×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Manage Account
  • Authors
  • Keyword Index
  • Join

Food Gardening Network

Growing Good Food at Home

Join
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Guides
  • Cookbooks
    • Beverages
    • Bakery
    • Breakfast
    • Appetizers
    • Salads & Dressings
    • Soups
    • Entrées
    • Side Dishes & Sauces
    • Desserts
  • Sign In
  • Search

How to Avoid Salmonella in Compost

How to Avoid Salmonella in Compost

There's no question that compost has a multitude of benefits for your garden. But do you need to worry if there's Salmonella in compost?

By Amanda MacArthur | January 5, 2023

salmonella in compost

If your idea of a fun afternoon is reading academic research papers, just Google “Salmonella in compost.” You’ll get titles like Cascading effects of composts and cover crops on soil chemistry, bacterial communities, and the survival of foodborne pathogens. To be fair, there is some pretty interesting information in the paper; I’m even using some of it in what you’re about to read. But reading about E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, and other pathogens is not really what I might call “fun.” 

As gardeners, though, we can’t ignore the possibility of Salmonella in compost. Don’t get too stressed out! It’s not all that common. Still, I’m guessing it’s not something most of us want to contend with. But does compost hide a dastardly bacteria that is out to make us sick?

Discover 7 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying tomatoes from your home garden—when you access the FREE guide The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes, right now!

What is Salmonella?

As far as bacteria go, Salmonella is kind of notorious. Certain strains of the bacteria cause typhoid fever! Don’t worry, though. That’s not what you’re going to find in your backyard garden. 

Your “basic” Salmonella can cause diarrhea, fever, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, or headaches. Salmonellosis, as the illness is known, may appear anywhere between six hours to six days after infection, and symptoms generally last less than a week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that most people recover with rest and plenty of fluids, though more severe cases may require hospitalization. 

Where does it come from? You might not like this answer. It’s kind of gross. The CDC says that “Salmonella live in the intestines of people and animals,” and that it is “usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with small amounts of animal feces.” 

I told you it was gross! This is why it’s important to wash your hands like 7 billion times while you’re cooking. In all seriousness, hand-washing and keeping your food prep areas clean are two of the best things you can do to prevent contamination. Let’s get back to the garden, though. 

Yikes! Is there Salmonella in compost? I’m about to put that in my garden!

There’s a lot I could say about compost. There’s even more I could say about using manure as compost. Compost can do wonders for any garden. And when you cure it and compost it correctly, some kinds of manure can be nutrient-rich amendments to your soil. The trick with either of these, however, is that they need to be fully composted or cured. 

Back to that research paper I mentioned…, it appeared in the Journal of Applied Microbiology, and there is a lot of information in there. I’d recommend reading it if you want to take a deep dive into soil chemistry, pathogens, and farming practices. Here’s the very abridged conclusion: 

Adding compost to your soil, including manure, can improve soil health to the point of inhibiting the growth of pathogens. “Proper composting techniques are known to reduce pathogen populations in biological soil amendments of animal origin, which can reduce the risks of introducing pathogens to farm fields in soil amendments.”

In other words, when your compost “cooks” for long enough and gets hot enough, that can kill much of the Salmonella in compost. And as you add compost and improve soil health, it becomes more and more resistant to these dangerous bacteria. 

The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Program agrees that compost and animal manure can be “exceptional organic soil amendments and fertilizers.” They offer a few tips to ensure the safety of any manure you may use.

  • Don’t use fresh manure in your food garden, as it often contains E. coli, Salmonella, and other pathogens.
  • Let your manure cure for two to four months before you use it. 
  • Incorporate any manure into the soil, so it doesn’t come into contact with plant leaves, fruits, and vegetables. 
  • Try to add manure after the harvest, or at least 120 days before you harvest any vegetables. 

Of course, you can always skip the manure and compost your vegetable scraps, egg cartons, coffee grounds, tea bags, and eggshells. 

The point is that Salmonella in compost, at least for home gardens, isn’t terribly hard to avoid. Use care in deciding where to get your compost, especially if it contains manure. If you do your own composting, make sure it gets hot enough to kill any bacteria and be sure it’s finished before you use it. 

Have you had any issues with your compost or other problems with pathogens in your garden? How did you handle it?

Discover 7 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying tomatoes from your home garden—when you access the FREE guide The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes, right now!

« Pros and Cons of Fabric Grow Bags for Vegetables
7 Fantastically Unique Vegetable Garden Ideas »

Related Posts

  • Is Pine Needle Compost too Acidic for Vegetable Gardens?
  • Ways to Make Compost Break Down Faster
  • Can Compost Tea Help Vegetable Gardens Thrive?

Tags

biological soil amendments, compost can, compost it, composting, organic soil amendments, Salmonella in Compost, soil amendments

Comments
  • Gayle O. December 18, 2022

    I’m with Amanda and Michele! I compost but it never gets hot. Composting that I do is in round black plastic containers with holes all around. It does break down but only the 3rd lower part. I do turn it, added composting enhancements, but haven’t seen any difference.

    Reply
  • Vasudha S. November 9, 2022

    Thankyou for clearing the doubts on salmonela and composting. Its helpful Gardening Ideas

    Reply
  • Ken S. August 31, 2022

    Same here. I have a dual-barrel composter that never seems to get hot and takes forever to compost.

    Reply
  • Jill P. July 7, 2021

    I would like to see an article on “How to get your compost to HEAT up”. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Amanda M. July 8, 2021

      Great idea! I’ll put that on the calendar.

      Reply
    • Michele M. May 26, 2022

      I agree – that would be very helpful to me as well.

      Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Give a Gift

FREEBIE!

With your FREEBIE, you’ll also receive regular email messages from the Food Gardening Network. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Your email address is private. We promise never to sell, rent or disclose your email address to third parties.

Freebies

  • How to Grow a Vegetable Garden
  • 15 Easiest Fruits to Grow at Home
  • Growing Vegetables Indoors for Beginners
  • How to Master Spice and Herb Gardening at Home
  • The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes
  • Recipes from Your Garden
  • How to Start a Freedom Garden
  • Gardening in Every Season
  • Planning Your Perfect Food Garden
  • Plants for Bug Control Chart

Browse Topics

  • Composting
  • Container Gardening
  • Easy Healthy Recipes
  • Food Preservation
  • Garden Design
  • Garden Tools
  • Growing Fruits & Berries
  • Indoor Gardening
  • Pests & Diseases
  • Seeds & Seedlings
  • Soil & Fertilizer
  • Spice & Herb Gardening
  • Vegetable Gardening
  • Watering & Irrigation

We will be attending the following shows in 2023:

  • MANTS in Baltimore, MD
  • Connecticut Flower Show
  • Vermont Flower Show
  • Philadelphia Flower Show
Click here to schedule a time to visit with us at the show!

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • MCMA logo
  • Renewd logo
  • Manage Account
  • Join
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2023 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network® and Food Gardening Magazine® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.

Go to mobile version