My Pet Chicken Blog

Question: What is bone meal and where can I find it?

Bone meal is available at most gardening centers and in the gardening section of most hardware stores. Bone meal is actually the ground bone of animals. Bone meal provides phosphates to a plant. Phosphates are naturally hard to come by in most soils so adding it at the time of planting insures your plants roots are close enough to absorb it.

I save all my egg shells, put them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake them for about a half hour-45 minutes in a 250 degree oven then run them through the blender until ultra fine. I mix this with the chicken food for extra calcium for my chickies!! It sure helps prevent those soft shells. Yes, I love that I can recycle them like that!!

can you use this on corn

Thanks for this tip!

I love this! Now to get started…. One question, why do you wash the eggshells if they are going into the dirt? Is it bc of the smell during the grinding process?

Hi Bonnie, the whites still clinging to the shell can harbor bacteria, as well as have a sticky texture after being dried. Washing and crushing gives for a texture and clear conscious I’m personally comfortable with. 🙂

Cindy, corn doesn’t require the high amount of calcium this provides. Corn also requires a higher amount of nitrogen. I do use my chicken poo compost for my corn though. I give my corn 3 feedings of the compost as it grows as well. You can learn more on composting your chicken poo here on my previous post:
http://blog.mypetchicken.com/2012/04/13/the-joy-of-chicken-poo/

I have used washed and dried crushed eggshells for years now around my plants to keep slugs and snails away, especially for my hostas. Soon I’ll be able to have help from my chicks, I am so looking forward to when they can go outside…

I love my home growen tomato 🙂 thank you 🙂

Love the tips on the fertilizer. Thank you for sharing. I do have a question. What do you use as mulch on your tomato plants? Here in the city I only find decorative mulch and I heard that is not good for veggie plots.

I add egg shells to my compost, foliar feed with Epsom salts, and use bone meal as a regular soil additive… but I have never heard of using aspirin as a natural rooting hormone! And, I like the idea of adding extra “help” to the planting hole for transplants… Thanks for the tip!!

By aspirin, you mean ASA but what strength? Regular (325mg) or baby (81mg)? Uncoated (I would presume)…don’t want to over- or under-dose my tomatoes 🙂

Are you sure bone meal is healthy? I was thinking of using it for the nutritional benefits until someone told me it is made from animals that may have had cancer and other sicknesses, including mad cow. Is this absurd or not?

I have feed eggshells to my hens for years. I break them and just toss them out right away to them. Some people say that encourages them to eat eggs but never in over 30 years have I had egg eating hens. They seem to know the difference between a firm whole egg and broken pieces of shell. And the egg shells never last uneaten long enough to develop bacteria.

I made a dry recipe with epson salts and another ingredient(bone/corn meal??). I can’t remember the other ingredient or the measurements. Can you help me with this? Thank You

Yeh! Another great use for eggshells. I already use them in my worm bin so they become compost there and also help the worm’s digestive system.

can u use the tomato fertilizer for peppers?

Hi Vicki, you can use this for peppers but I believe the calcium is much higher then the pepper plants require. It won’t hurt the plant, it just won’t absorb the extra.

Hi, I talked with a lady that had been gardening for many years and she used a handful of the cheapest dry dog food at the bottom of the hole when planting tomatoes, said they were 2 or more times as big as without. What in the dog food would cause this?

Question for Bonnie–

Has running egg shells thru the blender dulled the blender blades at all?

Rinse and microwave the shells in a paper cup for about 30 seconds. Works well and fast. Calcium also stops blossom end rot.
Since pets and neighborhood cats like bone meal, be sure to bury it. I use it under the 4-6″ of leaf mulch, kitchen scraps and newspaper I put on when putting the garden to bed for winter. I really like the idea of mixing the amendments together so all the good things go into the soil at once.

What kind of mulch do you use, bark, leaves, hay, or pine straw? I use leaves from my many oak trees, in my flower beds, because its free, but are leaves ok for my raised vegetable garden?

Hi Laura,
You sure can use leaves, they’re one of the best since they are free and they add to the nutrient content in your soil as they break down. I use whatever I have on hand at the time. Sometimes it wood mulch, sometimes it is straw. I even gather leaves in the fall to cover unused beds I don’t plan on planting again until Spring.

What mg of aspirin do you use?

I’ve used the low dose 81 mg before, I couldn’t suggest the high dose aspirin.

How much chicken manure do you use.

My chicken manure goes into the compost pile to age and not go directly into the garden at the time of planting. Fresh chicken manure can burn the delicate plants’ roots. Late winter, I add finished compost to all my garden beds, at least 4 weeks before I plan to start planting. This recipe is an added benefit for more vigor specifically designed for the tomatoes since they are prone to blossom end rot, tomato hornworm damage and cracking.

Have you ever used or heard of using ground cinnamon as a rooting hormone? Was considering using instead of aspirin, any thoughts?

Hi Ann,
Yes, cinnamon is a rooting hormone as well! I choose to use asprin since its created using the same hormone derived from willow bark. Someone once showed me how to collect new spring whips from a willow, scrape the bark and soak the scrapings to release the hormone. It turned out to be a lot of work, but that is a great option too.

Nice recipe. It has a little bit everything you need for the tomato plants … have you ever considered adding in some fish emulsion?

Hey Mike, Yes! I have a little in a bottle I save to add to a lot of plants later on. (The corn loves it!) I just don’t want to add it to the mix in fear of the smell up front. I keep them mixed up under my sink to grab when I need it. I add the egg shells over the winter to the bucket under the sink. I couldn’t imagine what that would smell like sitting there for months. Yuck. I hope others see your comment and consider getting a bottle of the fish emulsion to add as well throughout the growing season. 🙂

Just bought some tomato plants-and this will be a perfect recipe to help them grow into Monsters-It just seems like my tomato plants could use this help. I am going to try it this weekend.

Thanks for the recipe!! Will definitely try it. I mix Epsom salt in a sprayer also, have had great results with it boosting size of tomatoes and peppers we produce!

Thanks to all really gd info. I have grape tomato plants that reseeded themselves. There was a cluster, split them, now have 10 plants. Wish me luck!

Your recipe sounds interesting.I am keen on trying it on my mortgage lifter tomatoes. but i do have some questions tho. i sowed those tomato seeds last March2013.Now they are around 7 Ft. tall,supported all 10 plants with stakes.I’ve treated the soil with chicken manure,fresh kitchen scraps (any & all fruits&veggies i can get at any time), epsom salts, fish emulsion (10ml/5 liters water). this compost i did at the same time i sowed the seeds on pots. after 6 weeks, i transplant the tomato plants into the treated soil. Plants had first blooms last June, its just a few blooms yet the blooms were big. But before the flowers bloom, they dry out and just fell off, one by one. This frustrates me. Last week, new blooms started to show and i wish not to be frustrated again. do you think your fertilizer recipe, i can mix it in a pail of 5 liters of water,10ml fish emulsion (this acts as substitute for bone meal-hard to get here in kuala lumpur), some fresh blended bananas and alfalfas. but i do not have idea on to how much chicken manure needed to add into 5 liters of water, highly appreciate your thoughts on this.

Hi BratMunchkin, It sounds like your tomatoes may have too much nitrogen in the soil and its concentrated on producing green leaves rather then fruit. I wouldn’t add anymore fish emulsion and just crush up some dried chicken egg shells to increase the calcium only. That should help with blossoms. Good luck!

Hi Shannon,
Thanks for replying, But what do you think is best to replace bone meal then? I’ve called up every single hardware, garden shop & supplier here in Kuala Lumpur but to no avail,I could’nt find not a single one.Thanks again.

Since its Phospherus you’re looking to get, you can look into other things like: Rock Phosphate, Soybean meal, Worm Castings or maybe crab/shellfish ground shell. I’m told Bat Guano has it too, though that is pretty pricey here. Good luck!

Hi Shannon,
Just got your response right now, and still I didnt find any bone meal in town.What I found and bought was a bag of ESPOMA TRIPLE PHOSPHATE FERTILIZER. It says 0% Nitrogen, 45% Phosphate & 0% Potassium. do you think this is good enough?. I’ve cracked 3 dozens of eggs and now all out under the sun for drying. Epsom Salts are more than ready. Now, there’s another issue that I faced with, there’s no available 85mg of Aspirin that I can get here ( Malaysia sucks most of the time ). I bought 100mg’s coz thats the only thing available over the counter. I am not even sure coz the pharmacist asked me if its for BLOOD THINNING or FOR PAIN. yet they only have the one’s for blood thinning. I am thinking of reducing the aspirin tabs into 10 instead of 14 from your recipe. Once the eggshells are ready, I’m gonna follow your recipe and mix it with 2 liters of fresh blended banana. the banana peels i’ll burry them around the tomato plants and cover with a handful of soil. do you think this will work?.. I am really desperate to see the tomato flowers turns into red tomatoes!!.

I do believe this should work, the hormone in the aspirin will just strengthen the root system to support the fruit once it gets set on the plant. I’ve never tried the 100 mg, but I would do exactly that if it was all I could find when I need it. 🙂

I read with interest your concoction for monster tomatoes plants, but it’s all about tomatoes, not plants. What is your success with producing more than a great plant? I am interested in increasing my yield with every season! Thanks.

Hi Sue, Do make sure you choose a productive tomato type. Some tomato plants, such as Purple Cherokee can’t compete with the amount of tomatoes you can get from a ‘Park’s Whooper’. However, this mixture does increase blossom production which in turn can produce you more tomatoes when properly pollinated. Make sure you have plenty of pollinators in your garden. With the recent bee declines that could be a factor to a small yield. Happy gardening to you!

Hi Shannon,
Apologies for my late reply, we had a long holiday here recently. Anyway, I started to use your “monster fertilizer” on the 6th August, and just after 2 days, I saw some good changes tho. the leaves looked more healthier and saw much more bigger blooms as well. I was away from home from 9th-12th August. and i just got back early this morning, surprised!!!!…some blooms are now flowers…hahaha…tho I was dog tired from holiday trip, ( barely had 4 hours sleep and now at work!) the flowers made me smile.YOUR MONSTER FERTILIZER WORKED LIKE MAGIC!!!!..and the good thing about it is i used a little of the banana puree with monster fertilizer on Habanero seedlings & Jalapeno seedlings & Eggplant seedlings and Kale, Rocket Salads, Red Mustard, Broccoli, spinach, Thai & Red Basil, Marigolds that I have and they kindda like it tho.And let me share to you a thread that I found from the web about aspirin as fertlizer. the information is actually amazing!.
http://www.fivedockorchids.com/Aspirin%20and%20Growing%20Orchids.pdf

Hi Shannon,
The monster fertilizer is working just fine,tomato plants looks more healthier, there are more blooms this time, and blooms turns into flowers but that’s just it!!..I’ve tried electronic toothbrush as alternative pollination as i dont see any bees around. But flowers just turned dry and fell off!!..what do you think could possibly go wrong this time??

Hi Brat,

I usually pollinate with a Q-tip, but in this case I don’t think pollination is the issue. I’m leaning towards too high nitrogen. Which is hard to remove from the soil. You also want to check your nighttime lows, cool temps add to this issue. Good luck!

Shannon

Hi Shannon,

How to lessen the nitrogen from soil?..I’m getting crazy with those tomatoes really.

Today I came home from work and saw all 15 flowers nicely sleeping on the soil…they’ve fallen off!!!..and now I can see some buds sprouting again..this is gonna be the 3rd cycle of not seeing any single tomato at all..just some dead..dried and fallen flowers..so frustrating and depressing that i feel like just cutting all tomato plants and sow again..perhaps mortgage lifter tomatoes isnt the right tomato variety that i could grow here in tropical malaysia!!!..there must be something wrong..not the cold temperature then, cameron highland which is thousands feet above sea level produces the best tomatoes,strawberries and teas here, temps can be no more high than 77’F and nightime can go be as low as 48’F..i wanna grow tomatoes so i can have fresh from the pick tomatoes of my own but looks like having them would cost my pocket a lot more before even 1 single tomato will appear..as to when..i got no idea!!

Hi Shannon,
I think I know now the “culprit” causing too high nitrogen, my very own fault. I’m raising kitchen scraps compost in the same raise bed where my tomatoes are!!. I figured this out today when I gave the compost a little dug & turn, has seen and wondered where the roots came from, pointed none but from tomatoes. The roots has grown about 3 feet more towards the compost. And so I dug up all out the compost soil and kept them in 5 separate buckets. Yes, some roots were cut tho as I dont have any choice. I hope that removing the compost pile and soil will help my tomatoes to produce more healthy buds..turns into flowers and finally so..tomatoes. Yet also I think high nitrogen and your monster fertilizer are sending my basils crazy!.They never stop from producing flowers a lot!. And how I wish my tomatoes will just like be the same way the basils does.

I just killed those useless tomato VINES..i’ve decided to do so because I dont see any positive results anymore..it’s just a waste of time and money. And now i’m treating the soil again..

Hi Brat, I think your best option is to plant away from where your compost was in a new location next time. I’m sure that soil is extremely fertile now and my need something else planted there that can benefit better from the extra nitrogen. Try planting corn or leaf greens in that location this year, then try the tomatoes back there again after a season or two. Good luck!

We are on the same page with the chicken poo. I also cut water oak leaves and put this mix in about the first of Feb. Last year I put down black landscape to experiment with…I place the holes 3 feet apart…it also allow me to plant early…the plastic warms the soil. I went from 6 or 7 to the cluster to 10 to 12…the plastic made the difference…I also plant celebrity tomatoes they get from 8 to 12 feet…I have pictures of last year crop if anybody would like to see proof.

think…willow trees grow very fast….so aspirin is likely to be a good root hormone
think…preventing diseases is a lot easier than fighting it later…like us….eating healthy grown food (hi brix) and little sunshine will keep us healthy…

Charles, I would love to see those pictures of your Celebrity Tomatoes.

Thanks, Wallace

I used regular rooting powder instead of the asprin , I used about 1/2 teaspoon to the measurements of bone meal, epsom salt, egge shell’s , I have an old coffee grinder and i used it to grind my egge shell’s to a consistency of powder sugar. Wow!! what a surprise to my tomatoe plant’s , my neighbor said she had never seen tomatoe plants grow that big and strong. I also use it on some Hen and chick plants and they have grown as big as soft ball and now are blooming. Thanks for the info on this amazing fertilizer.

I would love to see everyone’s photos of the plants that got the treatment. I’ve seen so much wonderful feedback. I wish there was a way everyone could post a photo in the replies. If anyone has a link to a photo on Instagram or other location, those can be shared right here in the comments section. Thank you!

Shannon, where is the source for nitrogen for the plants. I notice most fertilizers for tomatoes usually contain 5, 8, or 10 percent nitrogen. I am still going to try your recipe. Just curious about the nitrogen. Thanks.

Hi Wallace, As for Nitrogen I throw in fresh compost when putting in new plants each year. That supplies more then enough for leaf development on my tomatoes and peppers. This fertilizer is solely for fruit development of the tomatoes themselves. The good news is this creates very thick sturdy vines on the tomatoes but doesn’t add to leave development, which too high nitrogen content in tomatoes causes less flower development on the plant. I also water throughout the season with fish emulsion on most of my plants, my corn thrives off of that nicely. Definitely give this mix a try!

Shannon, I appreciate the information. I will try your recipe for sure. I will try and let you know how much sucess is achieved. Thanks again,

thank you sooooooooooooooo much for advicing these tips if my plant grows then that is only because of you let all the plants grow well

Used 1/3 cup of that fertilizer as a transplant/starter for my tomato plants four weeks ago. The plants are beyond belief. The foliage is a green I’ve never seen before and the plants themselves are thick and very robust.

Will side-dress with another batch in two weeks.

Thanks Dan, this is always great to hear. We just moved out tomatoes out about 3 weeks ago and I love watching how quickly they take with out fertilizer added to the transplant holes. I hope you get lots of great tomatoes this year!

Made another batch and side dressed each plant with 1/3 of a cup. I prepared the egg shells by drying them out in my oven. I omitted the aspirin. One thing that I did last batch and this, I used a coffee grinder to reduced the shells to a uniform size and I also ground the bone meal and Epsom salts.

I never wash the eggshells with soap ,only water and it never get smell.The washed water from eggshells also used for watering the plants.

Hi shennon.
l am jerard from india.the recipe is very nice n I m going to try it. I have 2 doubts Please reply me.
1.how much quality should I use and at what intrevel should be used?
2.shall I use magnesium sulphate which is available in crystal form in stead of epsom salt.what quantity should I use.
thank you.

Hi Jerard,

Glad you came across this post. I’m going to try my best to answer your questions.
1. I am unsure about the quality and interval question. In the post the quality of what I use is what is available here. Such as the egg shells are from my chickens, so I believe they are pretty high in calcium. I use generic asprin, but not the low dose variety. Intervals are really based on your soil quality. I always add before I plant and then reapply 1-2 times a season.
2. Magnesium Sulphate and Epson Salt are one and the same. So the measurements are identical. Both should state the chemical make up on the product as MgSO4. I’ve read there is a paste option for this product, which I have never used so the measurements I have listed are for the crystals only.

I hope that answers your questions, and I wish you a successful garden this year!

Shannon

Hi Bratmunchkin I think if you google it tomatoes will not set fruit if it is too hot and humid try putting something over them at night and then a few bottles of frozen water under the cover until they set

Hi please help me out
I’m doing a biology project where the hypothesis is to check if plants can grow with liquids other than water . Any suggestions from your experience ?

Hi please help me out
I’m doing a biology project which involves checking wether plants can grow with liquids other than water. I’ve chosen tomato plants . Any suggestions?

Hi Sasha,

A great thing to do some research on is “hydroponic gardening”. You can find many sites on google about how to set up and do this. Generally its just growing your plants in water with different systems of adding nutrients/fertilizer though the water on a cycle. Its been done with great results. Thanks for you asking My Pet Chicken your question!

[…] Additionally, you can even use old eggshells to help fertilize your garden! Tomatoes, especially, need calcium, which helps to prevent things like blossom end rot, and magnesium (in the form of epsom salts) can help plants take that up. Take a look at Shannon’s Homemade Monster Tomato Fertilizer Recipe. […]

I have a terrible time with tomatoes thanks to depleted soil and rampant disease. I’ll be mixing this up and adding it to some bacto for a starter soil. Have you tried it for starts?

THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION SHANNON, I AM GOING TO TRY THIS TIME. THANKS AGAIN.

Hi Doreen,

I wish you beautiful monster plants this year! I still use this every year. I even mix up enough to share with my neighbors now. Everyone has been impressed.

I have one tomato plant in a container. We bought it at WalMart about a month ago. It was already in the container and about three feet tall with a small cluster of tomatoes on it. We live in TX and the hot sun ruined our plant last year. The lady at WM told me how she cares for hers by pulling them out of the sun during the hottest hours. She said not to remove suckers, which I thought rather odd. So it is unpruned.

My problem is that there are no bugs in our apartment lawns. I havent seen many bugs here at all since we moved to Tx two years ago. I think that they probably inject the soil to keep mosquitoes away. There seems to be a health problem if not kept after.

No surprise that the tomatoes that were on the plant when I bought it are growing well as is the plant. The flowers dry up and fall off.

Can I fertilize the plant myself?

Hi Karen,

You can fertilize it yourself. Tomatoes are pretty hardy so can take well to you moving some dirt away from the roots, perhaps an inch or 2 deep in a few spots. Sprinkle in your fertilizer and cover the spots back up with dirt. You may want to add some mulch to the top of the soil to keep moisture in during the hottest of days.

And leave the suckers on for a potted tomato. Pulling them off forces more and deeper rooting, but in a pot there is no room for your plant to expand. It should stay pretty compact and wider rather then taller.

Good luck!

Hi Sharon
question on your mixture a 14 cup in the bottom of the hole now do you put the plant roots on top or some dirt first?

that’s a 1/4 cup

Hi Ken,

Generally I just put it at the bottom of the hole since I bury them so deep. I want all that goodness getting right to the roots. 🙂 I hope that helps!

Shannon

Hi, You do not have to use asprin – use the original – boil up stems and leaves from a weeping willow to water your plants and slips with – thats where asprin came from.

Hi,how can I plant nemonetta tomatoes plant,using tomatoes fertilizer

Have a Vitamix? I just throw my eggshells, banana skins and coffee grounds in it with water and liquify.