Contents
When it comes to crop quality, choosing the right source of nutrition for plants, vegetables and fruits is a priority. Proper care, digging and watering give results, but in the modern world, when progress does not stand still, it has long been customary to use additional food for the garden or vegetable garden. Organic fertilizers are very well suited for this. Many of them have long been known to mankind – this is manure, peat composts. A relatively new natural product that is used as a fertilizer is bone meal.
Description
Organic fertilizers have long proven themselves in practice as an excellent plant nutrition. One of the most popular varieties of such top dressing is bone meal. This is a product of animal origin, it is inexpensive, but has a fairly high performance and brings many benefits to the garden. Bone meal as a fertilizer is widely used by the countries of Europe and the CIS, it is an absolutely natural additive that does not damage the soil.
Such a substrate is obtained by grinding the bones of cattle, in fact, it is a by-product of the processing of animal carcasses. The substance formed after grinding has the form of a powder with a yellowish tinge. Its composition is very rich in various minerals and trace elements: sodium, iron, iodine, manganese, zinc and copper, magnesium and cobalt are just a part of this valuable list. Of course, the main elements of the yellow powder, which allow it to be used in the agricultural industry, are phosphorus and nitrogen. Due to this combination, the bone substrate is also called phosphoazotine. Experts recommend the use of phosphoazotine as a natural mineral supplement for plants, which has 10 main advantages:
- high humidity (due to the content of animal fat);
- naturalness, rich composition;
- applicable for all types of crops – garden, vegetable garden, even home flowerpots;
- the period of complete decomposition is from six months to 8 months, after which the powder completely merges with the composition of the soil;
- does not saturate the soil with nitrates, pesticides;
- top dressing with phosphoazotine brings good yields, which is proven by world experience;
- cheap, does not take up much storage space, can be purchased and added to the soil in small doses (grams or spoons);
- you can use phosphoazotin immediately dry, which cannot be said about compost or manure;
- one application is enough to feed the plants for the whole season;
- phosphorus enters the root system of the plant gradually, in a balanced way.
Video “How to make flour from bones yourself”
Video instruction.
How to use bone meal
Bone oatmeal is universal, yet there are some things you should pay attention to. For example, the composition of the soil. As the main plant nutrition, phosphoazotine is added to acidic soil. The main element phosphorus dissolves well in an acidic environment, poorly – in ordinary water. Therefore, the high acidity of the soil is of great importance: it allows you to use the potential of the substance to one hundred percent.
The most popular calculation formula is as follows: 100-200 grams of bone substance nourishes 1 square meter of soil. For fruit trees, it is better to use a dose of 200 g, feeding every three years – this helps to restore the root system if necessary. For berries, the dosage will vary, depending on the season: in the spring, 70 g is added to the hole during transplantation, in the fall – 90-100 g. Phosphoazotin is very beneficial for bulbous plants.
Fish bone meal, ground fish skeleton, contains more phosphorus than ordinary. It will be preferred by plants for which this element is extremely important. Among them are potatoes – 100 g of fish oatmeal per square meter is enough, as well as tomatoes – a tablespoon of the substrate for each bush will bring a wonderful crop of tomatoes. For indoor plants, you can use phosphoazotine in a ratio of 1:100 (1 part powder plus 100 parts soil) – such a cocktail will give home flowers an excellent appearance. It should not be used for azaleas or rhododendrons.
It is very convenient to bring bone oatmeal into the ground when digging beds or direct planting. Usually, this is done in autumn or spring. The validity of the substrate is at least 6 months. For the most effective impregnation of the soil, it is sprinkled with powder (the calculation is still the same – 100-200 g per square of land), and then dug up. To feed vegetables, bulbous plants, fertilizer is poured directly into the hole or into the groove before planting the crop. So, it is mixed with the earth.
If the soil is light, then dry powder can be used. For heavy soils, you can mix it with composts or make liquid fertilizer: 1 kg of powder per 20 liters of hot water is mixed, then kept for 10 days. After aging, such recharge can be diluted with water, and then added to the ground along with other useful additives.
Fertilizers
Bone meal has several varieties that differ in the method of production and phosphorus content:
- powder with a content of 15%;
- steam room contains 25% of the main substance;
- fat-free with a content of 35%.
The additive, which is obtained by grinding the fish skeleton, is called fish bone meal. This form of recharge is widely applicable on the coast, where fishing is developed – Argentina, the USA, the Mediterranean region. Fish oatmeal consists not only of ground fish bones, but also of the tissues of fish carcasses. Phosphorus this extract contains about 4%, and nitrogen – as much as 10%. For greater effect, it is mixed with fish-bone fertilizer or used as a nitrogen supplement. Flour can be obtained from horns, hooves, crab shells, even bird feathers. This supplement will be rich in iron and calcium. In the CIS countries, this variety is not popular.
Bone meal has long established itself as a quality fertilizer. Meat and bone, fish or any other, it has a low cost, shows good application results. Because of this, this kind of organic nutrition is an important part of the agricultural industry. It is used for garden plots, vegetable gardens, even indoor flowers. A small amount of oatmeal is more than enough for the whole season, while the crops are juicy, rich in nutrients and shining with health.
Video “Crushing bones with a machine”
How bones are crushed using a special device.
