blood meal application question
I was thinking of adding my first application of blood meal into the soil early so it has time to get down into the dirt. But is this a good idea? or will it basically just be gone by the time I set out the transplants?
yeah, I'm wondering if it breaks down in the soil or just remains there until it is used. And if it breaks down, what's the half life? Basically I was thinking of kinda getting the soil ready early so that it is more than ready when the transplants go out there. Just don't know if I'd be wasting my money and the blood meal. But I know some crops, like corn, use a lot of nitrogen. I gues If I want to get the soil ready early all I really have to do is put the nitrogen out there just a few days early instead of months in advance.
I'm sure this is just a product of my getting overly anxious to do something, anything to get working on the garden. I'm so antsy it's driving me (and my girlfriend) nuts!
I'm sure this is just a product of my getting overly anxious to do something, anything to get working on the garden. I'm so antsy it's driving me (and my girlfriend) nuts!
Hi GardenRN, we buy blood & Bone (meal) probably the same thing?, I add it to the soil at about 2-4wks out from planting, along with a bit of dolomite (spring) or lime (autumn) and potash, (potassium) which B&B meal lacks as a complete NPK balanced plant food.
If I'm running behind on things, I wack all of the above on the patch, dig in a bit, remove top 6-9" of the soil, lay down compost, replace the fertilized soil and plant or sow. Works for me.
If I'm running behind on things, I wack all of the above on the patch, dig in a bit, remove top 6-9" of the soil, lay down compost, replace the fertilized soil and plant or sow. Works for me.
Thanks for the suggestions hangon! Actually from what I've read blood meal is almost all nitrogen (maybe.6%K and 1.2%P compared to 12%N) while bone meal has a little more P&K. I have access to all the free composted horse manure I want but that is also minimal from what I have read. I don't have a lot of straight up compost so I try to add it in the areas of the garden where the heaviest feeders were the previous year. I really should make the effort to do more of my own composting but having neighbors close by and sharing the yard with the kids, I don't really want it to be smelly, or attract any rodents or anything else.
SO much I'd like to do, so little time and space. Maybe I can retire VERY early and just live off the land
SO much I'd like to do, so little time and space. Maybe I can retire VERY early and just live off the land
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rainbowgardener
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Best thing you can do for your garden is homemade compost!
Besides what else are you going to do with all those scraps, trimmings, clippings, pulled weeds, fall leaves, etc? Send all that good stuff to the land fill?!
Compost piles when managed correctly (which is not difficult) have NO odor. You could stand next to one blindfolded and not know it was there. I bring out my bucket of kitchen scraps, which may be quite "fragrant" if it's been a while since it was emptied. Dump it on my compost pile, cover it with a deep layer of leaves and voila, no odor!
If you have your compost in a bin, it won't attract any large creatures. But it has to be well aerated. My compost is just in a wire grid enclosure. The grid is small enough that large creatures can't get in. But I know that mice/vole/shrew sized critters do get in sometimes, because the pile is disturbed. But my compost pile is away from my house, so it won't draw the little guys to my house, so I don't begrudge them. If you don't want them you can use an enclosed bin with just airholes.
Besides what else are you going to do with all those scraps, trimmings, clippings, pulled weeds, fall leaves, etc? Send all that good stuff to the land fill?!
Compost piles when managed correctly (which is not difficult) have NO odor. You could stand next to one blindfolded and not know it was there. I bring out my bucket of kitchen scraps, which may be quite "fragrant" if it's been a while since it was emptied. Dump it on my compost pile, cover it with a deep layer of leaves and voila, no odor!
If you have your compost in a bin, it won't attract any large creatures. But it has to be well aerated. My compost is just in a wire grid enclosure. The grid is small enough that large creatures can't get in. But I know that mice/vole/shrew sized critters do get in sometimes, because the pile is disturbed. But my compost pile is away from my house, so it won't draw the little guys to my house, so I don't begrudge them. If you don't want them you can use an enclosed bin with just airholes.
Well I do have an actual bin for my compost. It is a green cube with air slots in the sides. The bottom is open but of course the ground takes care of that and it has a lid for the top. It's only like 3x3x3 which makes it hard to mix up, and it fills up rather quickly only to reduce to almost nothing as the stuff composts. I really think that something much bigger than that would be a bit unsightly (although I could put it on the other side of my shed. I throw in what I can of kitchen scraps, yard clippings, garden leftovers (at the end of the year) and whatever else I can find along with a little bit of news paper and cardboard. It just doesn't seem to decompose at the rate I need it to. I either need something bigger, or I need it to decompose quicker. Not sure how to do either one.
What usually ends up happening is I throw my stuff in there till it's filled and then leave it alone for a while and then start adding more as it starts to reduce. I don't bother trying to stir it up because it's just a hassle. I guess a more motivated and optimistic approach would be the first step. lol
What usually ends up happening is I throw my stuff in there till it's filled and then leave it alone for a while and then start adding more as it starts to reduce. I don't bother trying to stir it up because it's just a hassle. I guess a more motivated and optimistic approach would be the first step. lol
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rainbowgardener
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I have one similar to this
[url=https://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=wire+composting+bins&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=8596458373333482264&ei=gU1ETdaWLoXZgAe4lez0AQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEgQ8wIwAw#ps-sellers]wire compost bin[/url] but with a (wire) lid for it.
It is likewise about a 3' cube. For me, by the time I fill it, it is time I can start a new pile. I just move the bin to a new spot, take all the uncomposted stuff off the top to be the bottom of a new pile, and expose the composted or mostly composted stuff at the bottom. Once the stuff on the bottom is exposed and stirred up, it quickly finishes. That's all the turning I do, and I do it about seasonally. Within three months or so (more in winter, but I don't need compost then anyway) there will be more finished compost at the bottom. If you need more compost space than that, they make similar ones that hook together, so you can have two or more bins.
I don't find it unsightly. Since I cover everything with leaves I collect in the fall, it mostly looks like a pile of leaves and blends into the landscape quite well.
If you really need it to cook down faster, more turning is better. You can get a compost stirrer to make it easier to do that
[url=https://www.amazon.com/Compost-Aerator-Turner-Gardening-Fertilizer/dp/B000PWD26C]compost aerator[/url] I just use a long sturdy stick to punch holes down through the pile, for aeration between turning times.
The other thing is to make sure your compost stays moist enough. If the compost materials dry out, it stops working until it gets moistened again. If you aren't getting rain, you need to water it. I water my compost pile any time I am watering my garden.
[url=https://www.google.com/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=wire+composting+bins&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=8596458373333482264&ei=gU1ETdaWLoXZgAe4lez0AQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEgQ8wIwAw#ps-sellers]wire compost bin[/url] but with a (wire) lid for it.
It is likewise about a 3' cube. For me, by the time I fill it, it is time I can start a new pile. I just move the bin to a new spot, take all the uncomposted stuff off the top to be the bottom of a new pile, and expose the composted or mostly composted stuff at the bottom. Once the stuff on the bottom is exposed and stirred up, it quickly finishes. That's all the turning I do, and I do it about seasonally. Within three months or so (more in winter, but I don't need compost then anyway) there will be more finished compost at the bottom. If you need more compost space than that, they make similar ones that hook together, so you can have two or more bins.
I don't find it unsightly. Since I cover everything with leaves I collect in the fall, it mostly looks like a pile of leaves and blends into the landscape quite well.
If you really need it to cook down faster, more turning is better. You can get a compost stirrer to make it easier to do that
[url=https://www.amazon.com/Compost-Aerator-Turner-Gardening-Fertilizer/dp/B000PWD26C]compost aerator[/url] I just use a long sturdy stick to punch holes down through the pile, for aeration between turning times.
The other thing is to make sure your compost stays moist enough. If the compost materials dry out, it stops working until it gets moistened again. If you aren't getting rain, you need to water it. I water my compost pile any time I am watering my garden.
I can probably fit some of those wire bins behind my shed. And having two is a good idea. I get what you're saying about covering each layer with leaves, that seems like a good (and reasonable/smart) idea to keep things less smelly and better looking overall. ok...maybe I can give this another shot. Now I just have to get some wire bins. I think I'll just make mine though out of some stuff from Lowes.
Now I just have to get some kind of bin to put the kitchen scraps in so they don't start to stink. Maybe I can get a decent sized tupperware with a lid.
Now I just have to get some kind of bin to put the kitchen scraps in so they don't start to stink. Maybe I can get a decent sized tupperware with a lid.
I agree with RG. While things like bone/blood meal may have a temporary effect and may be good if your soil is barren, compost really is the best option. You will be improving your soil over the long-term...and it's practically free! That's always great.
Now, as far as your kitchen scraps are concerned, there actually exist containers that are a really nice stainless steel that you can put right on top of your counter-top that allow you to keep your scraps in them and they have lids to keep the odor down.
Now, as far as your kitchen scraps are concerned, there actually exist containers that are a really nice stainless steel that you can put right on top of your counter-top that allow you to keep your scraps in them and they have lids to keep the odor down.
[quote="rainbowgardener" The grid is small enough that large creatures can't get in. But I know that mice/vole/shrew sized critters do get in sometimes, because the pile is disturbed".]
Yes, you can't seem to have enough compost. I use a very simple arrangement, three piles, on the ground at different stages, ie; ready, still adding too & composting. (all covered with a sheet of black plastic, held down with large stones)
The composting one is turned weekly, if I remember. I get them up to around (just less than) a cubic yard. It's easy for me though, as I have plenty of room.
About little animals though, this morning I was starting a new compost pile, and when going for my pile of horse manure and
there was a nice big diamond backed python coiled up in the middle of it. So thats the reason the mice and bush rats had vanished, good, 
no more tomates or courgettes being eaten. Still started the compost, used chook munure instead.
PS GardenRN, all the above advise on compost not smelling is dead right, it does need to be done correctly though, plenty of dry stuff and fresh air.
Yes, you can't seem to have enough compost. I use a very simple arrangement, three piles, on the ground at different stages, ie; ready, still adding too & composting. (all covered with a sheet of black plastic, held down with large stones)
The composting one is turned weekly, if I remember. I get them up to around (just less than) a cubic yard. It's easy for me though, as I have plenty of room.
About little animals though, this morning I was starting a new compost pile, and when going for my pile of horse manure and
there was a nice big diamond backed python coiled up in the middle of it. So thats the reason the mice and bush rats had vanished, good, no more tomates or courgettes being eaten. Still started the compost, used chook munure instead.PS GardenRN, all the above advise on compost not smelling is dead right, it does need to be done correctly though, plenty of dry stuff and fresh air.
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rainbowgardener
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- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
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The kitty litter we used to use (until we switched to wheat based product) came in about 2 gallon size plastic buckets with tight fitting lids. We still have a bunch of them around. They just fit under the kitchen sink and are great for collecting scraps. We keep one under each side of the sink-- one with a lid for compost and one without for glass/plastic recyclables. Other kinds of products often come in plastic like that-- I think laundry soap, sometimes bird seed, other stuff.GardenRN wrote:
Now I just have to get some kind of bin to put the kitchen scraps in so they don't start to stink. Maybe I can get a decent sized tupperware with a lid.