I've always heard that you should use manure from any carnivore because it will attract pests and just isn't that good. The boxes sound OK though. If there's a used book store in your area, check out Lasagna Gardening published by Rodale. Or check Ebay.

Hi used the lasanga gardening for vegatable garden last year. Came out pretty good. I had also planned on starting one for the perenials flowers. Anyone have that answer. I only use newspaper, scraps, bought manure, alyering 6 layers of paper, plus etc. scraps. craftylady_MA

I'd skip on the coloured inks, I think. Cereal boxes and the coloured supplements. Corrugated cardboard could be kinder to the invertebrates.

I have three dogs in the house and don't have too much choice about where their offerings go. I prefer them under big shrubs, not in a working bed because they take a while to break down.

If your dog is fed commercial stuff - dog roll or dry feed - then there are a couple of issues. Dog roll tends to produce a fatty sort of end result. Dry food disintegrates into a sort of 'bran mush'. In other people's gardens, where they are more than casual about picking up after their pets, I have made a trench about six inches deep and buried the offending items, topping them with lilies. Not startling growth, but there was a certain amount of drought resistance in that area of the garden.

If you feed lots of bones and raw meat then the end product is actually more alkaline because of the bone content. I've never seen fly activity on these offerings - and the worms tend to ignore them, too. They seem to 'weather', like soft rock.

If you always wear gloves to garden it could be worth making a small patch to deliberately study the results.

PS Apologies for the 'graphic details'.

Cat and dog manure has the possibility of carrying parasites and disease.

Paper and cardboard waste present a variety of problems because of the inks and preservatives used. Some cardboard is treated w chemicals to slow it's breaking down... and heavy metals accumulating in your soil are a long term possibility...

I'm 100% organic here and I try to err on the side of caution.

Good luck

I totally agree with andyjupiter, Cat and dog manure is definitely not the same as cow or horse manure. Please stay away from the temptation......you'll be glad you did.
As for the lasagna gardening, it's a great idea. I live in GA - home of red clay. I was able to establish a lasagna garden during one season and plant my veggies the very next. I'm still reaping lovely tomatoes and I can't wait to really establish the veggies in a second bed next year.

I used mainly plain cardboard and lots of newspaper which really helped