I'm a big fan of Bone Meal for my mulberry and blueberry trees.

Has anyone used it for fig tree's ? What are your thoughts ?

I wouldn't mind knowing benefits or drawbacks to using it.

Chatueauguay Pino,

The first question many will ask you is the acidity of your soil in the area of the fig trees. 

But, my main question toward the concerns is more on the line of what do you want the bonemeal to provide or do for your trees?

Hi Chris,

The natural soil around here is on the alkaline side Ph is around 9. I use peat moss to bring it down and i also add aluminum sulfate every 4 years or so.
I do the same thing to get blue flowers from my hydrangeas.

That said the tree's will be in pots with a customized soil mixture. (compost-potting soil-course sand-perlite)

The bone meal i find gives me bigger blueberries. Same for the mulberries. I don't use miracle grow because i'm not sure if i trust what they're putting in there.
It's great for the flowers but i'm just not sure i want to be eating it. Bone meal is organic and slow release.

Thanks Doug. I figured it would be a good thing to add. I also love to use it and my father is much like you. He uses it on pretty much everything in his garden.
He gets regular visits from everyone in the neighborhood asking how he gets his plants so big. Gotcha on the use sparingly. Thanks again.

i grow my trees for height in first 2 yrs. didn't see much growth with organic things. will be moving back to MG and slow release fertilizer this yr. i heard others have very good results with bone meal, and blood meal. 

Thanks for the reply Pete. Seems like you didn't get good results from it. I guess different techniques work better in different areas.

not really worried about die back. weather here is warm enough i don't worry about it. also, all my trees are container culture, so they spend their winter in my garage. i'm sure i'm doing it all wrong, but i want my fig's to be at a height where i don't have to bend down to pick them. first two yrs, i get to that point. so far it's been working for me :) nodes are not that far apart, and they are putting on branches for new crop... spring is when i push fertilizer. buy july/aug, i'm done giving them fertilizer.

Please share what you find Doug. I use bone meal, blood meal and bat guano but I'm always looking for something more "green".

I've used only natural fertilizers and amendments for 30+ years, with great results. For fig babies, I use fish emulsion, though the odor isn't good if your figs are inside. I add ground oyster shell, compost, and rock phosphate to potting soil when they go into pots. During the season I fertilize with fish meal, and or cottonseed meal, which is slightly acidic. I also top dress with more compost, which I make with horse manure and wastes from my garden. I've used the ground rock phosphate for many years, as an alternative to bone meal. It is supposed to break down slowly, releasing phosphorus for 3-4 years. Though new to growing figs, these things in one combination or another, always yield great results, as they feed the soil.

Pete everyone has their own secret to success. I sincerely doubt your doing anything wrong at all.
Your method of fertilization makes absolute sense. The more information from people that is out there
the better it is for newbs like me. I appreciate your response.

Doug, i like Tami would also like to know if you come up with anything.

Gary, good info on the rock phosphate. I'm very interested in this thread. Doug, I'm listening (reading). I have to do some research and be prepared when planting time comes.

Chateauguay_Pino,
I use Espoma-Tone Organic fertilizers with balanced nutrients and Mycorrhizae on all my plants both in ground and potted. For in-ground plants, I seed (inoculate) the soil in early spring with Espoma-tone and use compost as fertilizer.

Bone meal is mostly Phosphorus, with some available Nitrogen and is more readily available in acidic soils, but needs to be broken down by soil microbes to become available to most plants. Most Espoma-Tone fertilizer products are now supplied with these microbes (mycorrhizae) that aid in that nutrient transfer. Bulb-Tone has additional bonemeal, Tomato-tone has additional Calcium but I use Garden-tone and Plant-tone.
If you are using Bone meal, Limestone and other natural mineral fertilizers (non water soluble) please ensure that you have healthy microbes in the soil or potting mix to aid in the nutrient transfer to the plants.

This is an Espoma webpage... http://www.espoma.com/p_consumer/tones_overview.html#.Ux4-ss4qDcs

Although I know absolutely nothing about fertilizing, I recently bought a "grow" pack for plumerias from a place online: www.kelp4less.com They were fast with shipping and have a lot of stuff. I am reading this thread to become more familiar with what figs need as far as fertilizer. I will check often in hopes of growing figs to their fullest.

I didn't read this whole thread because I have to go out and and I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned this. Be careful of using bone meal if you have a dog that is in the same place as your trees.
Bone meal + dog = dug up tree.

Perfect Doug, thanks!

OMG I never thought about dogs and bone meal, good tip!

Sorry to sidestep the question, but just a thought: has anybody heard about adding gypsum to soil, it adds calcium, improves fruit quality and helps correct ph and improve drainage, so it could help fig trees I think, maybe like bonemeal or limestone?

Hi Rafael. Gypsum is the same stuff they make drywall from correct ? If so you are not the first person i have heard say it.
Maybe others can chime in. Information is knowledge right.

Drywall sounds gross. I saw this and it looked good: http://www.cmtmi.com/gypsum.asp Also my hydroponic guy recommended gypsum and they are pretty conscientous.

Lol Rafael it may sound gross but pressed gypsum is what they use to make it. What i found most fascinating about the article is it's anti rotting properties. They actually use it to help prevent rot. That can't be a bad thing at all. (brain at work.... hmmm wonder if it would help with rooting)

Thanks for that link. Very informative.

Gypsum is used as a Calcium supplement for Alkaline soils while pulverized Limestone is used for Acidic soils. It the recommendation in most gardening literature. [QUOTE]In areas that get less than 20 inches of rain per year - Use Gypsum. In areas that get 20 or more inches of rain per year - Use Limestone... 
0 - 19" = Gypsum , 20" ( or more) = Limestone[/QUOTE]
Dolemite Limestone is added to peat based potting mixes to increase pH, Calcium and Magnesium. Many Potting mix manufacturers will also add Gypsum to the mix to increase Calcium levels without increasing pH.

Gypsum has no effect on pH.  Some people say it does but that does not make it so.

Hi,
What I heard was : Bone meal + dog = dug up tree and dug down dog or cat.
The pets would die if they eat too much bone/blood meal - which they should not do but pets are pets.

Here they recommend to use the blood/bone meal at planting time - throw it in the bottom of the planting hole.
 It is supposed to be a slow release fertilizer - Meaning if you want the tree to grow fast - it won't be of much help.
For figtrees I could use it as a base, but not alone ...
To fertilize, I'm using compost - the same used for the winter protection -, manure, and chemical fertilizer for the garden.
Last year I used castor bean oil pellets - but once again no cats or dog or child in the vicinity or you might be in trouble - during the first two weeks ...
Rodents get in trouble with it - and that was the reason for using that last fertilizer !

I tend to agree with Doug. The bone meal is usually used at the bottom when you are first planting the tree or potting it. The amount of it used isn't usually very much you don't need alot of it. I too have had dogs all my life and never had anything like that happen. That's not to say it doesn't happen. If people are saying it then I'm sure it does in fact happen. Dogs will eat just about anything and if they like it they will always go back for it. One of my dogs used to eat at my lilac tree. He for whatever reason loved the leaves. Threw up after every time but he didn't care. The vet said it was somewhat toxic but on the low end of the scale. He lived to be 16. Not bad for a Husky.

Bonjour JDS

Yes it will be at the base of the container in a mixture of compost, potting soil, course sand, and perlite.

I always use bone meal for my fig trees - particularly since I grow them all in pots. I've had great success and would definitely recommend it as an organic supplement.

I used to use it but the thought of contributing to the grinding down of animal bones and small possibility of contracting mad cow disease are enough for me use other soil additives.

I had to look this one up.

Read this article. Very very interesting.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow/fertilizer1804.cfm

It's actually a great alternative for those people who are worried. I think bone meal is safe enough for me to continue to use it. I read on the container and it does say organic. The last line in that article pretty much sums it all up.

"Honestly, the chances of getting killed using a rototiller are a lot greater."

Looks like a good product Doug.
I also noticed they recommend mixing it thoroughly throughout the soil rather then at the bottom like bonemeal.
Would be interesting to know the results.

I use bone meal, and this year it will be a mix of blood bone meal and potassium sulfate.  If you have a problem with animals (racoons, cats and dogs) you can use products like calphos which is a soft rock phosphate which will give your phosphorus as well as calcium for them trees.

I said "small possibility", that's good enough for me.

Plenty of comments for and against. All of them have great points. The key is to educate ourselves.
I have already learned quite a bit including about new products.