Should I put bone meal in a vegetable garden?

With all the concern about prion diseases like mad cow disease is it advisable to use bone meal in a vegetable garden?

I don't know of any evidence of prion infections being passed along that way, but I've become concerned about handling bone meal also... I know the chances of a problem are probably slim to none, but prions are just too weird, we don't understand them, and I don't want to roll those dice.

A bigger reason not to use bone meal in the garden is that it can attract digging, destructive critters -- from possums to neighborhood dogs.

It is also a very expensive source of phosphate, which is the main reason I don't use it. But as Critter says it also attracts critters. I don't scare easily so the mad cow possibilies would never cross my mind. The disease is relatively rare and infected animals apparently have been kept out of the marketplace.

Well, according to this site

http://www.answers.com/topic/bse?cat=health

"Bone meal
Prepared from degreased bones and formerly used as a supplement in both animal and human foods as a source of calcium and phosphate; no longer used because of the risk of transmitting BSE(bovine spongiform encephalopathy or mad cow disease). Also used as a plant fertilizer as a slowly released source of phosphate."

But they were fed it directly and not through plants.
And it is rare.

I don't think I'll be putting in the garden because you never know and I don't want to attract the foxes and skunks that live around here.

Geez, always something new to worry about! Thanks for sharing the info,though, Mobi!

Bone meal is usually sterilized now and so shouldn't pass anything on. It usually says this on the packet. I wear gloves when applying fertilizers just to be on the safe side. Bone meal is generally used as a slow release fertilizer more for perennials that are in the ground for a long time.

I've never had any problems with it attracting animals, but I usually put it into the bottom of the planting holes and fork it in so it isn't near the surface.

When I did that planting bulbs, it was like issuing an invitation to the squirrels to dig them up. Not that they needed one.

Bone meal has never attracted animals here on our farm. I highly recommend it (so far!) and feel safe with it.

As for squirrels, they tend to navigate towards many types of bulbs and the bone meal is not necessarily an attractant, especially since squirrels are not carnivorous and aren't attracted to the like. They simply prefer bulbs (and all my peaches and plums, dagnabbit!)

Shoe

My dogs love bone meal. Like cow pats, they like to roll in it. I don't add it to top dress anything any more as it is a canine invite for my 3 - 100 lb babies... and I don't know what the attractant to cow pats are, but all of my dogs through time have like to roll in it and think they are such sweet smelling animals afterwards!

Okay, right there is a good reason to use it only in the bottom of holes. In her younger days, Teddy was a digger and might have gone after it, but these days she's not so likely to expend the energy, even for a good stinky smell!

I just put fish emulsion in my front yard, mixed it in with the soil and one morning I found raccoon footprints and a big hole!

kmom,

Given a chance dogs always do that with cow pats -- don't know why -- and they're not saying. LOL
I had a bag of blood meal on the front deck. Oh, boy, they like that stuff, too. Tore the bag right open, ate half of it.

Karen

Patbarr, from what I've read, not all sterilization methods will be effective with prions (not really considers alive by many anyway), so sterilized bone meal may not be much help if the concern is prions.

I've used it for years in vegie garden and flower beds. I usually am not wearing gloves and have never had a problem. If you want to see the difference it will make for your plants, try planting half of everything with bone meal and half without. I was transplanting some vegie starts, forgot the bone meal until I was half way done, then added it to the rest of the row. The ones with the bone meal grew faster and were much greener. That convinced me. I know it is slow release, but it did make a big difference in a short time.

MaryE How much and how often did you put it on? Deanna

Glad I picked up on this thread as I have a bag of bone meal in my garden shed and was about to use it but I also have all kinds of animals here except for deer and I do have a fox family nearby. I know they would love to dig up my plantings! Not by my choice but no bone meal for me.......

Yes, thanks for this thread. I found it interesting. I've been using bone meal religiously, especially when installing new plants.

Deanna, I measure it in an 8oz yogurt cup, about half full for a tomato plant mixed into the soil in an area about a foot in all directions. For rows I just make a line using a full cup about every 10 ft, then run the rototiller over it to mix it, or use a hoe or rake for small places. One application at planting time is all I use, but your growing season is longer so maybe a boost about half way through the season would be good for you.

Thanks Mary. Deanna

I have used bone meal in every planting hole for years and have spread it in my vegetable beds before turning. I seem not to have BSE. Nor have I had any animals dig for it and I have two gluttonous dogs. They rip open things that come in large plastic or paper sacks and eat it -- alfalfa meal, alfalfa pellets, mineral supplements, but never bone meal. I guess by the time they get through sterilizing it, all the good smell goes away.
It is my understanding that all over the world, including the US, they used to put bone meal in animal feed. On the concern that this could transfer BSE that practice has been banned.
Prions are weird and it is really easy to inhale bone meal while spreading it. I haven't been using it lately, but primarily because I can now get soft rock phosphate which behaves much the same.
It is a little scary to not know the whole story, but I really doubt that anyone can get BSE from plants. The US hasn't done a very thorough job of testing for BSE in its cattle, but we have been lucky and not had any human cases that anyone knows about. On the other hand, if you want to avoid BSE, the best thing to give up would be beef.

Another option is to buy Organic grass fed beef.

Right, MaryE, for those who can afford it. I don't know about in Oregon, but in NM it is really expensive.

It's more affordable if you can buy it directly from the producer. My neighbor sells grass fed beef, 1/2 a beef or a whole one, and also organic lamb, and ships the meat frozen from coast to coast. He has customers in New York and Florida.

That sounds great. Does he have a website or an email address? We have sources of both here in New Mexico, but they are **very** expensive.

Yes, he does have a website, and I will get it for you. I want to be sure before I post it. Stand by........ well, probably by tomorrow.

Thanks. I have waited for years -- a few more days won't matter.