Using my duck pond mud for gardening?

[Alliesan648]

i have an in ground, continuously flowing, lined pond for my ducks and geese.. there’s about a foot of organic matter in the bottom that has accumulated over this past winter.
Does anyone know if this would work as a good growing medium for vegetables? Would it be too strong if I don’t let it compost? I’m thinking I’d have to amend it with some vermiculite because it’s quite dense but.. I have to shovel it out regardless.
wasn’t sure where to ask this, figured one of you fellow duck owners might know.

 

[quackiemama]

One of our little pools has a drain hose that I put in the garden boxes to water my plants and it does wonders. I am not sure about the actual sludge though so I will be watching this thread.

 

[PirateGirl]

Duck waste in general is not too hot to put directly on plants, however, yours has been at the bottom of the pond for quite some time and I don't know what ecosystem is like down there and what else is growing in it and/or decomposing in it. To play it safe maybe you can mix it in with some other organic matter and let it dry out some. If it was me, personally, I'd probably till it into my existing soil in my garden area and then plant things like a month later.

 

[Fisherlmiranda]

Do one pot of it as an experiment. Or a small area, and plant the same thing with out the duck sludge as a control for the experiment! I wanna know what happens!

 

[quackiemama]

I do want to note that I do agree the waste should not be put directly on vegetation. I just water the soil with it to avoid any contamination.

 

[Alliesan648]

Duck waste in general is not too hot to put directly on plants, however, yours has been at the bottom of the pond for quite some time and I don't know what ecosystem is like down there and what else is growing in it and/or decomposing in it. To play it safe maybe you can mix it in with some other organic matter and let it dry out some. If it was me, personally, I'd probably till it into my existing soil in my garden area and then plant things like a month later.

It’s definitly decomposing down there, I see bubbles rising often.
I don’t have an existing garden yet! But I’m gonna see what happens with the sludge I guess! Let the experiment begin?
I was half expecting a resounding “NO don’t do that!” so I’m really extra curious now.

 

[Alliesan648]

Do one pot of it as an experiment. Or a small area, and plant the same thing with out the duck sludge as a control for the experiment! I wanna know what happens!

Yesss! This is a great idea! I’m on it

 

[DuckyDonna]

It’s definitly decomposing down there, I see bubbles rising often.
I don’t have an existing garden yet! But I’m gonna see what happens with the sludge I guess! Let the experiment begin?
I was half expecting a resounding “NO don’t do that!” so I’m really extra curious now.

I pour my 4 buckets of duck water with daily sludge on my sweet potato plants in their bins every night. Last year I had a bumper crop!

 

[PirateGirl]

It’s definitly decomposing down there, I see bubbles rising often.
I don’t have an existing garden yet! But I’m gonna see what happens with the sludge I guess! Let the experiment begin?
I was half expecting a resounding “NO don’t do that!” so I’m really extra curious now.

I dump my mucky duck water in my raised beds daily, even when nothing is growing in there, to help prep the soil for when I do plant. The soiled straw often goes in the compost bin with other things to break down further.

 

[Duckworth]

In my (raised bed) garden, I use one-third vermiculite, one-third peat moss and one-third compost. I would substitute the sludge from the duck pond for the compost. Peat moss allows moisture retention and vermiculite helps with drainage. Both help lighten density. Compost/sludge provides organic nutrients. I put my spent bedding straw directly onto my vegetable garden as mulch. Rain quickly washes and poop down into the soil. It is not “hot” like chicken poop, so it doesn’t need to be composted first.

I wash my vegetables before I use them. Anything I can/preserve gets sterilized in the process. Because I mulch when my plants are quite small, the mulch gets rinsed into the soil before most edible leaves have grown in.