Results of Too Much Blood Meal on Plants

Blood Meal Uses

• Blood meal is the dried waste resulting from the slaughter of animals for food or other uses. It provides a high level of nitrogen, making it a fertilizer choice for leafy greens and other nitrogen-hungry plants. If you keep it dry, it may discourage plant-eating animals from visiting your garden.

Plant Burning

• When used in warm, moist conditions, blood meal decomposes rapidly, producing ammonia in soil. High levels of ammonia lower soil's pH level, which means the soil is more acidic than it was. The acidity may burn the roots or other parts of plants, causing the plants to die.

Excess Foliage

• Gardeners frequently add nitrogen to gardens to produce lush greenery in plants, which is a beneficial result in plants grown for their foliage. When the goal is growing fruits and non-leafy vegetables, however, the extra nitrogen might lead to beautiful vines and bushes that don't bear fruits or vegetables. Applying too much blood meal also produces root crops with abundant leaves and tiny roots. In some cases, the verdant foliage may attract insects and other pests to the garden.

Blood Meal Application

• Starting with a soil test helps to determine exactly what nutrients need to be added to a garden's soil. The test also will help you know how much nitrogen to add. Determine the amount of blood meal needed for your planting area by dividing the number of pounds of nitrogen needed by the percentage of nitrogen in the blood meal, which is usually about 12 percent. If, for example, the soil test shows that a garden's soil needs 1/4 pound of nitrogen and your blood meal's package indicates the blood meal contains 12 percent nitrogen, then divide 25 percent, or 0.25, by 0.12; the result is about 2, which means about 2 pounds of blood meal are needed. If you want to follow a more general guide, then apply about 4 ounces of blood meal per 1 square yard of garden soil, or about 7 pounds of blood meal to a 10-foot square garden's soil. (see Ref 1, 2)