Anyone ever hear of using dogfood for fertilizer?

[Teddy12b]

At work we've got a nice open area to plant some trees so I had the guys put in some fruit trees. The guy who planted them told me that when you plant a fruit tree you should put a good scoop of dog food in the bottom of the hole to act like a fertilizer for the tree. I have not ever heard that before and thought I'd ask the people here if anyone has heard of that.

Since the trees were planted, something actually got under the fence and dug up the trees and ate all the dog food, so basically everything had to be replanted. It's kind of funny and sad in a way, but so far everything is still alive. After that little lesson, it made me think that if I ever did use dog food I'd sprinkle it around the tree so nothing dug it up. I'd just never heard of it so I thought I'd ask here.

Anyone?

[JONA]

I would guess the principle here is to provide organic feed from the meat content as it rots down. Seems a bit hit and miss as the food must vary according to the manufacturer and would be very low imput anyway I would have thought.
Back in Victorian times it was custom to put a dead goat or sheep under a newly planted vine in the glorious glasshouses that went up in those days.
It would be put well down and I guess it would have fed the vine for many a year after the roots got going.

[digitS']

As expensive as commercial organic fertilizer has become, I've wondered if bagged poultry feed would soon be competitively priced.

dog food ... chicken feed ... maybe, rabbit feed ... I suppose all of these are possibilities.

You have experienced the reason why people get in trouble putting meat in their compost bins. It attracts four-legged pests .

Steve

[rainbowgardener]

yeah, I wouldn't plant with meat and I think it is fairly low level as a fertilizer. I have used alfalfa pellets (guinea pig/ rabbit food) as a Nitrogen supplement in aerated compost tea and directly in the water for seedlings.

[Allyn]

Actually, many dog foods contain very little actual meat. The first five ingredients usually consist of filler grains. Maybe it's the grains that have value as fertilizer. In order to get a dog food that contains identifiable meat in the first five ingredients, it's going to be more expensive than I'd want to spend to use as a fertilizer.

[redtomato]

You mean before of after the dog eats it? Ha Ha no! It may be good for compost unless it has meat in it!

[CharlieBear]

Generally, most growers plant fruit trees without fertilizing them. That way they get a start in the native soil and you don't have to worry about over fertilization. I have heard of people using fish bones, but that also attracts animals. Generally, I wouldn't place the food on top of the ground either as that is just inviting animals. Unless the soil is very nutrient deficient, there is generally not any reason to fertilize young trees.