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How close to a vegetable garden is it safe to bury a dead possum?
It is safe to bury a dead animal next to any plant in the garden just as long as you bury it very deep in the soil. The animal will decay and become great food for your plants. Just dig a really deep hole in the ground before you bury the animal. Then when it decays there won't be an odor and another animal won't arrive to dig it up.
Years ago, our home extension office said never bury dead animals with 25 yards of a food garden. They can carry various diseases and bacteria that can leach into your food. Additionally, they should be no where near a tributary or water run off source. Meaning water that gets into your food garden. If it is just flowers they said it was ok.
Call your local home extension to see if that is still current practice. I still abide by it. Even to the point if I see a dead mouse anywhere near where I plant, it gets shoveled to the end of the property.
As most garden vegetables send roots down no more than 6 to 9 inches, dead animals buried in a "really deep hole" will never be great food for your vegetables.
