catman,
You are freaking me out a little bit on the bone thing.
Is there a reason that you want to make this from scratch and not just buy it? Just curious.

I routinely throw bones into the chipper part of my chipper-shredder, then throw them back into the shredder mixed with leaves or finished compost (using 1/4" screen), then into the pile. It wouldn't occur to me to char them first, but then I'm no expert. GaryStPaul

I don't know..if the bone is there why not use it? It's free. Even if bone meal is not that expensive it is interesting to use what is on hand.
I mean, I use fish bones and left overs instead of buying fish emulsion.
But I wonder, wouldn't grinding it be better than burning it?

There was a thread in the organic gardening forum a little while ago - it seems that many do what you are talking about.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/organic/msg0117384025879.html

I would grind it, but I don't have anything to grind it with, so I figured I would char it to make breaking it up a lot easier.

And yes, I want to do it from scratch because it's free. I'm also a fisherman and I might take home some fish scraps for the tomatoes sometime this summer. I did pay for that fishing license. Might as well get my money's worth out of it this year.

Yeah! Use that fish stuff!
I would be curious to know how much fish bone,heads and guts is too much. If you have a lot this year it might be interesting to experiment.
Re:that cow bone-perhaps someone you find on freecycle or craig's list might have a grinder you could use. Never know unless you ask!

I would be concerned about the smell if I used fish scraps in the garden. I could get over it myself, but I wouldn't want the neighbors to have to smell rotting fish everytime they went outside.

I'll probably just try charring the bone - again, the whole point of doing it myself is to avoid spending extra money. I'll see how it goes.

Don't worry about the smell! I really do use fish for tomatoes and roses and ...lots of things! There is no smell. I bury the fish. I just planted a rose bush the other day, dug a hole, about 3 feet and put three whole raw fish down in it and then garden dirt, compost, peat, and bone meal. No cats have ever come digging up my fish. In my containers for tomatoes I already have some fish remains buried in the soil waiting for planting out time. No smell there either.
I have a hyper sensitive nose. I wouldn't put fish remains ON TOP , but way underneath, I promise, no problem.
The only time I had a smell problem was when I had a kind fisherman neighbor who used to leave me what he'd caught and didn't want to eat on a shared fence in a plastic bag, in the summer. Once he left me a nurse shark!
I got it buried as soon as I could. Nothing does as well in my garden as the perennial plants over that shark. I'm sorry the fisherman moved away.

So I guess I can bury fish under each tomato plant when I put them all in the garden. I'll have to catch some first, which shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks for the advice.

Honestly, it sounds like a lot of stinky work and effort for a small amount of a marginally beneficial product of clearly questionable quality.

Sorry, but you did ask for thoughts on it. ;)

Dave

Dave
That was so well put! But you do mean the bone burning, right? Not the fish?

I don't mind the stinky work; I enjoy fishing and wouldn't mind saving my catch for the tomatoes when I plant them out.

If it's the bone you're talking about, I wouldn't mind giving that a try either.

LOL, I can see it now. I'm caught raiding the trash at the fish cleaning station....."really, I'm taking it home to fertilize my tomatoes." And maybe I could run it through the blender before pouring it in the planting holes. Might sped up the decomposing process. Oops, sorry honey, I'm not sure why the kitchen stinks. And catman, seriously, it does sound like something I might try, stinky or not! I don't think I'll find any big bones to burn in the woods near my house though. Gonna have to stick with ground up fish bones, I guess.

And back on topic...I have no idea what burned bone additions would do to your soil pH.

Yes, I was referring to the bone burning - the original question. ;)

Since you have already made up your mind to do it anyway then might I suggest that you NOT apply it to all the soil/plants (not that you'd have enough anyway) but do a controlled experiment with it.

There is little potential gain since even steamed bone meal decomposes so slowly that it is of little benefit the year it's applied. But there may be some potential soil pH problems down the line with the burned stuff and you'd hate to inadvertently create a big problem for yourself.

As to the fish - other than the smell which isn't a problem for us since the nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile away - it works great except when the raccoons dig up the plants to get to it. It's even better if composted first in the compost pile. We added a bucket of white bass cleanings just today - well buried in the compost bins.

Dave

BURNING BONE ???

You cannot burn bones down to ashes. I know it for fact.
Some time ago I throw some big soup bones in my fire place.
The next time that I Was epmtying my fire place ashes the bones were intact, looking brite white but britle. I am sure some of the stuf in them burned or evaporated but the main stuf that are calcium (or some compond of it) did not budge. I was surprised.

Burning is a form of oxidation. I guess oxigen cannot affect calcium( O2 + ca = no change).

At least it did not happen at the temperature generated by the fire wood.

SURPRISE!!!!

I would bury somewhere you can find it. Then this summer when children are around; like at a family get together or something, uncover it and act like it is a fossil from a dinosaur. Kids love that.

catman,

by what i've researched burned bone ashes retain all the good nutrients after burning that they have originally.

it's a simple matter to burn bones to their dust form, get a good base of wood coals, add fresh wood and when that catches lay your bones on top. you just need to keep the temp of your fire as hot as possible. the bones will be the white ash you find after the fire dies and cools.

i burn my bones after the big game seasons are over and fertilize my trees and garden over the winter.

by the way teeth need a higher temp. to dissolve into powder. just in case you want to dispose of any evidence i.e. crappy neighbors,ex-wife,loan sharks,etc.

wildlifeman

Hopefully nothing will dig up the fish if I decide to use some for my tomatoes. I'm in Tennessee and our state wild animal is the raccoon...in other words, we have them around here and they might want some fish.

I might or might not burn the bone, because my soil pH is already near neutral and I don't want it any higher for the tomatoes' sake. I was mainly thinking of using it for the red beets and container-grown pepper/tomato plants.

http://vertaustin.blogspot.com/2009/03/adventures-of-fish-head.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Fish heads

catman

My grandfather was a fisherman/farmer back in the day, early 1900s. The family lived on a river that emptied into the ocean nearby, so they harvested just about everything the sea could offer. He also hunted for food but the family lived mostly on seafood and garden vegetables out at the last end of nowhere.

My mother used to tell about their having to bury a small fish culled from the larger ones in each hole where a corn-seed was planted. She said they did that for all their garden crops, so it's a really OLD fertilization technique that worked quite well. She never mentioned wild critters digging up the fish, but things were different then. There seemed to be enough food for humans and wildlife living in the same area without too much overlap.

You don't have a friend with a Great Dane who would take that bone off your hands? :-)

I'm horrified and entertained at the same time. Eric, that was hilarious... Kids DO love that..

Call the Authorities: I'm horrified thinking that some of you people might be serial killers trying to burn the evidence! Yikes!

Eric, I really like your idea as well. I know a couple of peanuts who would go nuts if we found a 'dinosaur' bone! Of course the parents would most likely flog me when their kids started digging holes all over their yard looking for bones! ("what's that? No friend, I have no idea where they got the idea of finding dinosaur bones buried in the back yard..."
tom8olver- "A friend will bail you out of jail- a true friend will help hide the body!" :o)
Sarah

anney - I think burying fish under the plants goes back to the native Americans. They were big corn growers and planted fish with their corn as a fertilizer.

It is called bone black and I have used it for some time both when seeding and planting. It is a good organic source of Potassium amongst other nutrients for plants.

Yes, I was referring to making my own bone black. I think it is a source of potassium, but is mainly a source of phosphorus. P and K are what I want more of for my tomato plants when they are mature.

For more K I could just add some banana peels. ;) Not sure what the percentage of K is in a banana though.

What did the cow die of?