Bone Meal For Plants: Improving Your Garden Soil

Introduction

When it comes to gardening, soil health is essential for thriving plants. Among the many choices of soil amendments, bone meal is a long-standing favorite for its reported benefits. This mineral-rich substance derived from finely ground animal bones is reported to hold immense potential for elevating soil fertility and bolstering plant growth. In this post, let’s look at the significance of integrating bone meal into your gardening practices. We’ll examine its functions, applications, and the outcomes you should expect from using it. And we’ll look at what science says VS the typical claims.

I already had bonemeal on my content calendar & was planning to write a post about it. But my friend Dana sent me a link to this video last night, so I figured I’d go ahead and write it.

What Is Bone Meal?

Bone meal, a finely ground powder produced from crushed animal bones, (usually cattle bones) serves as an organic fertilizer and soil conditioner. Renowned for its high phosphorus content, bone meal contributes to enhancing soil fertility and fortifying plant root development. Its composition also includes other trace minerals, including calcium and magnesium. These play important roles in promoting plant growth and overall health.

Why Use Bone Meal For Plants?

Incorporating bone meal into garden soil is a strategy that’s usually used to correct phosphorus deficiencies. This can be an issue in many gardens. Phosphorus is important in fundamental functions such as photosynthesis, energy transfer, and root establishment. By adding bone meal to the soil, gardeners can replenish phosphorus reserves. The goal is optimal plant nutrition and vitality. Bone meal can serve as a sustainable alternative to synthetic fertilizers, with eco-conscious gardening practices.

The Hype of Bone Meal

The generally held belief is that bone meal is a fantastic soil amendment for all situations.
Some claim that bone meal invigorates the soil and enhances plant performance. Many believe that its rich phosphorus content promotes robust root development. This would then ensure efficient nutrient uptake and enhanced drought resistance.

Many believe that the calcium component in bone meal aids in pH regulation, creating the optimal soil environment for nutrient availability and microbial activity. Furthermore, proponents argue that the gradual release of phosphorus from bone meal sustains long-term soil fertility, eliminating the need for frequent fertilization. Some people seem to believe that bone meal is the one-stop shop for everything!

The Science of Using Bone Meal

The average N/P/K makeup of bone meal is around 3/15/0. So that means it has low nitrogen content, fairly high phosphorus content, and little to no potassium content. All of these nutrients are important to healthy soil and healthy plants. So bone meal isn’t a “complete” fertilizer by any stretch of the imagination.

If soil phosphorus levels are depleted, bone meal has the potential to improve them. Typically, bone meal releases nutrients over a period of 1-4 months, and gardeners generally prefer its slow release properties.But without a proper soil test, you don’t know what the levels of any of the nutrients are.

Research from the University of Colorado shows that even the phosphorus in bone meal is not available to plants if your soil pH is below 7.0. If your soil is more towards the alkaline side, bone meal fertilizer will have no real impact. Make sure to know your soil pH before amending it. So how do you know what the soil pH is? You guessed it – a soil test!

Potential Issues With Bone Meal

One issue with adding supplements like bone meal to the soil without knowing if they’re needed is that you may cause other problems. This paper from the Extension office of Texas A & M explains some of the problems with having too much phosphorus, including “Excessive soil phosphorus reduces the plant’s ability to take up required micronutrients, particularly iron and zinc, even when soil tests show there are adequate amounts of those nutrients in the soil.” This is usually caused by inorganic (man-made) fertilizers, but even organic fertilizers can cause problems.

Bone meal’s scent can attract animals, leading to potential digging in your garden. Wild animals and dogs can be drawn to the scent of the bones, prompting them to dig. Ingesting excessive amounts of bone meal could potentially make your dog sick.

Conclusion

In conclusion, adding bone meal to your garden soil may be exactly what you need. It could improve your soil and your crop yields. It’s also entirely possible that you will see no difference at all. You could possibly even harm your plants by adding bone meal.

However, the only way to know for sure if bone meal is the right soil amendment for your garden is to get a soil test. It will tell what what nutrients you need to add, and in what amount. It doesn’t cost a lot, and it takes all of the guesswork out of it!

Once you find out what your soil needs, then find good organic products and add them in the correct amounts. We’ve had good luck with the products from True Leaf Market. I’ve been buying seeds and soil amendments from them for years with excellent results. And their customer service is top-notch! You can check out their website by clicking the link below.

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