Bone meal: Organic soil fertilization

Bone meal is a completely organic fertilizer which is obtained by grinding animal bones, usually from slaughterhouses, and which has effects similar to those of horn.

Due to its totally animal origin, it is clearly a product suitable for organic farming, however, for many farmers there are ethical issues in using a product derived from dead animals, as well as for blood meal, another widely used fertilizer.

As this fertilizer is very rich in calcium, it lends itself to decrease the acidity of the soil by modifying the pH . In addition to calcium, bone meal has very useful fertilizing properties for plants: it mainly contains a good amount of phosphorus, while nitrogen contains very little.

Contents

Use of bone meal

It is a fertilizer to be buried by excavation. This fertilizer is used especially with calcium-loving plants, which like alkaline soils, that is, with a high soil pH. It is a fertilizer that stays in the ground, so you have to be careful because for two or three years after its use it is not recommended to put acidophilic plants in the ground. It is a fertilizer particularly used in orchards and gardens for ornamental plants. In the garden, the use of crushed bones is decidedly more sporadic and is limited to small doses, or to correct very acid soils. The exact properties of the fertilizer depend on the different processes that are carried out, so please consult the label and the manufacturer’s instructions to determine how much bone meal to distribute to the crops.

Used in organic farming

Bone meal is a product that can be used in organic farming, as it is completely organic, unless chemicals have been used in the processes of degreasing and degelatinizing animal bones, however, it is advisable to check the packaging of the fertilizer.

Ethical caveats. Due to its animal origin, the use of bone meal is clearly incompatible with a vegetarian or vegan choice.

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