Bone meal vs Fish Blood vs Bat Guano?

I am preparing my soil 1 month in advance.

Putting aside the generic NPK Ratios, The below ratios are what I can actually find in the UK

1 - 10 - 1 - Bat Guano
3 - 18 - 0 - Bone Meal
3 - 9 - 3 - Fish Blood Meal.

Also got to mention, the Sterilized Bone Meal that I have found is also 5x cheaper than the Bat Guano...

I am new to this, but it looks like I should go with the Bone Meal, and then find some other source for a bit more Nitrogen and Pottasium. What do you think?

Maersk said:

I am preparing my soil 1 month in advance.

Putting aside the generic NPK Ratios, The below ratios are what I can actually find in the UK

1 - 10 - 1 - Bat Guano
3 - 18 - 0 - Bone Meal
3 - 9 - 3 - Fish Blood Meal.

Also got to mention, the Sterilized Bone Meal that I have found is also 5x cheaper than the Bat Guano...

I am new to this, but it looks like I should go with the Bone Meal, and then find some other source for a bit more Nitrogen and Pottasium. What do you think?

Click to expand...

If you're planning to amend the soil, I'd drop the guano totally, it's too soluble to stick around for any length of time and better used in a tea but only if you're seeing specific deficiency symptoms.

I don't like Bone meal due to the fact of where it comes from. Organic Fish Bone Meal is much better, for me.
High P Bat guano is amazing stuff! I would use those 2, more Fish Bone Meal, half as much of the guano in the soil, and save it mostly for tea brewing in bloom. Some Kelp Meal, Alfalfa Meal, Rock dusts like azomite or glacial rock dust, worm castings, and brew a worm castings/Kelp meal tea and wet the soil with it, kick starting the digestion process. Just some thoughts for you. Things to look into. Alfalfa, amongst it's many benefits to the soil and plants, it helps to heat up the soil and kick start the microbe action.

edit- When moistening a soil and putting it to 'bake' don't over wet it, it's just gotta be well moist throughout. and if the container you put it to 'bake' has no holes to breath, then open it up every few days and give it a stir. Don't let it dry out completely, but you shouldn't have to wet it again.

Ok great, that makes things easier then because the guanos too expensive anyway

I forgot... get some powdered dolomitic/dolomite Limestone to help buffer the soil pH so you never get pH issues. If soil were to have any, like a promix that comes with some dolomite lime added, I add 1 Tablespoon/gal of soil, if starting with an acidic pure peat moss medium with nothing added, I would use 2 Tablespoons/gal soil mix. Me personally, I also sprinkle some of the dolomite Lime pellets unmeasured just a handfull for a long term solution, and because I reuse my soil forever so I'm conditioning it for long term.

Good Growing!

(The small amount of guano added to the soil is to inoculate it with a more diverse microbe source, not purely for the NPK value, why I would add some regardless. And then have it for bloom teas and maybe top dressing.)

@Johnei I think I am going to have to use bone meal, unfortunately the list of ingredients you mentioned are very hard to find in the UK...

Also, thanks for the soil info, I needed an answer as to whether to let it breath or not as my soil bag is getting warm due to the sun in the UK being out recently...

@Johnei Il look into the dolomite, I used this compost for my base - http://www.gardenhealth.com/uploads/files/Product_Labels/150021.pdf

Not sure whether I will need double the dolomite like you suggested...

Up to 2 Tablespoons/gal soil mix is fine really for any mix. Just don't overdo it and you should be fine. Dolomite Lime is super cheap stuff by the way I think a huge 50pound bag cost be 15bucks several years ago, last me forever..lol, you dont need that much, just sayin. That soil says peat based and usually they never add enough pH buffer to last, so anywhere between 1-2 Tablespoons/gal soil mix will help. It's not released all at once like it can burn, the dolomite reacts to acidic conditions buffereng the pH up, for example, If you were to feed high pH water and soil pH was high, the dolomite would never react and do anything, why in a peat based mix where pH is eventually and always gonna be driven down the dolomite lime is necessary as a protection pH buffer. It also provides some nutrition.

bat guano is useless in a soil mix, much too water soluble.

What about the unique diverse high microbe count in guano?

Johnei said:

What about the unique diverse high microbe count in guano?

Click to expand...

Add it to your water or top dress while you got a plant growing already, it will be a waste to put it in the soil.

Maersk said:

I am preparing my soil 1 month in advance.

Putting aside the generic NPK Ratios, The below ratios are what I can actually find in the UK

1 - 10 - 1 - Bat Guano
3 - 18 - 0 - Bone Meal
3 - 9 - 3 - Fish Blood Meal.

Also got to mention, the Sterilized Bone Meal that I have found is also 5x cheaper than the Bat Guano...

I am new to this, but it looks like I should go with the Bone Meal, and then find some other source for a bit more Nitrogen and Pottasium. What do you think?

Click to expand...

you have no clue what to amend with until you review a soil test showing your current balance of nutrients, pH, buffer capacity. All the 'expertise' gleaned without a soil test is shit talking.

I disagree that it would be a waste mixed into the soil, but I understand what you're sayin. (Up there I thought you meant it was useless completely in any application form for soil.) Ok.

The things added will make the pH just right after the microbes have a chance to work. You dont need any soil test from a bagged peat based mix.

Heil Tweetler said:

you have no clue what to amend with until you review a soil test showing your current balance of nutrients, pH, buffer capacity. All the 'expertise' gleaned without a soil test is shit talking.

Click to expand...

Unles there is a cheap quick way of doing that, who will do it? It means you would also have to do it for every bag of compost - how else can you assure that each bag came from the same batch? whos got time for that?

You can place some soil in some ditilled or RO water and give it a shake and test that water to get pH value and NPK with small kit. Just sayin... if you really wanted to.

I used archipelago bat guano for years and made the switch last year to fish bone meal for my main P source. It does just as well as the fossilized high P guano and has useful N also. 6-20-0 mid to slow release, love it in the mix and top dress at 4 weeks with castings and fish bone meal. Got mine from kelp4less.

Maersk said:

I am preparing my soil 1 month in advance.

Putting aside the generic NPK Ratios, The below ratios are what I can actually find in the UK

1 - 10 - 1 - Bat Guano
3 - 18 - 0 - Bone Meal
3 - 9 - 3 - Fish Blood Meal.

Also got to mention, the Sterilized Bone Meal that I have found is also 5x cheaper than the Bat Guano...

I am new to this, but it looks like I should go with the Bone Meal, and then find some other source for a bit more Nitrogen and Pottasium. What do you think?

Click to expand...

I've always used the steamed bone meal and will continue to do so. Cost is the main consideration for me. That, and the fact that we ALL have eaten a ton of the stuff when younger, at least.

The overwhelming majority of bone meal use is not for agriculture, but rather as the main ingredient in the making of gelatin.

There's always room for bone meal, I mean Jell-O.

Hardly 'slaughterhouse floor sweepings' as I've seen it described in this very forum.

Plus, it's just under $1/lb in my area.

focus on long term/slow release nutrients. the denser the product, the longer it will last in the soil.

Maersk said:

Unles there is a cheap quick way of doing that, who will do it? It means you would also have to do it for every bag of compost - how else can you assure that each bag came from the same batch? whos got time for that?

Click to expand...

no need for a soil test. typically i use 1/2 cup of each amendment that i use with few exceptions. with an all purpose fertilizer i would aim to use 2.5-3.5 cups per cubic foot of soil (7.5 gal) and you can always topdress a 1/4-1/3 cup of all purpose with some compost/ewc if you notice the plant looking off or growth stalled out.

the all purpose is the way to go honestly, since you've never built a fertilizer from scratch before i'm assuming. you'll get great results right off the rip.