Rabbit Power

I have had rabbits most of my life, including now. They've always been the perfect pet: Quiet, low maintenance, small, inexpensive to feed (and eat vegetable scraps and weeds), and provide the perfect fertilizer. When I was growing up we always used the rabbit poop in the garden and I didn't think much about it. It was the natural thing to do.

Well, it still is.

Recently, as I was trying to figure out what kind of fertilizer to use for our little fruit trees, I started wondering if something more natural (and certainly cheaper), like our rabbit's droppings, are good for trees too. So I looked it up, and here's what I found (and was reminded of):

Rabbit Poop is...

• a "cold" manure--meaning it won't burn your plants, like other non-composted manures can
• a natural "time-release" fertilizer (I love that!)
• a natural "steroid" for plants because it contains 3.7% nitrogen, 1.3% phosphorus, 3.5% potassium, and contains trace elements of calcium, magnesium, boron, zinc, manganese, sulfur, copper and cobalt. Amazing! (see this website)

Also, I learned from this site that, "Of all animal wastes, rabbit droppings have the highest nitrogen content. Chicken waste is a close second" (we'll have that soon too!). "Rabbit droppings also contain phosphorus, which is important for flowers and fruit trees."