you have two things.

Safe from burning roots, if manure has aged enough that it is no longer hot - earthy as you described, then it should not longer be hot enough to burn plants.

But even aged manure is still going to have dangerous bacteria in it. All soil pretty much as dangerous bacteria in it. Which is one reason why we don't eat dirt. The key to safety when ti comes to eating food from the garden is to wash your food and hands thoroughly before you eat.

Somewhere around here, I have an article re: food safety, in light of the recent outbreaks.

The basic gist of the article was that as long as we grow food outdoors, the risk of contamination exists.

I grow, raise or otherwise produce about 90% of all my food, tropical and non-seasonal fresh produce being the primary exceptions. Do I stay up nights worrying about when I'm gonna get sick from it? Lord, no. There's a better chance of getting sick from Aut Wanda's potato salad.

That being said, the whole point of allowing a pile of manure to sit for a while (what is composting after all?) before adding to a garden or field is to allow the volatility to leach out and become safer for the plants, not us. If we truly knew all the things that could affect us negatively...the last thing we'd be concerned about is whether or not the neighbor is using chemicals.

So what if your composting skills aren't that great. Do not let that stop you. If composting were hard to do, none of us would be doing it. All it requires is a little time, some patience, and a willingness to get dirty from time to time.

Here's an interesting article for you on this topic.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegetable growers not the cause of sickness from spinach

It would be a shame to have fears stop an enterprise.
This pathogen scare regarding commercial produce is really overblown when you consider the numbers involved.
I forage in my garden while working it,almost never wash it off first.I use no sprays of any kind,either insecticidal or compost teas.I never have fresh manure around plants.No sickness in myself or family,occassional cold maybe.Arthritis.
I do compost lots of manure,and do traditional post-season manuring/tilling. My compost skills are good,but I'm either lazy or have other things to do,so I don't turn much.IMO,letting any compost sit for long periods of time is a trade off-it's always transforming to another stage.Depends what your use is.Refer to the thread about "Finished vs. not finished compost". But when handling manures or raw compost,I keep my hands away from ingestion routes.

Keep in mind that a few years back John Stoessel on ABC's 20/20 did an "expose" that pretty much said tht people eating organically grown foods would die from E. Coli but failed to report that the food samples from the "conventional" farms had that bacteria as well. None of the latest rash of illness caused by E. Coli has been cause by foods from organic farms, even though the distributor of the first batch had large signs saying "Certified Organic" that were largely displayed.
As Joe indicated in his post soils have many pathogens, disease causing bacteria and viruses, as well as many other types of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that can help control the pathogens.
Simply allowing manure to "age" is a waste of a valuable resource because the nutrients in that manure are lost to the atmosphere while composting that manure ties those same nutrients up for later release by the Soil Food Web.

I head that the ecoli in spinach thing was traced to wild pigs getting into the fields in CA's central valley. I actually can vouch for the numbers of pigs out there- I shot one a couple years ago in Santa Maria (tacked on a quick hunting trip to a business trip in San Fran). There were maybe 15-20 pigs in one of the groups that I saw. Manoman they make a mess.

Well, that doesn't prove anything, but it does make me think about wild boar chili- so it's a good thing.

-pH- internal stimulus...

Well, I'm not sure I have the answer to my original question. Fresh manure can sometimes contain dangerous pathogens that won't be eliminated by simply rinsing fresh produce that comes into contact with it. (These are of a different kind than the organisms in ordinary soil.) This danger is much less if the manure has been hot-composted, reaching temperatures that kill those pathogens, but my composting process might not heat everything through. Is cold-composting for a full year enough, or should I avoid the use of compost containing animal manures on food to be eaten raw unless I'm prepared to hot-compost them?

... well, now that I've had my coffee ... thanks joepyeweed, good to know it'll be safe for the plants. alphonse, it sounds like you're careful not to ingest the stuff directly but you don't worry about applying it around your garden. I think y'all are telling me that the health danger, if I cold-compost for a year or so, isn't great enough to hold up the works!

Just my own personal opinion, I think post like Jeannie7 makes with incorrect, or just partially correct info. stirs up a lot of un necessary concern this way.

Posted above are statements that I agree with, germs and bacteria are everywhere, there is a loss of valuable resources to let manure set and age for a long time, etc. but I think that each person has to do what they are comfortable with. One of my former daughter in laws thinks that compost, manure and all the other things that go into making it are so gross that she would not eat anything from my, or my neighbor's garden. Didn't bodder me none, left more for those of us who did like the produce.

Perhaps there is some value, somewhere in such a discussion because of the fact that there probably are some people without enough common sense and judgement to know better than to side dress their vegetables with raw, fresh human manure. However I think that most people have enough sense to know better, or to do some research if they did not know.

Animal manures have been used by people around the world for centuries with fairly good and safe results. Some cultures do use human manure extensively, and have learned how to do it safely, but that is something that would probably gross me out and I would shy away from it.

My brother was overly concerned about my using horse manure because of the possibility of tetnus. My Doctor said, no problem, is your Tetnus shot up todate, or do you need one?
I have never had a hint of problems from making compost and gardening. I only know of one person (who used to post here and lives in Nevada) that got a pretty bad infection on one of his hands from digging in his compost pile with an open cut on his hand.

I think that if our immune system is in fairly good condition, it protects us night and day from all kinds of germs, bacteria and pathogens. And with normal, reasonable care, washing hands, taking care of breaks in the skin etc., most of us will be O.K. If there is some reason to think that our immune system is not up to par, more care and caution are in order.

To your question :"Would simply aging the material (manure + browns + minerals) for a full year or until it looks nice and earthy be enough to make it safe for use on food plants (and prevent it from burning roots)?"
I would answer, In my opinion, yes definitely, if you use the part that is nice and earthy!
Others are free to disagree, depending upon their degree of caution.
Bill P.

Nygardner,

There is one thing I do when I come to this site, that is to ready the purpose of "Soil, Compost and Mulch" which states:

"This forum is for the discussion of all aspects of soil--including topics like creating a healthy, balanced soil, methods of composting and using mulches effectively."

I always keep this in mind when I make a post, for "health" is one of the most important things I can think of, right up there next to breathing. I recently suffered an illness due to my lack of thinking while handling manure/leaves/ woodchips, so I feel I have a stake in your question.

If a person handles compost making in a manner with safety in mind I see no reason to be of concern about the nature of what we are using in composting. We are dealing with garbage, refuge, manures, and other natural "liquids" that can cause problems if we are not careful. Your concern makes me feel you are well qualified to handle all manner of composting in a safe and healthy manner. If one follows the general guidelines of composting success will follow. Manures mixed with the proper ratio of browns will heat up, and heat up rather well in a short period of time. With proper turning and maintaining an adequate moisture level it is hard to not get it right. I have found in composting, experience is the best teacher. No one can show you what "moist as a wrung out sponge" feels like. My moist can be different from the moist of a person with carpal (sp) tunnel, so each person has to make a pile and see what happens. I like to use the word "misted" better than the standard line, but I think you get what I mean.

The only way to learn how to do it is to "do it". You can buy one of those temperature things to check the heat level if you like; I used one until they found out it was missing out the kitchen. I let mine cure (sit for months) because I have a lot on hand all the time, not because I have too. If you feel letting yours cure will give you peace of mind "do it". You will have some really good compost on your hands if you do IMO. The best I can offer is to do what you think and feel is right in your heart, that way you canÂt go wrong. You can make some good stuff; of this I have no doubtÂ

Blutranes

I would not hesitate to use the material (manure + browns + minerals) after I let it sit for a year decomposing. It would be safe enough for me.

Lloyd

I think it is fair to point out that the organism in question in the recent lettuce contamination is e. coli, which is present naturally in the gut of both humans, wild pigs, and other memmals. Other common food contaminants (listeria, salmonella, etc.) are also found in soil. not just compost, ALL soil that has not been sterilized. Organisms like e. coli do not enter the tissues of the lettuce, but are carried along on the surface of the lettuce or other produce.

Proper refrigeration and cooking, as well as washing of uncooked greens with clean water eliminates most foodborne illnesses. I'm not just pulling this out of a hat. I have lived in countries where fieldgrown produce is frequently contaminated (either through direct application as fertilizer, or indirectly during processing) with human waste. Folks who live with the daily fact of contaminated produce go through a lot of fairly extreme measures to get a safe green salad (one friend regularly washed her lettuce with dishwashing soap!), or they combine thorough washing with cooking at high temperatures for an extended period of time. I have experienced food poisoning (Norwalk, salmonella) several times, but in each case I could link the cause of the illness to poor sanitation in a RESTAURANT.

We Americans like our green produce crunchy and/or raw for health reasons, but I believe this may have a coincident side effect of making us more vulnerable to poor processing methods and contaminated water supplies between the field and the table. If you are growing your own produce you have the ability to control what kind of material gets into your compost, and hence your soil. You can also control the cleanliness of water and surfaces when you prepare your salad. In other words, you have your fate (mostly) in your own hands. Wash them well.