Can deer manure be put in the compost or used directly on a garden?

Depending on where you live in the valley, keeping deer manure out of your garden would be a major accomplishment and one that most of us don't dream of achieving, so I'm guessing that you're asking the question because you have a surprising amount of it kicking around and you're tired of trying to avoid it every time you head out your back door.

I looked for information to suggest that deliberately putting deer manure on a garden carries any greater risks and/or benefits than throwing down cattle, horse or sheep manure and that doesn't appear to be the case. Manure, regardless of its source, can contain pathogens that cause illness in humans or domestic animals. If it's too fresh, it can burn plants or rob them of nitrogen. Manure can also contain weed seeds, so many gardeners compost it before putting it on their gardens in the hopes of keeping problems to a minimum.

That being said, deer manure should confer all of the benefits that you get from any other manure, including adding nutrients, improving soil structure, increasing water holding capacity and improving aeration.

Can fruit tree leaves that have insect or disease problems be put in the compost?

The problem with a lot of insects and diseases is that they don't die from the simple act of sticking them in your compost pile. While it's true that, at least in theory, compost piles are capable of generating temperatures high enough to kill most pathogens, in practice that's rarely the case anywhere but in commercial composting operations.

In home gardens, it's not uncommon for temperatures generated by a compost pile to be high enough to melt the snow off the top for much of the winter, which is nice, but not so high as to put an end to the majority of tiny creatures that are living in it. As a result, they can pop up again next year and replicate the problems they caused this year.

Removing the leaves from your property is a far better option when dealing with disease or infested plant material even though it goes against the urge to divert all things green from the landfill.

To submit a question to Riverview master gardener Vanessa Farnsworth, please send her an e-mail at vanessa@gardenmuse.ca or visit her website at www.gardenmuse.ca.