Safe for veg?

[SteveC]

A colleague, who obviously thought I knew rather more about gardening than is actually the case, asked me about re-using some ground which used to be under an aviary.

About 3 years ago there was a bird aviary at the bottom of our garden, which I believe contained Pigeons and possibly Cockatoos (or other exotic birds). Three years ago the bird house was removed are replaced with grass, we now wish to turn part of this area into a vegetable patch. Are there any potential risks with this from soil contamination?

He has a small child (well under school age) and one of the reasons for wanting a veg patch is to get her to understand where food comes from. He did say the grass grew rather well there!

Any advice?

Thanks

Steve

[Pancho]

I'd have thought not.

We always used to spread the muck from the hen house on the veggie patch and it never did me any harm.

[Julian]

Mrs. Beeton's Garden Management says that birdshit is one of the best things evah for veg.  High in ammonia, so veggies love it.

[Zoidburg]

A lot of fertilizer comes from guano.

[SteveC]

Thanks people.

My mate now knows what he's going to be doing over the next bank holiday weekend.

S