How to Crush Bone to Make Bone Meal

Bone meal is a popular organic fertilizer for gardens and flower beds, consisting of the ground-up bones of livestock. It contains nitrogen and phosphorous to nourish plants, as well as calcium, an important mineral for perennials. In addition, it is a natural slow-release fertilizer, releasing nutrients into the soil as the bone decomposes. It is a relatively simple task to make your own bone meal using leftover bones from cooking.

Things You'll Need

• Oven
• Heavy canvas bag
• Rolling pin or meat tenderizer
• Blender or coffee grinder

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Instructions

1. • 1

     Clean the meat and fatty tissue from leftover bones. If you can't remove all the tissue by scraping, boil the bones until they are clean.

   • 2

     Bake the bones at 400°F until they are thoroughly dry and brittle, about an hour for most small to medium bones. Set aside until cool.

   • 3

     Place the bones in a heavy tear-proof sack, preferably canvas. Using a rolling pin or meat tenderizer, smash the dried bones into fragments no larger than 1 inch.

   • 4

     Grind the bones in a coffee grinder or blender set to pulse.