Definition

Noun: A type of fertilizer produced by grinding animal bones into a fine powder. It is used to enrich soil with phosphorus and calcium, which are essential nutrients for plant growth.

Usage

Bonemeal is typically mixed into garden soil or planting holes before sowing seeds or transplanting seedlings. It is valued in organic gardening as a slow-release source of phosphorus, which promotes strong root development and flowering.

Examples

• The gardener added bonemeal to the rose bed to encourage more blooms.
• For best results, incorporate bonemeal into the soil at the bottom of the planting hole for tomatoes.
• Organic bonemeal is a common ingredient in many natural plant fertilizers.

Advanced Usage

• "to amend soil with bonemeal": To improve soil quality by adding bonemeal.
  • It is advisable to amend the soil with bonemeal well before the growing season.
• In some contexts, "bonemeal" can be mentioned in historical or archaeological discussions regarding the use of animal byproducts.

Variants and Related Words

• Bone char (n): A substance similar to bonemeal but processed at higher temperatures, often used as a filtering agent or a black pigment.
• Blood meal (n): A similar organic fertilizer made from dried animal blood, high in nitrogen.
• Fertilizer (n): A general term for any material added to soil to supply nutrients essential for plant growth.

Synonyms

• Bone fertilizer
• Ground bone
• Phosphate meal (in specific agricultural contexts)

Notes on Meaning

The term refers specifically to the ground bone product used as fertilizer. It is not typically used to describe food or feed for animals, which would be termed "bone meal" (often as two words) in that context, though the distinction is subtle.

Noun

1. fertilizer made of ground bones