{"id":24279,"date":"2024-06-28T14:57:14","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T18:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?p=24279"},"modified":"2024-06-28T14:57:22","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T18:57:22","slug":"do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you test soil for toxoplasmosis?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question:<\/h3>\n

Do you test soil or vegetables for toxoplasmosis? My cat has been using a part of the garden as a litter box so I\u2019m a bit freaked out about eating <\/strong>the produce from it. I\u2019m hoping that you can test for it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/h3>\n
Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional<\/em><\/div>\n

Unfortunately, toxoplasmosis is not something the\u00a0UMaine Soil Analytical Lab<\/a>\u00a0tests for. And so far, as I’ve looked into it, most of the resources I can find are for testing in cats or human subjects who may have been exposed, not the soil itself. I suspect you would have to contact private labs to see if that is something they cover.<\/p>\n

I can point you toward a few good links for information:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0a previous “Ask an Expert” response on cat using the garden as a litter box<\/a><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0this reply on “Ask Extension”<\/a><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0this Univ of CA Extension page on cats in the garden<\/a><\/p>\n

The short version is you’ll need to clean out the cat droppings and their surrounding soil, wait a couple of seasons to let any pathogens or parasites die, while keeping the cats from continuing their visits (the links above have good suggestions for this, but a nice fence is always helpful, if it’s feasible).<\/p>\n

In the meanwhile, you don’t want to eat the produce from those spots, unfortunately. It’s entirely possible there is no toxoplasmosis, but other contaminants are also common from pet feces, so it’s best to be careful. That said, as the Univ of CA draws attention to above, there are always numerous possible hazards in the garden, and good gardening practices help mitigate them. Wear protective clothing, wash thoroughly in clean water all produce, and know that soil contaminant risk is highest with root vegetables, less so for stems and foliage, and least so for fruits, generally speaking. But even with those last two, rain splash and hot, dry conditions can put soil particles on all parts of the plant, so washing is essential.<\/p>\n

Happy gardening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Do you test soil or vegetables for toxoplasmosis? My cat has been using a part of the garden as a litter box so I\u2019m a bit freaked out about eating the produce from it. I\u2019m hoping that you can test for it? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional Unfortunately, toxoplasmosis is not something […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,207,201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask","category-soil","category-vegetables"],"yoast_head":"\nDo you test soil for toxoplasmosis? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do you test soil for toxoplasmosis? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Question: Do you test soil or vegetables for toxoplasmosis? My cat has been using a part of the garden as a litter box so I\u2019m a bit freaked out about eating the produce from it. I\u2019m hoping that you can test for it? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional Unfortunately, toxoplasmosis is not something […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-28T18:57:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-28T18:57:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"twood\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"twood\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"twood\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518\"},\"headline\":\"Do you test soil for toxoplasmosis?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-28T18:57:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-28T18:57:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/\"},\"wordCount\":346,\"articleSection\":[\"Ask the Expert\",\"Soils and Composting\",\"Vegetables\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/\",\"name\":\"Do you test soil for toxoplasmosis? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-28T18:57:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-28T18:57:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Do you test soil for toxoplasmosis?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/\",\"name\":\"Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard\",\"description\":\"Information you can use. Research you can trust.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518\",\"name\":\"twood\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8c7b5c8d78336ceef76f813278762e12972bcd042b075da831f24d0320bdb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8c7b5c8d78336ceef76f813278762e12972bcd042b075da831f24d0320bdb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8c7b5c8d78336ceef76f813278762e12972bcd042b075da831f24d0320bdb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"twood\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/author\/twood\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Do you test soil for toxoplasmosis? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Do you test soil for toxoplasmosis? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","og_description":"Question: Do you test soil or vegetables for toxoplasmosis? My cat has been using a part of the garden as a litter box so I\u2019m a bit freaked out about eating the produce from it. I\u2019m hoping that you can test for it? Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional Unfortunately, toxoplasmosis is not something […]","og_url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/","og_site_name":"Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard","article_published_time":"2024-06-28T18:57:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-28T18:57:22+00:00","author":"twood","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"twood","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/"},"author":{"name":"twood","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518"},"headline":"Do you test soil for toxoplasmosis?","datePublished":"2024-06-28T18:57:14+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-28T18:57:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/"},"wordCount":346,"articleSection":["Ask the Expert","Soils and Composting","Vegetables"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/","name":"Do you test soil for toxoplasmosis? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-06-28T18:57:14+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-28T18:57:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/06\/28\/do-you-test-soil-for-toxoplasmosis\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Do you test soil for toxoplasmosis?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#website","url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/","name":"Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard","description":"Information you can use. Research you can trust.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/#\/schema\/person\/9f0056a6c4a281b4f517e1313fa2c518","name":"twood","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8c7b5c8d78336ceef76f813278762e12972bcd042b075da831f24d0320bdb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8c7b5c8d78336ceef76f813278762e12972bcd042b075da831f24d0320bdb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc8c7b5c8d78336ceef76f813278762e12972bcd042b075da831f24d0320bdb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"twood"},"url":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/author\/twood\/"}]}},"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":199,"label":"Ask the Expert"},{"value":207,"label":"Soils and Composting"},{"value":201,"label":"Vegetables"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"twood","author_link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/author\/twood\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":199,"name":"Ask the Expert","slug":"ask","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":199,"taxonomy":"category","description":"This is the top level category for all posts submitted to our Ask the Expert gardening questions form.","parent":0,"count":652,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":199,"category_count":652,"category_description":"This is the top level category for all posts submitted to our Ask the Expert gardening questions form.","cat_name":"Ask the Expert","category_nicename":"ask","category_parent":0},{"term_id":207,"name":"Soils and Composting","slug":"soil","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":207,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":199,"count":79,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":207,"category_count":79,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Soils and Composting","category_nicename":"soil","category_parent":199},{"term_id":201,"name":"Vegetables","slug":"vegetables","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":201,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":199,"count":65,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":201,"category_count":65,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Vegetables","category_nicename":"vegetables","category_parent":199}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24279"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24281,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24279\/revisions\/24281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}