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kentstar_gw

Blood Meal: Slow or Fast Acting?

kentstar
14 years ago

I've been doing some reading about fertilizers while I await Spring lol. My soil tests (home test) high enough in P and K, but low in Nitrogen. Next sprng I want to give my perennials and roses a great start, but I need to know about whether Blood Meal is fast or slow acting. Some places online say fast, some say slow. I want to be able to add a fast acting Nitrogen source in spring. Any ideas? What is the time difference between fast or slow? In other words, how long does fast acting N stick around for the plants and how long for the slow? Is blood meal fast? I have that (blood meal to use) for spring.

Comments (9)

  • Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
    14 years ago

    Fast in appropriate soil temps. Persistence depends upon how fast the N volatilizes, leaches, and adsorbs which are chemical reactions mitigated by temp, moisture, and biotic activity.

    Dan

  • Kimmsr
    14 years ago

    The Nitrogen in blood meal is highly soluble, very readily available, very fast acting and it immproperly applied can easily burn plants.
    When did you take that soil test? Most of the home test kits I have experience with will show a low N in cold soils which would be normal since the soil bacteria would not be active to make it available to the plants.

  • kentstar
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    The last time was in August this year. So no cold soil yet.

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    14 years ago

    Home soil test kits do not accurately measure nitrogen levels. In fact, a great many professional labs do not measure nitrogen or require special testing procedures to measure it because of its volatility. You can have radically different levels in different parts of your garden as well as levels that change through the course of the day, at least during the primary growing season. In general, unless you routinely apply organic matter, nitrogen will tend to be deficient in your soils because of its very transient nature.

    As far as organic inputs are concerned, blood meal is considered very fast acting. As noted above, it is highly soluble, which is unusual for an organic fertilizer. You would want to use it only according to label directions, as it can easily 'burn' roots and plant tissue if over applied.

    Here is a link that might be useful: understanding nitrogen in the soil

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    14 years ago

    FWIW - you should not use bloodmeal or have it in the soil at any significant level when soil temperatures are below 55* because of the danger of ammonium toxicity, a malady often witnessed by hobbyists, but seldom accurately diagnosed. Additionally, you should avoid it's use if you suspect the soil will be soggy or it's compacted and if pH levels are low.

    Most people that THINK they need a fast acting charge of N would be better served if they rethought that plan.

    Al

  • Michael
    14 years ago

    I think it would be best if the term, "fast acting" was not used when it comes to plant nutrients. Availability is a far better way to refer to nutrients whether they are in the soil already or being applied from any source. Fast acting is probably just an advertising term.

    Michael

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    14 years ago

    I had a s/a response all ready to post, but I was good, and decided to forgo posting it.

    Al

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    14 years ago

    I'm going to disagree :-) "Fast acting" is very common, even accepted, terminology when it comes to fertilizers. And there is a difference between nutrients and fertilizers. Nutrients are the base ingredients, a variety of 18 or so chemical elements necessary for plant growth and health - fertilizers are merely the delivery vehicles.

    Plants access nutrients only in the form of soluble ions. Synthetic fertilizers tend to present nutrients in highly soluble forms, therefore the nutrients are readily, even immediately available. Immediately or readily available = fast acting. That's why they coat or prill various synthetic ferts to control or slow down the release of nutrients over a period of time. Most organically sourced fertilizers are insoluble and require the activities of soil organisms to convert them into the soluble ions the plant roots can access. And that takes time and is also influenced by climate, soil moisture and soil temperatures as well. That's why most organic ferts are considered naturally 'slow release'.

  • tommyk
    14 years ago

    I would suggest using alfalfa pellets for nitrogen. They also contain other minerals which will help your soil. Bonemeal attracts varmints which may dig up the plants/garden looking for "bones".