manure should always be worked in the ground as far as i am concerned as for health risks there should be no health risks to you or to an unborn for eating the veggies from the garden. so get pregnant and enjoy healthy garden veggies and composted manure is not only homade it is also store bought just has been sitting a while sort of like composting clippings and other stuff

Most all bagged store-bought manure is already well composted so no problem there and many use it with no problems.

But I agree that it is best when worked into the soil - that can be done with just a hoe or a rake, lightly stirring it into the soil surface. It's a great fertilizer and many will side-dress the plant rows with it as you would with any fertilizer.

The advice to not apply it after the garden is planted is given to avoid burning the plants with the nitrogen in it. But it is also recommended that it not be used around root crops or low growing leafy vegetables such as lettuce for extra safety. As long as it is kept away from direct contact with the plants there is no problem with using it after the plants are in.

Assuming you use good garden hygiene and wash all the produce well before eating it, there are no other safety concerns.

Dave

I use composted cow manure, both mixed in the soil and sprinkled lightly on top of mulch to ast as a tea when I water.

Should not be a health risk since you are going to wash it anyway.

The bagged stuff I use is so well composted it just smells like earth--not what it was 6-12 months ago.

Marlin, you have my empathies. We used to have a neighbor who planted highland poplar trees all along the property line, not more than 5 feet apart, and right up to between the houses. Needless to say, a decade later, we're still dealing with all the problems these trees caused (even after new neighbors cut down most of them).

One year the trees got so badly infested that I finally said something to the idiot. His answer was to saturate his entire property with Cygone.

I was finding dead lizards, mantids, and even birds all over my yard for the next several weeks. Sigh.

Moron and his family finally moved across town... not far enough away for our liking, but at least not next door anymore.

I use a compost from plants in my veg garden and composted manure in my shrub and rose gardens. They love the stuff! I tickle the soil with a rake and the worms will obligI fly pull it down thru the soil. Around my Hydrangeas I will add some peat moss for acidity. With the compost. I do this once in spring once in fall. The manic is in the water you give them. Enjoy your gardens🥰