LLAMA MANURE for compost

mresseguie · February 5, 2007

Hello, all.

Last summer I met a llama breeder in my area (Oregon) who has a herd of 55 llamas. Oddly enough, these animals produce voluminous amounts of manure. The breeder is eager to rid himself of much of the manure, and has gladly offered to give me some. (approx. 8 pickup loads so far)

Prior to my meeting, I had done some reading on how great llama manure is for the soil. Since August I have been adding this stuff to my beds. I am eager to start planting in this soil to see just how great it is.

So.....my questions........

Has anyone out there tried llama manure or llama manure compost before? Is it all that it is cracked up to be? Do some veggies perform better than others? Are there any problems associated with using it?

I look forward to any and all replies.

Best regards,

Michael in OR....zone 8

garnetmoth · February 5, 2007

well, they have 3 stomachs, so Id guess they should be closer to cow manure than horse manure?

http://extension.ag.uidaho.edu/mg/southeast/Apr03.htm

this says llama poo is less smelly, and can be added over the winter to condition for the spring.

I dont know what pathogens llamas could harbor, but in general its safer to compost manure (except worm casting, theyre pretty safe as-is)

good luck!

landarc · February 5, 2007

My sister's garden is llama poo based and is fabulous. She started with really bad silty clay and has been amending with llama poo for three years now. Her garden grows fabulous veggies, and the flavor is better than anything I grow, despite the fact that the seed is the same. I will say that she also cover crops clover and fava beans in the winter.

The was no real composting process and llama is known for not requiring composting as it is not as hot, and is fairly well processed fresh from the factory upon release.

Ruth_10 · February 5, 2007

Llama manure is fabulous! Get as much as you can get your hands on (use your shovel. The previous owners of our place raised show llamas and left behind a nice-sized pile of llama manure. The top of the pile was fresh stuff, below was well composted. We used it heavily on the area that was to be our melon patch, and we went from clay to beautiful loam in one season. The cantaloupe and watermelon loved it.

Llamas belong to the camel family and as such extract a lot of moisture from their poops before pooping (pardon the technical language here). Llamas like to poop in the same spot and the poops are more or less pelleted. They will take up water if left out in the rain and the stuff will get slippery (I got our lawn tractor stuck while hauling some

).

I'm not aware of any pathogens that one should be concerned about. Most people who have llamas take pretty good care of them.

So go for it!

PaulF · February 6, 2007

How about alpaca poop? My brother and his wife raise alpacas and I am sure with 15-20 of the animals they would have a ready supply.

mresseguie · February 6, 2007

Awesome replies! Thank you very much for your enthusiastic replies. Despite there being llamas in this area, local gardeners <apparently> have yet to discover their 'contributions'.

Garnetmoth,

Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that one in my search. I experimented with the dry pellets last year by adding a mulch layer of pellets to one of my tomato beds. They did an excellent job of retaining moisture. Unfortunately, I didn't make side-by-side comparisons using different mulching materials, so I can't claim the pellets are superior in that respect.

Landarc,

We have Willamette Valley clay just below the surface here, so I know where she's coming from. I hope I can get similar results this year.

Ruth,

I started a special bed last fall just for melons and/or squash that is 50% pellets. The rest is leaf mold, coffee grounds, straw and native soil.

My last load of pellets (in '06) was in November, and they were almost like clay themselves-wet, slimy, and slippery. I learned my lesson; I will allow it to dry a bit before I harvest it.

Paul,

Some of the information I was able to glean made mention of alpaca poop as being nearly identical to llama poop. Go for it!

In closing, I'd like to thank the moderators for this fine website community. I've learned many things since I stumbled upon it. I also just found the SSE website 2 days ago(!). I've already decided to try growing "Silvery Fruit Tree" tomatoes. I don't know how they'll do here as I haven't met anyone who grows them. Along with that discovery, I have ordered Carolyn's book. I look forward to it.

Thank you, all, for your contributions.

Regards,

Michael in OR....zone 8

Got compost?
(I love to compost.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

feldon30 · February 6, 2007

I'm fairly certain alpaca manure can be used directly in the garden.

PaulF · February 6, 2007

Great! In a month I'll get a big sheet of plastic to protect the pickup bed, throw the shovel in the back and alpaca manure here I come.

February 5, 2007	#1
mresseguie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Oregon Posts: 159	LLAMA MANURE for compost Hello, all. Last summer I met a llama breeder in my area (Oregon) who has a herd of 55 llamas. Oddly enough, these animals produce voluminous amounts of manure. The breeder is eager to rid himself of much of the manure, and has gladly offered to give me some. (approx. 8 pickup loads so far) Prior to my meeting, I had done some reading on how great llama manure is for the soil. Since August I have been adding this stuff to my beds. I am eager to start planting in this soil to see just how great it is. So.....my questions........ Has anyone out there tried llama manure or llama manure compost before? Is it all that it is cracked up to be? Do some veggies perform better than others? Are there any problems associated with using it? I look forward to any and all replies. Best regards, Michael in OR....zone 8 __________________ Learning to speak tomato! Got compost?

February 5, 2007	#3
landarc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Left Coasty Posts: 964	My sister's garden is llama poo based and is fabulous. She started with really bad silty clay and has been amending with llama poo for three years now. Her garden grows fabulous veggies, and the flavor is better than anything I grow, despite the fact that the seed is the same. I will say that she also cover crops clover and fava beans in the winter. The was no real composting process and llama is known for not requiring composting as it is not as hot, and is fairly well processed fresh from the factory upon release. __________________ Lets see...$10 for Worth and $5 for Fusion, man. Tomatoes are expensive! Bob

February 5, 2007	#4
Ruth_10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MO z6a near St. Louis Posts: 1,349	Llama manure is fabulous! Get as much as you can get your hands on (use your shovel. The previous owners of our place raised show llamas and left behind a nice-sized pile of llama manure. The top of the pile was fresh stuff, below was well composted. We used it heavily on the area that was to be our melon patch, and we went from clay to beautiful loam in one season. The cantaloupe and watermelon loved it. Llamas belong to the camel family and as such extract a lot of moisture from their poops before pooping (pardon the technical language here). Llamas like to poop in the same spot and the poops are more or less pelleted. They will take up water if left out in the rain and the stuff will get slippery (I got our lawn tractor stuck while hauling some ). I'm not aware of any pathogens that one should be concerned about. Most people who have llamas take pretty good care of them. So go for it! __________________ --Ruth Some say the glass half-full. Others say the glass is half-empty. To an engineer, it’s twice as big as it needs to be.

February 6, 2007	#5
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,294	How about alpaca poop? My brother and his wife raise alpacas and I am sure with 15-20 of the animals they would have a ready supply. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

February 6, 2007	#6
mresseguie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Oregon Posts: 159	Awesome replies! Thank you very much for your enthusiastic replies. Despite there being llamas in this area, local gardeners <apparently> have yet to discover their 'contributions'. Garnetmoth, Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that one in my search. I experimented with the dry pellets last year by adding a mulch layer of pellets to one of my tomato beds. They did an excellent job of retaining moisture. Unfortunately, I didn't make side-by-side comparisons using different mulching materials, so I can't claim the pellets are superior in that respect. Landarc, We have Willamette Valley clay just below the surface here, so I know where she's coming from. I hope I can get similar results this year. Ruth, I started a special bed last fall just for melons and/or squash that is 50% pellets. The rest is leaf mold, coffee grounds, straw and native soil. My last load of pellets (in '06) was in November, and they were almost like clay themselves-wet, slimy, and slippery. I learned my lesson; I will allow it to dry a bit before I harvest it. Paul, Some of the information I was able to glean made mention of alpaca poop as being nearly identical to llama poop. Go for it! In closing, I'd like to thank the moderators for this fine website community. I've learned many things since I stumbled upon it. I also just found the SSE website 2 days ago(!). I've already decided to try growing "Silvery Fruit Tree" tomatoes. I don't know how they'll do here as I haven't met anyone who grows them. Along with that discovery, I have ordered Carolyn's book. I look forward to it. Thank you, all, for your contributions. Regards, Michael in OR....zone 8 Got compost? (I love to compost.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ __________________ Learning to speak tomato! Got compost?

February 5, 2007	#2
garnetmoth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: cincinnati, oh Posts: 492	well, they have 3 stomachs, so Id guess they should be closer to cow manure than horse manure? http://extension.ag.uidaho.edu/mg/southeast/Apr03.htm this says llama poo is less smelly, and can be added over the winter to condition for the spring. I dont know what pathogens llamas could harbor, but in general its safer to compost manure (except worm casting, theyre pretty safe as-is) good luck!

February 6, 2007	#7
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	I'm fairly certain alpaca manure can be used directly in the garden. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]