old cat's poo in veg patch

Lol Merlotgran. Little queue forming at the plant advice desk whilst poo is being examined! Cherwell, I'm a bit like you, I have a large trug (not suitable for lots of veg of course, just 'erbs and tomatoes) because my dogs pee up stuff and I can't bear the thought of eating something they've peed on. Have to say, works well for the poor old back too. Once you've conned a 'son' to heave the compost in, the rest means no bending. Had it a few years now and it's been great. OH was disgusted at the original outlay expense and informed me that 'What do you think happens in fields full of herbs, crops, vegetables then? Foxes crap on them, rats run through and wee on them' and other such stuff. Thanks OH for ruining the idea of my 'shop boughts' too!

SuzieB you are clearly going about this in the wrong way!
DH doesn't mind a bit producing what is necessary if I 'prime him' with good ale. I find that 'Old Peculiar' works very well so long as he doesn't imbibe too much!

We have a new veg patch and so I have reread this thread with interest. Anything else that others have had success with?
Can't get DH or DS to wee there. Will ask DGS1 to oblige, he is 5 and not so shy!

"white chalky substance" - we have a dog and a cat . The cat's poos are dark brown, the dog's are white and chalky. The dog eats raw and her poos are hard, and dry out to a chalky colour. So it could be dog poo.
I wouldn't worry. Their pee does more harm.

Runny fox poo is far worse.

I have tried curry powder and they don't like it. However, once it rains, it washes away. You may find you have ready-curried vegs.

mind boggles at Jeyes fluid on veg patch- what does it do to the really hard working worms, and all the other beasties that make the soil fertile?!?

Good to deter badgers too- but only before they've settled territory.

Fresh cat poo can be a pain- but I really would NOT worry about a bit of old dried up poo. If you are, just put on gloves, pick up and discard- easy.

I'm told that the best way to keep cats and foxes out of your garden is to sprinkle the edges with human urine and people say it really works. It has to be male urine apparently - not sure why. Unfortunately I can't persuade either my son or husband to oblige. They don't seem to mind getting it on the loo mat though!

grannyjack, I really think you need to educate yourself about soil.

However - not as horrified as I was when a young newly-wed. We went on holiday with another couple - I now realise had had OCD - and when we went into the sea, she suddenly produced from nowhere a bottle of bleach, which she proceeded to sprinkle around herself! We were all appalled, and didn't really know how to react (badly!) and the poor girl stayed out of the sea for the rest of our holiday. The rest of the beach went down her shower and loo every day and probably thoroughly mucked up the bacteria in the village's water system.

As an organic grower - so do I! I remember my first FiL telling me to use it on the soil in my greenhouse - then telling me to follow it up with a tobacco smoke bomb!

"a bit of sterilisation" on a veg patch!!!!!!!!!!!!

What about all the gazillion microscopic beasties that live in the soil????

I think that's a terrible thing to do.

I have 2 cats & before I sow my veg patch I water it with a diluted solution of Jeyes Fluid. Keeps them off & a bit of sterilisation as well. I used to live on a dog walk route & once a week watered the pavement outside with diluted Jeyes Fluid & dogs weren't interested in fouling there.
PS - I have no investment in this company!

Thanks for all the comments. They have all been helpful, and made me realise that it is not such a big deal, and perfectly manageable.

DH would love to find a way to stop the foxes pooing in the middle of the lawn.
We also get cat poo in the flowerbeds, can't complain about that though, it's our cat

It could well be faeces from an old cat. When mine got older, they became more negligent about burying the evidence. Younger cats usually cover it over.

Yes, but a bit of it in compost shouldn't be a problem. Chickens are omnivores so their shit is too strong to put straight on beds, but its strength means that it is a great compost activator.

An alternative approach, if one doesn't want it in one's compost is to bury it. Worms and other beasties will then deal with it out of sight.

Is one difference though that poo from herbivores (e.g. horses) can be excellent fertiliser, whereas cat poo and dog turds are from carnivores and so quite different?

Natural fertiliser. Why worry? If I didn't want it on a particular spot of garden I'd just chuck it on a compost heap.

We mostly get roe deer droppings now. I just leave them where they are and they disappear into the ground in due course. I made very good compost when we had chickens.

I took this as a simple statement until I saw the apostrophe.
Old cats poo in the veg patch
Old dogs prefer to use the lawn
C'est la vie!
(And old gits DH gets up several times in the night . But that is probably TMI )

PS it's quite funny watching young passers by as one of the cat scarers faces the road. When it's triggered you can see them looking around for the noise source. It's even funnier if an adult is with them who can't hear it!!

in again on again

Possibly, but there's a complicated bit (on mine anyway) about turning the sound right off then in again if you want to readjust the level. Apparently they don't work if I just turn them up or down.

Try testing them with a small child (age 7-8 works best as they are still young enough to hear them but sensible enough to judge the sound levels)

I wonder if I had dodgy ones - mine didn't work on them at all. At one time a cat was pooing on my doorstep every day, which was why I bought them.