New back garden veg patch - Advice needed

[momol]

If it was the cistern, this only holds clean water, so there shouldnt be an issue there. If it was the waste pipe then thats a different matter.
Re cats, we have 3 of the little darlings which appears to keep others away and ours havent used (yet) my veg plot. The only sure fire way are dogs or Sewer rats fave, a gun. I would be tempted to try some form of high chicken wire fencing if it really became an issue, possibly with the horse's electric fence attached for a little while!!!

It is good to hear that the cistern has only good water (rain water), so Nature girls has no extra worries to think about.
When we were living in Belgium, we found out that the majority of their cistern are mix with the sewage water (so rain water and toilet flush are all together in the same cistern)....

[Nature Girl]

I'm now confused but fun speaking to you guys!

[momol]

Is this an extreme reaction to some cats/dogs/foxes pooing & peeing on your garden? I've never heard of anyone getting either of the toxo's from their garden (via cats or dogs or foxes)?

Not an extreem SBP, I study about it and I know how bad the disease can be.
I don't hate animals but I don't wan't to catch any of the diseases either.

[Nature Girl]

I think all in all pots & hanging baskets for the first few years & cut flowers in the beds! Great option all round!

[smallblueplanet]

Toxocara T. canis is transmitted by dogs and foxes and Toxocara T.catis is transmitted by cats. Both variants come from the roundworm Toxocara. It is the eggs from the roundworm in the faeces that can infect humans.

Random soil sampling shows that the majority of the parks in the UK are contaminated with Toxocara eggs in various stages of development.

The eggs are resistant to freezing and disinfectants and can survive for two years or more. One solution to avoid these eggs is to scoop that poop!

Humans can contract Toxocara through the contact of faeces carrying eggs of the parasite. The parasite can only infect humans if swallowed, which is why the majority of humans infected are children aged 18 months and five years. - from the Beeb

A 10 step guide to preventing Toxocara

* Make sure that children always wash their hands, especially after playing outside and before eating.
* Discourage your child from sucking its fingers. This is one of the most common ways for children to get infected.
* Don't allow children to play on the ground and eat using their fingers at the same time.
* Be sure that floors where children play at home are cleaned with antibacterial cleaners. This practice kills Toxocara eggs that may have been transported into your home on your shoes or on your pet's paws.
* Don't put small children on the entrance floors of public buildings.
* Don't leave young children unsupervised with a pet.
* Fence around play areas to keep your children safe and also to keep dogs away from play equipment.
* Train cats to use litter trays.
* Cover sandpits to keep cats and dogs out.
* Always clear up pet faeces immediately using a nappy sack, a carrier bag or a poop scoop bag, and deposit it in the nearest dog bin or, if at home, in a safe and secure bin

Southwark Council | Your Services | Environment | Animal Welfare | Toxocara

Oh it also says 'The type of toxocara found in dogs can endanger human health. The type of toxocara found in cats has only rarely been associated with cases of Toxocariasis (Toxocara infection).'

I'd have thought that if you practice reasonable hygene routines ie wash your hands and veggies after gardening you should be okay?

[Cutecumber]

I am no microbiologist/ epidemiologist but I know that you have to actually come into contact with the nasties in cat and dog faeces - i.e. it needs to be ingested or be taken into the body through eyes, nose or mouth in some way. Vegetables are not going to take up anything from the soil, it needs to be on it.

In a garden where cats and dogs are present, good hygiene is essential. Remove any deposits as soon as you can - wrap in paper, bag and bin it. Always wash your hands and vegetables - especially those which come into direct contact with the ground.

There are plenty of unpleasant things that lurk in the oil - tetanus for example - which is why it is always sensible to practice good hygiene.

There is no reason why you can't grow edible crops, you just need to be careful and clean.

[veg4681]

Thanks SBP for the above, I was vaguely aware of those facts. When I was pregnant I was very paranoid about digging soils in the garden as you can't always tell where the cats may have pooed. Washed my hands frantically with any contact with soil but I've drifted a bit so will be more careful again. Still better to be safe than sorry.

[smallblueplanet]

Thanks SBP for the above, I was vaguely aware of those facts. When I was pregnant I was very paranoid about digging soils in the garden as you can't always tell where the cats may have pooed. Washed my hands frantically with any contact with soil but I've drifted a bit so will be more careful again. Still better to be safe than sorry.

Sounds like its dog & fox poo you've got to be really careful with?

[veg4681]

Sounds like its dog & fox poo you've got to be really careful with?

Have neither of them ever hanging around in my garden but you can't stop the neighbour cats wandering in looking for royal loo. Sorry Nature Girl for hijacking your thread, we do get carried away now and then.

[momol]

Thanks SBP for the above, I was vaguely aware of those facts. When I was pregnant I was very paranoid about digging soils in the garden as you can't always tell where the cats may have pooed. Washed my hands frantically with any contact with soil but I've drifted a bit so will be more careful again.

Pregnant women should be careful of out door cat not because of the toxocara but more to the toxoplasma which outdoor cats carries. Toxoplasma can cause serious foetus defect. Cats that carries toxoplasma does not get sick as they are the Vector (so as birds and apes) and they can infect other cat easily by sniffing each other back part ( I mean...anus).

[SarzWix]

Nature Girl, it will be fine to grow veg in your soil, just wash 'em before you eat 'em. When you have the soil cleared, put some wire mesh over it until the veggies are planted/big enough to discourage the cats. And if you've been gardening, wash your hands before you eat anything or pick your nose... No need for any panic! If your garden was overgrown, chances are the cats won't have messed in it anyway - they like a clear space for their bum & no chance of prickles...!!

[bobleponge]

Ok plumbing for beginners. The cistern is the bit that sits above the toilet that has the handle, push rod whatever for flushing. If this is leaking you normally get a wet floor. I shouldnt imagine this was the bit that was leaking all the way into your garden.
If it was anything else indoors, it will be the soil stack (in the UK). That would be quite unpleasant, but still not sure how that would affect the garden.
If its some form of soak away from the house underground, to be honest its unlikely to have gone upwards anyway, water (and even though we produce solid waste the majority of what leaves our houses is water) will find the easiest way to escape, and that is almost never upwards.
That finally leaves a septic tank if you are not on mains sewerage. Now if these things leak its generally a bit whiffy. The older style needing emptying every so often by the "honey sucker" whereas the new ones are completely biodegradable, the final product emanating being clean enough to drink apparently (hands up who wants to try that). For either type however, unless your soil is solid clay, and the only escape was straight up, you will almost definately be ok.
Wherever it emanated from, without actually seeing your house, I would think it very unlikely for a leak to have infected your garden to any degree, as for that to happen you would physically see the "detritus" above ground.
And finally, as already mentioned in this thread, its how our soil used to be nourished in days gone by, and, as I know to the cost of my nasal lining, still is in Kabul.

[Nature Girl]

Thank you Boblepong & all. Great info... & yes your right our kitty cat does prefer a soft throne of catsan & generrally runs around crosslegged outside untill she can visit her delux indoor kitty loo!

Ha Ha!!

Also the water was coming from a small pipe out of the wall behind the loo which the plumber simply adjusted the ball clck & problem solved - No more water!