratching-in.

I would worry more about the 'hay' mixed in with the alpaca berries. Is it hay or straw? Straw is okay - hay has seeds. How old is the manure- it might be sufficiently aged already. Or most of it will be - if it's from a pile.

Mike in Ohio · #11 01/23/10, 07:52 PM

Just got back in from moving the paca poo.

Callieslamb,

It's a little bit of hay that dropped on the barn floor from the feeder.

There isn't much of it so I'm not super concerned. I plan on mulching heavily anyways in the beds I will be using it in. The other spot I plan on using it is where we will be planting aspargus. I think I'll just dump it there along with some partially composted leaves and coffe grounds to let it compost some more until later in the spring. Then I'll spread it and till it in before I plant the aspargus crowns.

As we grow our operation (pun intended) I expect we will have more for manure to compost down as well as fertilizing. I also want to use it for preparing new beds for garlic.

Mike

braidsandboots · #12 01/23/10, 09:51 PM

Our garden loved the big batch of alpaca manure that went on it last year. Loved it.

Mike in Ohio · #13 01/23/10, 10:00 PM

braidsandboots,

Was it composted first or did you apply it fresh?

Mike

braidsandboots · #14 01/23/10, 10:03 PM

Both. We were loading from piles. Some were older than others. Some was fresh and some was a handful of months old. I didn't get any burning issues at all and had great yields for it being the first time growing anything in that area. If I were you, I'd use it. The person we got it from used fresh on their garden every year.

Mooselover · #15 01/23/10, 11:13 PM

i've got access to paca poo but i haven't tried it yet. our local 'plant guy', Cisco, says you can put it directly on plants without burning the plants. i'm all for that. the way baby moose is ripping the heck out of the yard, i'm sorta doubting i'll be doing anything other than container gardening this year.

but all is good cause he's my baby. i just feel really bad for the neighbor that has to view the potential barren earth around the fence line during growing season.

WolfWalksSoftly · #16 01/24/10, 05:31 AM

We started our garden beds with Alpaca manure..2 or 3 truck loads. Great stuff and never had any problems at all. Now the Alpaca's on the other hand....lol Nasty green spit!!

RJMAcres · #17 01/24/10, 10:20 AM

You can put alpaca & llama poo (commonly known as beans) directly on your
gardens. It won't burn anything up. Or you can soak a bunch of beans for a
few days in water and then use that water directly on plants also. That's known
as Tea. You can dry the beans also and then grind them. Great for house plants.

Been raising llamas for years.

Paquebot · #18 01/24/10, 01:15 PM

You'll find a wide range of claims for the actual NPK analysis of alpaca or llama manure. One site mentioned above had it at 1.5-0.2-1.1 and gave some strange explanation why the phosphorus level is so low. Another has it at 1.7-0.69-0.66 which would have its phosphorus the highest of hoofed farm animals. In reality, the dried analysis that I go by is .8-.3-.7 which is quite close to goat manure.

Martin

Jenn · #19 01/24/10, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SRSLADE

Here is something else to think about : my brother is a herdsman for alpacas and I was offered all the manure I wanted (tons!-big herd).He happened to mention to me;"are you aware that alpacas harbor syphilis in their guts?".I immediately wanted to puke and just walked away.No thanks!He never elaborated on it and neitheir did I.What's that all about and what does this mean to the gardener?

Your brother may have been joking or speaking of the idea that humans first got syphilis from sheep- and probably some herd animals alapca included have caught syphilis (don't know if it infects them but they could carry it just as a rubber doll could) from their herdsmen either in their female parts or in the end of their gut.

I'll omit the 'joke' I was told once about such stuff.