How to use blood meal for fertilizer and make it correctly

Blood meal has been used as a fertilizer by more than one generation of gardeners. In terms of the content of useful microelements, this organic mixture is superior to many types of fertilizers. But before using the animal processing product, let’s study its effect on garden and garden crops.

Description

Blood meal is an organic material obtained from the processing of slaughterhouse products. It is used not only as fertilizer, but also as pet food. It is often confused with bone meal, but it is a completely different product. Blood meal contains nitrogen, and bone meal contains phosphorus.

The value of blood meal is that it reduces the acidity of the soil, thus improving its structure. Fertilizer is used not only for vegetables and fruits, but also for flowers. You can buy the material at specialized gardening centers.

Method of obtaining fertilizer

Organic material is obtained from the blood of animals such as chickens, pigs and cattle. The process of obtaining high-quality fertilizer is quite labor-intensive and requires special equipment. It goes through several stages:

• the blood of the animals is transfused into a special container, where thorough mixing takes place;
• using a pump, the liquid is pumped into a special vibrating extractor;
• under the influence of hot steam, moisture is completely removed from it;
• the blood goes through a drying process and is brought to the required state.

This production method allows you to obtain the most balanced composition of the fertilizer. Organic substances significantly increase soil fertility and, accordingly, productivity.

Characteristics

The peculiarity of blood meal is that it saturates the soil with nitrogen. The result is successful plant growth and a good harvest. But this does not mean that the product does not have shortcomings. Increased doses of the substance can cause severe burns to plants.

Useful properties and composition

Blood meal feeds plants for over 6 weeks. It prevents the appearance of yellow spots on the leaves and repels pests.The amount of nitrogen it contains quickly returns plants to a healthy appearance and bright green leaves. In addition, it is a fairly economical fertilizer. As a rule, liquid fertilizer is prepared from it. For 10 liters of water, only 1 tablespoon of flour is required.

Blood meal contains the following components:

• processed and dried animal blood;
• nitrogen;
• iron;
• proteins;
• amino acids.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantages of fertilizer are to increase the productivity of garden and vegetable crops. Organic fertilizers significantly increase soil fertility, while they are absolutely non-toxic and therefore do not harm health. At the same time, blood meal has a specific odor that produces a deterrent effect on rodents and other pests.

Due to the absorption of nitrogen, the greenery of the plants looks healthy and has a bright green color without the inclusion of yellow or other spots.

However, there will also be shortcomings in organic material. These include:

• Excessive dosage leads to burns of plants, so the proportions must be strictly observed;
• a significant reduction in soil acidity, accordingly, can only be used for highly acidic soil;
• along with acidity, the concentration of potassium and phosphorus in the soil decreases;
• limited shelf life after opening the package (no more than six months).

Feeding methods

There are several ways to fertilize soil with blood meal:

1. Fertilizer solution.
2. In dry form together with seed material.
3. Dry fertilizer is applied to the soil throughout the entire growing period.

Features of use for plants

Before turning to fertilizer for help, it is important to familiarize yourself with the features of its use for different types of plants. Before fertilizing, it is necessary to determine the acidity of the beds. If the acidity is low, the procedure can be harmful.

Tomato fertilizer

When planting tomatoes, blood meal is added directly to the hole (no more than 100 g). Its use eliminates the need for additional fertilizing with nitrogen-containing substrates.

Potato feeding

The soil for potatoes is cultivated in late autumn or early spring. Take 300 g of flour per 1 square meter.

Feeding eggplant

Adding no more than 100 g of dry material directly into the hole with seed material.

Fertilizing strawberries

Application to the planting hole (2 tablespoons of solution) and parallel annual feeding.

Feeding roses

50 g of dry flour is added to each hole under the plant.

Fertilizing seedlings

Watering with a solution based on proportions of 1:100. Plants are processed 10–15 days before planting in open ground.

Determination of acidity in gardening

Even ancient ancestors knew how to identify soil with high acidity. Weeds such as horsetail, chickweed, creeping buttercup and plantain love acidic soils, so they can be a clear guide to identifying acidic soil.

Another proven method for testing acidity is to use baking soda. It is added to soil pre-mixed with water. If bubbles and hissing are present, this indicates increased acidity of the soil.

Making your own blood meal

The process of making blood meal, although it seems simple, requires special equipment and compliance with technological standards. Therefore, it is impossible to properly prepare fertilizer at home.

Combination of flour and other types of fertilizers

Because flour fertilizers contain a high concentration of nutrients, in most cases they do not require supplements such as manure or minerals. But if the soil is highly acidic, you can combine flour with various oxidizing agents, for example, egg acid powder.

When using bone meal with a low nitrogen concentration, it is best to combine it with mature compost.