Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: Diana in Wisconsin; Pollard; Pete from Shawnee Mission
I never get that technical, but I always add crushed egg shells and about a 1/2 cup of bone meal to each planting hole (same for my peppers, zukes and cukes) which gets them off to a good start and helps prevent Blossom End Rot.

I think I will use up my left over 99mg 100 or so Potassium capsules later on. Bone Meal is rather high. Maybe Jobe's 06328 Bone Meal Fertilizer Spikes, 50, natural (2-14-0) $7.74 ($0.15 / Count) would be justified.

I do have many lbs left of Hyponex 40 lb. All-Purpose Fertilizer 10-10-10 (from when it was about $10) some of which I spread out every year, but it comes as hard bits, slow to break down.I wonder how long it would break down in water.

Should get soil tested, but I do not want to spend much money on this garden. A few years ago a few bags of this were mixed in: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Black-Kow-1-cu-ft-Manure-50150151/308819334

This is attractive but I will pass on it:

2-5-3) 4 pound bag $6.97 https://www.amazon.com/Jobes-Organics-9026-Fertilizer/dp/B002YOJDAS/ref=sr_1_24?crid=FUMCHDL70HRF&keywords=bone+meal&qid=1685348553&sprefix=bone+meal+%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-24

36 posted on 05/29/2023 1:53:56 AM PDT by daniel1212 (As a damned+destitute sinner turn 2 the Lord Jesus who saves souls on His acct + b baptized 2 obey)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies ]


To: daniel1212
Daniel. Bone meal constituents are Calcium and Phosphorous. nPk.

A low cost bone meal replacement. Save and wash your egg shells, dry them, put them in the oven at a high temperature for 15 or 20 minutes. Cool, crush them, then put them in a large bucket and add 2 cups of 3% or 4% white vinegar to 1 cup of crushed shells (watch it foam in that large bucket!)

Add the now PH neutralized liquid to your irrigation water. You have made the egg shell calcium more available to your plants. work them in around the plant.

Note that you can also use egg shells processed in this way as a home made calcium supplements. If you do this kiln them in the oven for 30 minutes to make certain you kill any bacterial.

Potassium: If you have access to it some wood ash provides potassium, but it is a "base" and you have to be careful in using it.

UW Extension Using Wood Ash in the Home Garden

Snip...."Because using wood ash tends to increase soil pH, applying it where acid-loving plants (e.g., blueberries, azaleas/rhododendrons, birch trees, red maples, pin oaks) are growing will likely not be beneficial. Using wood ash may actually be detrimental and contribute to problems with chlorosis [see University of Wisconsin Gardens Facts XHT1002 (Chlorosis)]. In addition, many vegetables and other landscape plants prefer slightly acidic soils, so wood ash should be used judiciously when growing these plants. Finally, in some cases, increased pH due to use of wood ash may promote certain diseases. As an example, potatoes grown at higher pH tend to be more prone to potato scab [see University of Wisconsin Gardens Facts XHT1117 (Potato Scab)]."

39 posted on 05/29/2023 6:02:35 AM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies ]

To: daniel1212
Daniel....Low Cost Hard Core gardening. I used this method one year. When I lived in Illinois I took a bag of shad that washed up on the beach in Lake Michigan and dug holes, dropped them in, and planted corn over them. (Planted in a college garden plot availables to students!) I harvested corn so I would say it worked. Since you are in MA you might have access to trash fish you could use this, BUT not sure I would want to do this along side your house. The smell and everything, and you might attract raccoons that would tear up your plants. (Only used one year.....I use fish and kelp emulsion solutions here in Kansas.)

"When spring arrived, the time came for the colonists to plant their first crops on North American soil. Thanks to the help of Squanto—a Native American whose extinct tribe once farmed on the land now occupied by the colonists—they grew a new sort of corn that they called “Indian corn.” Squanto showed them how to plant dead fish with the seeds. This turned out to be quite an effective fertilization method. As the fish decomposed, the chemicals from their bodies would give the seeds needed nutrients. And this would help the colonists grow healthy corn until harvest."

So, your options and your choices.

42 posted on 05/29/2023 6:34:22 AM PDT by Pete from Shawnee Mission ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson