Can I use bone/blood meal outside?

[10jed]

Hey guys,
I have a small indoor micro going using soil amended with bone and blood meal. A friend wants me to set him up with some 5 gal buckets and clones for outdoor this summer and I'm wondering about using my same mix. My dog ate about 2 lbs of bone meal when I left my storage closet open one day so I'm wondering about outdoor critters digging in the pots. He lives in the city but coons and skunks are pretty common and sometimes coyotes come around but that is rare. I would guess coons would be the worst threat.

How about chicken wire over the top of the bucket?

Any help would be great!

jed

 

[ShorelineTex]

Yep - for the bone meal, just dump some at the bottom of the hole you dig for the plants. The roots grow through it and it gets absorbed that way, instead of breaking down (if I remember right).

There's always instructions on how much bloodmeal per square foot on the bags you get of it...just mix it into the top layer of soil once you plant the gals and it'll dissolve and run down to the roots during waterings.

 

[ShorelineTex]

A 1" layer of sand over the top of the buckets tends to deter unwelcome things trying to get your blood/bone meals...

 

[DANKSY]

i have used it outside with no ill effects and we were def. in critter town ...

 

[pokerman]

i would advise against using it....u dont' wanna take any chances of them diggin up ur plants.....

 

[10jed]

Thanks guys! Tex, these will be in buckets so I won't just be digging a hole. My friend wants to keep them mobile so when people are over he can put them behind his garage and move them to better light for normal days. I think I will set him up with the amended soil and try the 1" layer of sand on the top. Maybe I will do straight soil or straight coco on the top half of the bucket too.

Last year this friend of mine tried some mexi bag seed outside and cut down females and kept his males... DOH! He will be happy with anything he gets this season!!!

Pokerman, have you had problems doing this or is this conjecture? Seems to me it may be an issue too, but if people are doing it then it is probably worth a try. I clone a lot with my perpetual micro so a new start would only be a couple of weeks away if they got attacked, and it probably would be most likely while the soil is fresh. I have my soil pretty dialed in so I would hate to start over or have him go the miracle gro route when I have a good "just add water" organic mix ready to go.

I'll take more opinions on all of this if anyone wants to chip in.

thanks,
Jed

 

[boroboro]

The normal word around here is that, if you do choose to use bone/blood nutrients outside, mix it up, dig and fill holes a month or two before planting. The idea is to give the local critters a chance to get used to the bone meal, maybe even dig around a little in it, before planting the delicate seedlings. I don't use the stuff myself, that's just the local wisdom.

Good luck!

 

[Tobor the 8th Man]

I have been growing outside since 1972 and I probably have dug over 3000 holes. If you use blood or bone meal outside you are asking for trouble. It might not never happen because an animal doesn't find it. But if an animal (carnivore or omnivore) finds it they are going to dig for it.

Like if you bury a sandwich under ground. It won't automatically get dug up but if a bear walks by it will get dug up. Why take the chance?

Bone meal and blood meal aren't all that great anyhow. Yes they work but why use them outside when other stuff will work just as well and won't attract animals. To me that is the bottom line. They can attract animals and you can lose all your hard work. To me it isn't worth it. Especially in raccoon and skunk territory. That is heartbreak waiting to happen. Skunks are actually very smart, very powerful diggers, have excellent sense of smell and are relentless at what they do. Raccoons are bad enough but they aren't the mad diggers skunks are. Skunks are always digging grubs and can smell underground quite a distance.

All that said you could very well not have a problem in the world and have a great harvest with your soil mix. There is more chance of that then disaster. But the chance of disaster will be there with bone and blood meal.

Good luck with whatever you do though. At least you are going to do something and that is the most important thing.

 

[10jed]

Thanks guys I truly appreciate all the input. Is there anything else as simple that can be done with just adding water? I'll do some poking around for good outdoor bucket mixes. I don't want time release chemicals for the obvious flushing issues, and I don't want to see him fry them with MG. This guy has major back problems and is liking the vikes and oxy's a little more than he is comfortable with. He's not an idgit so maybe he can handle ferts, but I know I stumbled with that on my first round before I went to my organic mix. The plan is only 3 plants and we are hoping to get him at least 6 or 8 zips, so one good plant could potentially get that.

Maybe I will have him do 1 with my mix and then have him try a couple different fert methods for the other 2 and we can see what works best. I have some basic liquid fish organics that I don't use any more, and there is a local-ish organic compost mix called "Father Dom's Duck Doo" that is supposed to be the bomb for tomatoes, so that may be worth a try as well. I may also mix up a 5'r of my mix and set it out now to see what happens. He keeps his trash in his garage so he doesn't have a current critter problem, and the entire yard except his driveway is fenced with a privacy fence so it may be OK.

Oh, and for the record, thanks Tabor. Not just for chiming in on my thread but for being around to mentor us newbs and for doing your part to keep this wonderful plant around. It's guys like you that have made the current progress possible. 38 years is a long time my friend!!

jed

 

[Kalcu]

I thought that blood meal deterred animals, maybe it's just if it's the blood of their own species.

With a fence that is the same circumference of your hole, so that it goes down a foot or so then they aren't going to dig through that.

They are both great organic fertilizers, if it's mixed into your holes soil then it's not rich enough to be worth digging. I can see animals more attracted to shit based fertilizers or fish products (especially fish emulsions, that attracts bears quite a bit).

 

[mal]

i've gotta agree with Tobor, Tabor, been growing outside for 20+ years and have gone to inspect-water or whatever and looked at a hole where my plant was. i use worm castings for nitrogen and budswell, liquid karma, cal mag, and a good organic bloom formula for budding. for the last 3-4 weeks of budding add succanant at 1 tablespoon/gallon of water, use only the succanant the last 2 weeks for flush.



mal

 

[Pot Boy]

I have been growing outside since 1972 and I probably have dug over 3000 holes. If you use blood or bone meal outside you are asking for trouble. It might not never happen because an animal doesn't find it. But if an animal (carnivore or omnivore) finds it they are going to dig for it.

Like if you bury a sandwich under ground. It won't automatically get dug up but if a bear walks by it will get dug up. Why take the chance?

Bone meal and blood meal aren't all that great anyhow. Yes they work but why use them outside when other stuff will work just as well and won't attract animals. To me that is the bottom line. They can attract animals and you can lose all your hard work. To me it isn't worth it. Especially in raccoon and skunk territory. That is heartbreak waiting to happen. Skunks are actually very smart, very powerful diggers, have excellent sense of smell and are relentless at what they do. Raccoons are bad enough but they aren't the mad diggers skunks are. Skunks are always digging grubs and can smell underground quite a distance.

All that said you could very well not have a problem in the world and have a great harvest with your soil mix. There is more chance of that then disaster. But the chance of disaster will be there with bone and blood meal.

Good luck with whatever you do though. At least you are going to do something and that is the most important thing.

So don't leave us hanging what do you use? :boogie:

 

[Urquel]

Watch out with blood and bone as most sources are from commercial cattle best not to support that crap but besides that MAD COW disease can come from it as reported last year in sunset as well as martha living and washington post blah blah blah. Bat guano (high N, and high P) as well as seaweed as a catalyst is the most simple "super" dirt outdoor I have seen. U can use as much as one cup per gallon on large plants when feeding tea or mix it in at 3tbs per gal with 1tbs of seaweed. Good solid yields, work well for gorilla too.