Bone meal and a suggestion

[rbarata]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I had an experience similar to Arizona Jeanie's. I read in an old English gardening book that award-winning sweet pea growers dig a trench 3 feet / 1 meter deep, put down a layer of blood and bone meal, backfill, then plant sweet pea seeds.

I did that against 40 feet of fencing. When I came home from work the next day the dogs had dug up the entire 40 feet of trench, 3 feet deep.

The same book recommended fertilizing with trapped rats wrapped in an old handkerchief and buried near the bottom of a large pot at repotting time. I haven't tried this.

[Dollythehun]

Don't laugh. A noted hosta grower buries woodchucks underneath his plants. And don't ask me who, 'cause I don't remember.

[estación seca]

I would also guess bone meal in pots would attract the attention of cats.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I would also guess bone meal in pots would attract the attention of cats.

Mine weren't interested.
I really don't recall any problems. Maybe digging it in deceives critters into thinking there's a body. Sprinkling it on the surface of the media means a quick sniff only.

[SundayGardener]

I recently planted a lot of bulbs outdoors, and most bulb fertilizer is based on bone meal and blood meal. I went through several bags of fertilizer, placed about an inch under the bulbs (daffodils mainly) when planting.

The only critters digging were squirrels and chipmunks, so the fertilizer failed as a deterrent and did not attract any pets. It does work for plants. The products I have used had no scent that I could discern but we all know human sniffers don't compare to dogs and cats.

Fish emulsion and fish-based fertilizer, however, are of great interest to dogs.