"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
On 11 May 2006 15:31:15 -0700, "higgledy" wrote:

I bought a bag of bone meal to add to the soil when I transplant my
tulips. Why is bone meal a good fertilizer for flower bulbs and rose
bushes? Is any fertilizer high in phosphate just as good as bone meal?.


Bone meal is particularly high in phosphorus. It is "organic" and by
nature a slow release fertilizer, great for tubers and bulbs. Rock
phosphate (crushed limestone) is another good fertilizer very high in
phosphorus. Dried seagull bird poop is another source of phosphorus,
although to a lesser extent than the two mentioned.

where do you get your dried seagull poop from? The pacific island of Nauru
was a rich source of guano (bird shit) that got mined extensivley after ww2
I believe and used as the basis for superphosphate. It made the island mega
rich at one point. Now the interior of the island resembles a moonscape.
Essentially rooted. We had a good hand in that, spreading phosphate over our
pasture for 3 decades.
http://www.pacific-picture.de/deutsch/nauru.htm
http://www.monitor.net/monitor/0304a/nauru.html

Personally, I use
fish emulsion and composted cow manure on my roses with excellent
results.

where do you source your cow poop from? how is it collected?

rob