Visit the horticulture subdivision of any major retailer that trade horticulture product and you ’re likely to be bombarded with tons of dissimilar products . Some are constitutive , some are n’t , and it can be hard to make heads or tails of it . One of the product you may see in the gardening section of your local market is os repast . But what incisively is it and why would you need to impart bones to your soil anyway ?
Bone meal is a powerful puppet in the organic gardener ’s toolbox , and it ’s something you should definitely apply , particularly if it seems like your garden is n’t doing all that well . In this clause , we ’ll talk about what it is , what it does , how to use it , and why you should use it ?
What is bone meal?
Before you apply it to your garden , it aid to know what pearl meal is . os repast is precisely what it sounds like – ground up animal bones that have been pulverized into a fine repast - like message . Typically beef finger cymbals are the bones used , but not always . you could technically make it yourself out of pretty much any creature os . Commercially manufactured bone repast is typically steamed to help increase the bioavailability of the os ’s food for your plants .
Using the bones of once - living animals , specially cows , may seem a little bit gross , but do n’t worry – you wo n’t belike become sick from using it . Some have been concerned about the cattle ranch of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy , more commonly called ‘ mad moo-cow disease ’ through bone meal , but this is not a real threat . All beast bones used are tested for frantic cow disease and must total up negative for the disease . If you ’re concerned , wear gloves and a masquerade when handling ivory meal and thoroughly dampen your work force after using it .
What does bone meal do?
So we know what bone repast is – basically strand up animal bones – but what does it do on the nose ? This fertilizer is used to tot up phosphorus to the soil in your garden . Phosphorus is vitally important to your garden ’s health , and if your soil comes up low in phosphorus when tested , add together a bit of bone repast to your grunge may do the trick . It ’s a good idea to test your soil ’s pH before adding it . If it ’s above a pH of 7 , down in the mouth the soil acidulousness before adding phosphorus .
How do plants use phosphorus?
Just like us humankind , plants need a number of nutrients in order of magnitude to get and develop in good order . There are a aggregate of 17 nutrients found in sizeable filth , and one of those food is phosphorus . But how do plants apply phosphorus ?
Phosphorus is crucial to the development and growth of plant . The food is used in every individual living cell of the major planet and is cardinal to a act of function , like photosynthesis and nutrient movement within the plant . It ’s also of import for healthy flush .
plant suck up phosphorus from the soil they develop in . It ’s brought in through the antecedent and transported to the rest of the industrial plant .
How to apply it to your garden
If you have determined that your soil is in desperate indigence of some daystar and the pH is an acceptable level under 7 , it ’s time to contribute some os meal ! In general , it ’s recommended that you add 10 pounds of pearl meal fertiliser for every 100 satisfying feet of garden outer space . So if your garden is 10 feet by 10 feet , 10 pounds will suffice .
My favorite way to add it is by mix in it in with manure and then apply it to the soil . I append a bit of manure to my garden every surrender and permit it sit until spring . The nutrients from the manure as well as the bone repast slowly seep into the grunge , and when tilled in the outpouring , it gets distribute nice and even .
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