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soil

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

Kaarina Kreus

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posted 1 year 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.

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Douglas Alpenstock

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posted 1 year 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 1 year 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 1 year 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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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.

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Everyone learns what works by learning what doesn't work. Stephen Herrod Buhner

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