Blood meal as fertilizer – how to apply

Every gardener is well aware that on depleted, depleted soils, good yields of horticultural and horticultural crops cannot be obtained. In the old days, our ancestors used only organic top dressing. Many agrarians today are not going to refuse them.

With the development of chemistry, mineral fertilizers appeared that improve the structure of the soil and have a beneficial effect on the development of plants. One of the little-known fertilizers is Blood Meal, a substance of organic origin. Its properties and significance for the garden will be discussed in the article.

Description and composition

Blood meal belongs to the group of organic fertilizers. s still rarely use it on their personal plots. Fertilizer is not a product of the chemical industry, which increases its value.

Flour is a by-product of animal processing. At the slaughterhouse, blood is collected, from which it is then used to produce high-quality top dressing with a high nitrogen content for growing plants. Fertilizer is sold in specialized stores. Some gardeners prepare top dressing on their own.

How is fertilizer obtained?

The blood of farm animals and poultry is used as a fertilizer to obtain Blood Meal.

Processing steps:

1. During the slaughter of animals, the blood is collected in special containers and thoroughly mixed so that clots do not form.
2. Liquid blood is pumped with a pump into a vibroextractor, in which coagulation takes place – complete removal of moisture. This procedure is carried out with live steam.
3. After that, the dehydrated semi-finished product is transferred to the dryer, which consists of three compartments. After a certain time, ready-made fertilizer comes out.

In addition to blood itself, the composition of the fertilizer contains:

• bone semi-finished products;
• fibrin;
• protein;
• lysine;
• жир;
• methionine;
• cystine;
• ash.

Phosphorus and potassium are not contained in this fertilizer, which sometimes makes it difficult to use.

Ready-made blood meal is a free-flowing granular substance with a specific odor.

Characteristics

The main purpose of the Blood Meal fertilizer, judging by the description, is the rapid saturation of the soil with nitrogen for the successful growth of plants at certain points in the growing season. Like any product, it can have positives and negatives. Let’s consider these questions in more detail.

Advantages

So, what does the use of Blood meal give:

• soil composition improves, acidity decreases;
• plants grown in the ground grow faster, gain green mass;
• greenery on plants becomes bright and healthy due to the absorption of nitrogen (yellow spots disappear);
• increases the yield of garden and horticultural crops;
• the soil becomes more nutritious, its fertility increases;
• an unpleasant odor repels many pests, including rodents.

  

Disadvantages

Despite the fact that this is an organic fertilizer, it has negative sides that gardeners should be aware of:

• reduces the amount of phosphorus and potassium in the soil;
• application requires the strictest dosage, excess leads to burns of plants;
• reduces acidity, therefore it is recommended for highly acidic soils;
• limited shelf life, after six months in an open package, there are practically no useful properties left.

Feature of application

Gardeners who first encounter Blood Meal as a fertilizer are wondering how to apply it to plants. This is not an idle question, since organic matter is not recommended for all soils. In addition, application errors lead to negative results.

It is best, of course, to conduct laboratory studies. But this is not always possible for owners of personal subsidiary farms and summer residents. After all, the procedure is not only expensive. The reason is also that not every district, not to mention the village, has specialized institutions. Therefore, you need to know folk methods using improvised materials.

Determination of acidity

Our ancestors, having no special agrotechnical knowledge, grew rich crops on different soils. They were able to distinguish between acidic and neutral (alkaline) soils with improvised means and with the help of observations of plants:

1. Gardeners and gardeners have long noticed that not the same plants grow on different soils. Therefore, to determine the acidity, we were guided by the presence of various weeds. For example, grass woodlice, horsetail, plantain, creeping ranunculus and other plants love acidic soils. On neutral and alkaline soils, such weeds are found in single specimens and look oppressed.
2. Put a handful of earth and a little crushed chalk in a bottle, pour water over it. Close the container with a fingertip and shake well. If the fingertip fills with air, then the soil is acidic.
3. Currants and cherries are not only berry bushes, but also excellent indicators for determining the acidity of the soil. Chop the leaves and boil with boiling water. When the liquid has cooled, fill the soil. If soils with neutral acidity, then the water will turn blue. Acidic soils turn the liquid green.
4. Mix earth with water until a slurry is formed. Then add baking soda. If hissing and bubbles appear, the soil is acidic.

Terms of Use

The use of bone meal is possible in any form: dry and diluted. Moreover, one part of organic fertilizer is diluted in 50 parts of water. The resulting solution must be thoroughly mixed and left to infuse for several days.

The container with the solution must be covered with a lid so that nitrogen does not escape and insects do not get in. Water plants under the root. This fertilizer is especially important in early spring, when rodents can damage seedlings. After all, the unpleasant smell of blood scares them away, unlike dogs and cats.

Blood meal has a high nitrogen content (up to 13%), therefore, thanks to such top dressing, plants increase their green mass, their growth accelerates. But since plants need microelements such as phosphorus and potassium, it is necessary to add bone meal to the top dressing.

Since the saturation of plants with nitrogen occurs quickly, blood meal can be used for a limited time. One or two top dressings are enough in the spring, when the plants increase their green mass and before budding begins.

If your soils are acidic, but you still decide to use this organic fertilizer to enhance plant growth, then you first need to lime the soil with fluff lime or dolomite flour.

Instructions

Blood meal is a universal organic top dressing not only for horticultural and horticultural crops, but also for houseplants. Due to the presence of a large amount of nitrogen, the soil structure improves, the vitality of plants increases, which leads to good yields.

When working with fertilizer, you need to get acquainted with the instructions, apply nitrogen fertilizer strictly dosed. Here are some recommendations for dry fertilization:

1. When planting seedlings of vegetable crops, only 1 tablespoon of blood meal is added to the hole. For flowers, the amount increases by one and a half to two times.
2. In large planting holes for garden trees and shrubs, for every 30 kg of soil, add 500 grams of Blood Meal and mix thoroughly.
3. Under perennial flowers and shrubs 50-200 grams of the substance.
4. During spring preparation of ridges per square meter, 150 grams of organic fertilizer are applied.
5. 200-500 grams of top dressing is added to the trunk circle of fruit trees and mixed with the soil.
6. If you mix Blood and Bone Meal in a ratio of 100 to 400 grams, you get a complex top dressing that can be applied under crops 3-4 times during the growing season from spring to autumn.

Often blood meal is diluted in water. On a ten-liter bucket 500 grams of the substance and insist from 5 to 10 days. This top dressing is poured under the roots of plants. Since nitrogen is quickly and easily absorbed by horticultural and garden crops, you should not overdo it with fertilizer. Moreover, one top dressing is enough for 6-8 weeks, so the timing of plant nutrition must be observed.

Other organic fertilizers for the garden and vegetable garden: