Alpaca Poo

 

Alpaca

Now, you're probably thinking this is an odd post. To be honest, I'm thinking the same. It manifested out of an unexpected windfall of, you guessed it, alpaca poo.

We decided to take a walk on the Cornish side of the Tamar River last weekend and found ourselves wondering past the gate of Mount Edgcumbe House. A little sign greeted us simply stating "Alpaca poo", one bag for £2.50. How unusual. I duly popped my payment into the smiling piggy bank honesty box and became the proud owner of a heavy bag of poo. Hahah!

You can probably guess my intentions for it. In the spring, I'll incorporate it into the veg patch as fertiliser. Over the winter, I'm letting it mature in my garden's two compost bins. The worms are already getting to work on it. Pleasing to see.

Alpaca poo

I must admit, it has bothered me for a while that I don't have access to any sort of livestock manure to use as fertiliser. Manure increases soil organic content and plant available nutrients. It is just such a useful soil amendment, but I don't own livestock or even a rabbit or hampster. I ain't a farmer and it doesn't feel right caging a creature to simply keep a fluffy pet.

Well, I'm pleased this problem appears to have naturally resolved itself. A quick Google search revealed that Mount Edgcumbe offers alpaca treks for tourists. Slightly bizzare pastime if you ask me, but it means there will be plenty more poo where this bag came from. Nice!

I noticed a weird phenomenon when adding the poo to the compost bins. It barely smells. This confused me. I momentarily questioned whether my nose still worked. It turns out, I'm not going crazy. Doing a bit of research revealed that alpacas have particularly efficient digestive systems. Compared with sheep, for example, they are 50% better at extracting fibre from their forage. This means the organic content of alpaca poo is low. I feel suspicious this may well be why it smells so little.

Alpaca poo's low nutrient levels compared to manure from livestock such as cows and horses actually makes it highly sought after by gardeners. This is because it's lower nitrogen content means you don't need to compost it before spreading. If you wish, you can spread it fresh without burning your plants. The nitrogen levels are low enough, burning won't happen. What an interesting tidbit.

I'm going to be honest, this might be true, but as I grow food crops I would never take the chance. I don't recommend you do either. Like any other manure, alpaca poo can carry nasties like E. coli. Composting mitigates this risk, and your compost worms will love you for it! For me, it's a waiting game till spring now.

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