āOh I love roses! I try growing them myself, but they never get very far.ā
āWould you like to know the secret to healthy rose bushes,ā I asked, knowing that she would not like the answer.Ā
āDo tell!ā
Grin.Ā āBlood.ā
The customer paused, waiting for me to say that I was kidding. But I wasnāt so it never came. She became nervous.Ā
And before I could explain that blood meal is a common soil fixer and fertilizer, she put her hands up, spun around and said-
āBye.ā
You want to know the secrets to a beautiful garden? You better be prepared for some weird shit.Ā
Well someone felt like being the ominous witch in the small, mysterious shop today.
.
ā¦also, tomatoes like blood too.
My interest in plants extends beyondĀ āoh look a pretty flowerā and straight intoĀ āplants are fucking metal.āĀ
Evidently, youāre supposed to plant garlic in the same places as your roses because the garlic will repel a rose-specific aphid.
So what Iām saying is that between the romantic symbolism of the rose, the bloodmeal in the soil, and the fresh garlic all over the place-
You could really set yourself up for an encounter with some VERY pissed vampires.Ā
Roses really love banana skins, too. Justā¦ stick one in there before you plant a rose bush or spronkle around one thatās already inĀ the ground. Theyāll adore you.Ā
Mmmā¦ blood banana.Ā
I made tiny ass Home Depot Petunias blossom like magic that theyāre nearly overtaking the trellises.
How did I accomplish this?
Once a week I bury a small amount of leftover meat in the soil.
My morning glories loved the crap out of the charred chicken bones I gave them. Theyāre already an enthusiastic plant, but the blooms I had this year were extraordinary.Ā
@thebibliosphere Well, if you ever get your allergies under some semblance of more control and want to get on Demon Roseās good side, I guess
They also like fish too.
For anyone curious about why plants love blood and meat and bone and ash;Ā
When looking at fertilizer, youāll often see 3 numbers on the package somewhere, arranged like 10-10-10 or 30-5-10.Ā
This is called the NPK ratio. It stands for N - Nitrogen, P - Phosphorus - K - Potassium.Ā
The numbers areĀ āRatio of Nutrientsā - the percentage the product contains by volume, of each element.Ā
NPK, and then some other elements classified asĀ āmicronutrientsā are what plants need to grow. High Nitrogen encourages fast plant growth, High Potassium encourages big blooms, and Phosphorus helps the plants breathe and store energy for later.Ā Calcium and Magnesum are two of the larger micronutrient needs. Calcium is used to make sturdy cell walls, and Magnesium is is required for photosynthesis.Ā
Blood and Bone and Ash all have fairly slow releases of their nutrients, so itāll benefit the plant for a long time afterward. Meat is a bit faster release, but generally wonāt burn the plants with too much nitrogen. When bone is ground up, itāsĀ 4-12-0 - Plus a bunch of Calcium.Ā
When blood breaks down it offers a lot of Nitrogen. 12-0-0 -Ā
Wood ash breaks down into primarily Potassium. 0-0-5Ā
Meat aka Fish Emulsion (Aka several fish that have been put through a blender) is really high in nitrogen and is fast-release - 5-2-2
Dried Seaweed (like the kind you use for sushi) is loaded with other micro-nutrients that plants love.Ā
Bat guano aka poop is 10-3-1 - Very good for rapid, lush growth.Ā
Pretty much every greenhouse, especially if theyāre leaning toward organic, will have blood and meat and bone and ash (and seaweed and animal poop lol) as a staple fertilizers.Ā
Conclusion: Plants are goth af. A vampire who has excess blood, bodies, and bats just laying around will have a VERY lush and healthy garden.Ā
Never expected to learn this but here we are haha
