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soil

I got a load of big bones - how to use them for soil improvement?

Mary Jefferson

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posted 3 years ago

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A nearby farmer got me a load of bones, really big ones. I suppose cow legs or something like that.
How can I use them for soil improvement? I have no dog.
I keep on finding information about crushed bones, but I am no Hercules.... If I start whacking them with a sledgehammer, my own bones may quickly be added to the pile.

20230529_142656.jpg

Douglas Alpenstock

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posted 3 years ago

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Good question!

I haven't tried it, but I heard once that burning bones in a hot fire makes them crumbly and easy to crush. The internet seems to agree. I think your cow foreleg bones will need a lot of heat and time. Let us know if it works!

https://www.instructables.com/Processing-Animal-Bones-for-Composting-the-Easy-Wa/

https://www.homesteadingtoday.com/threads/burning-bones.109676/

https://www.themeateater.com/wild-and-whole/gardening/how-to-make-your-own-garden-fertilizer-out-of-bones

Anne Miller

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posted 3 years ago

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I have read here on the forum that a lot of folks compost bones and make biochar instead of making bonemeal.

Here are some helpful threads for you or others:

https://permies.com/t/130654/Bone-Char

https://permies.com/t/149972/compost-carcass-charcoal

https://permies.com/t/124159/composting/Slaughter-waste

https://permies.com/t/149401/composting/compost

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Douglas Alpenstock

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Thanks, Anne! The first link is excellent. Haven't looked at the others yet.

I should have just checked Permies instead of bothering with the rest of the internet. Haha.

Gray Henon

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posted 3 years ago

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I burn all of our scrap bones in the woodstove. Afterwards, they crush easily. A campfire would work just as well.

https://permies.com/t/161023/biochar-production-tally-thread

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Anne Miller

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posted 3 years ago

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Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Thanks, Anne! The first link is excellent. Haven't looked at the others yet.

I should have just checked Permies instead of bothering with the rest of the internet. Haha.

I trust the information here on the forum a lot more than I trust the internet.

A lot of times I search the web for something like "Paul Wheaton biochar" or what I am looking for and come up with good links on permies and YouTubes.

Invasive plants are Earth's way of insisting we notice her medicines. Stephen Herrod Buhner
Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

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