Blood Meal—A Nitrogen Boost for Your Plants

Blood Meal is a blood-based organic fertilizer that be used as an all purpose soil amendment. However, since it has an odor, you may prefer to use it to heat up your compost pile. Or combine it with other fertilizers to make a complete mix.

This meal is basically dried animal blood (typically from cows). Blood proteins remain, giving the meal a very high nitrogen percentage (NPK is usually 12/15 - 0/1.3 - 0-0.7, which is a big nitrogen imbalance).

In addition to nitrogen, the meal provides a few essential trace elements, including iron.

These proteins are quickly broken down to ammonia by soil bacteria.

Plant roots absorb ammonia from the soil to covert the nitrogen into plant proteins. Consequently, blood meal is valuable for plants that grow a lot of foliage.

In warm, damp circumstances that favor bacterial development, decomposition may be too fast.

This could result in a very heavy release of ammonia, which could harm fragile roots.

Because it is a quick performing organic feed, use caution when applying blood meal directly to your gardens. The last thing you want is to damage your garden plants.

Rates of Application

• For gentle fertilizing, use 1 pound per 100 square feet.
• For moderate fertilizing, add 2 pounds per 100 square feet.
• If you want to do a heavy fertilization, use 4 pounds per 100 square feet.

Other Information About Blood Meal

It's an appropriate fertilizer for use on aggressive plants throughout the garden including trees, vegetables, perennials, annuals, roses and shrubs.

If you reside in an area with cold winters, do not apply a lot of blood meal or other high-nitrogen fertilizers in the fall.

This meal's release rate is rapid, and available nutrients can last to four months.

Application acidifies the soil, so take care when using it on already acidic soils.

Apply on nitrogen-hungry greens: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, spinach, brussels sprouts, as well as lettuce, corn and okra.

Do not put on peas, beans and other legumes that have their own supply of nitrogen from soil bacteria.

Hints for Some Plants

Feed pansies on a regular basis all season. Fertilize at planting and on any warm day while throughout the wintertime. They react well to the meal, but many gardeners have also pulled in wild animals to their pansy plantings by applying it.

If you wish to apply blood meal, integrate it into the soil thinly. Be mindful not to be fertilize too heavily due to the high nitrogen content.

In the autumn, use bulb fertilizer or blood meal on top side of the soil where your Easter Lily bulbs are planted.

Sweet peas favor a slightly fertile soil and can be fed each month with a fertilizer high in potassium, as used for tomatoes. Adding just a bit of blood meal to the soil is believed to help maintain the stems long and appropriate for cutting.

Reseed bare spots on your lawns using this mix:

5 cups sand
2 cups sterilized compost
1 cup blood meal
1 cup grass seed

Spread in a thin layer over the bare spot and water.

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