Do these have to be mixed in with soil or can they be mixed in with watering? also can I mix mg premixed soil with these meals? Thanks in advance for answering.
It's best to stay clear of MG products, at least anything containing chemical fertilizers. Using good organic ferts is just another reason to avoid polluting the mix with chemicals. Pretty much all solid organic fertilizers either need to be made into a tea for instant release or mixed into the soil for slow release. Blood Meal makes a quick tea but Bone Meal needs alot more time for nutrients to dissolve. The Bone Meal will mix much more easily and make a tea faster when using hot water. Let it steep in hot water for at least six hours, stirring occasionally if possible. Never alow teas to come to a boil.
mmm, stirring hot blood meal tea. For six hours! one hour, unh unh unh two hour, unh unh unh three hour, unh unh unh four hour, unh unh unh five hour, unh unh unh six hour, unh unh unh!
Or for the bone meal you can do a bubble n' shake for several days. IDK about the blood though- once it coalgulizes it's hard to get it reconfigulated into a water soluble form.I spose it would be an experiment worthy of experimentation. What does it smell like ?
Sir William - Did you already purchase the blood meal? Nasty stuff - unless you're a vampire like Wee says...*lol* Why don't you go to the "Farm/Feed Store" and buy yourself a #50lb sack of Alfalfa Meal to use instead... If you mix alfalfa into your soil you do need to make sure you wait 3-4 weeks before use. You can also use Alfalfa for some really high end teas - a much better replacement for blood meal. That's some pretty nasty stuff man. The MG soil is pretty nasty too man - MG is owned/operated by Monsanto - the Organic Growers Arch-Enemy. Take a peek at the Monsanto Sticky. Very BAD PEOPLE. Jerry.
Sir William - I almost forgot - The #50lb sack of the Alfalfa Meal is probably the same price as your #5lb sack of blood - right around $12.00-$15.00. Maybe its even cheaper than your blood meal - I'm not sure. jerry.
Here anyway, it would be Pissed off pig. Porcine bones are used now and not cow. Not sure about the blood meal. Wet
Alfalfa is great! I recomend it highly! However, what on earth makes u think alfalfa could ever replace blood meal? Maybe as a stand alone nutrient...? Also alfalfa isnt well known for its nutrient content (2-1-2), its the tricontinol that makes it so special. For npk, quality blood meal will get you farther. Also dont use alfalfa during flower unless u like the taste of hay Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Grasscity Forum mobile app
As one of the best Nitrogen fixers out there, with all due respect I beg to differ about the mineral content of Alfalfa. Not only is it high in N that it receives and stores from the atmosphere, it also contains phosphorus potassium calcium sulfur magnesium boron iron zinc Sure it contains Triacontanol but that is over and above the minerals it stores as a dynamic accumulator. As far as using it during flower, there is often times where I have used lots of it in my compost which becomes a major part (or all) of my potting soil so there really isn't any way to remove it... Lol I guess I'm just not a blood kind of guy. It grosses me out and I just don't find it necessary. J
the npk mindset doesnt work in an organic soil the same. those numbers are for soluble nutriants, thats why you see huge numbers on hydro nutes because its all soluble. anyway, these numbers do not say anything about the nutrients that get released as the alfalfa breaks down. you want to think long term in organic soil. taste of hay from applying alfalfa to the soil? triacontanol can delay ripening i think, but you're not going to get hay flavored buds. mine dont smell like neem or kelp last time i checked.
I'm NOT saying that blood meal doesn't work. Same with bone. They're both soil amendments which have stood the test of time over and over again. I've seen some very nice plants come out of simple soil mixes containing those two items. It's gardeners choice. I don't even like getting a shot at the doctors - I turn my head lol J
For sure! i understand finding it gross, just like using urine can be gross. But the problem is that "gross" is subjective, and i feel that bone meal and blood meal often get mis-labled as immoral or unethical, just because the average uninformed grower recently realized that their nutrients are coming from slaughterhouses and the cows that their product is coming from are pumped with hormones. I like making hamburgers, so i dont mind working with blood. But i eat natural grassfed beef, since i find those hormones (and slaughterhouse ethics) to be gross. I apreciate the ethics of "veganics", i really do. but i prefer vigorous, potent, stinky medicine over those ethics. I love u jerry, ive learned a lot from u alone, and u are a far more educated person than i, but im not yet convinced alfalfa meal could simply replace blood meal. I apologize if i come off offensive, that is not my intention. Just want to be clear, so others arent mislead. If i am ever misinformed, i am always welcome to informative corrections, and I appreciate your commitment to this community. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Oops i replied before i could read this. My bad. Thank you for this response, much appreciated. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Kandall, we ALL have different opinions as gardeners and people and thank god we do because it would be boring as hell if every one of us used the same exact items In our potting soil mixes. When I was a kid I worked on a farm - I'm used to blood. We "harvested" turkeys using an electric knife which had a current running through it. First shot in the eye electrocuted the bird and then with a swift slice with the same knife the neck was gone and the birds were hung upside down to drain. I'm talking about blood up to my ankles - good thing for rubber hip waders. I've been gardening for awhile now and have used everything from blood to guano to who knows what. I've just, over time simplified my "potting mix" to the point where I just don't even use much in the way of store bought amendments anymore. I've found I really don't need to. I'm certainly not "Veganic". Gag. These days for me it's about as simple as it gets - leaf mold, homemade compost which includes kitchen scraps, horse manure, dandelions and whatever I can get my hands on around here. I use a lot of comfrey and some homemade char. Once in awhile I top dress with some chicken manure pellets and have mixed some into the totes a few weeks before use. It's all I really need I guess. You didn't come across as offensive at all. No worries man. J
I think the true test for using blood meal IME is to take one Tbsp of it and place in a glass of water. Let it sit a minute and stir it up vigorously. The question of whether one wants to use it should be answered by the results in the glass but perhaps not for some.
I use both items, the blood meal is great in veg and breaks down pretty quick, Bone meal takes months to fully decompose and is a great ammendment to put in your original organic mix and forget about it. I am trying now to create my own soil I use this to help me define NPK values for organic items. http://www.plantstogrow.com/Botany/Workshop_notes/Notes/Organic sources of NPK.pdf