Is Fertilizing With Bone Meal a Waste?
judi z./(RI/Z6) – For years I put a handful of bone meal in each planting hole for my bulbs. Allan Haskell, the horticulturist & plantsman told me it’s a waste, that the nutritive value is negligible after the processing. What have you heard? And if it is a waste, is there a good alternative to nourish them & give them a good start? dorie (SC/Z 8b) – I have even worse news than that!!! I have just heard that a lot of what we know about phosphorus being important in stimulating root growth in plants just in not true. Anyway, just use superphosphate instead of bone meal for your bulbs. I, for one, am not letting go of starter fertilizers until I get some more information!!! Skip MNZ4 – I never thought I’d see the day when fertilizer would be a bone of contention but darn, here it is. If the analysis on the package of bone meal says 5-12-0 and the box weighs five pounds, then (unless the label is false) the contents of the box is 5% Nitrogen (.25 lb), 12% (.6 lb) Phosphorous, and no Potas
