Q: I ordered a bag of a blood meal online. It is very dark small granules. I tried to dissolve it in water. After a week, the stuff sits on the bottom of the glass, unaffected. Is this how blood meal supposed to be?

A: Although blood meal was originally a liquid, it was flash-dried at a processing plant. The drying process causes protein in the blood to coagulate into hard particles that resist wetting. When used as a fertilizer, soil organisms digest the blood meal particles and release the material in a nitrogen form that plants can absorb. That said, processors can make blood meal water-soluble by heating and chemically treating the rubbery particles. That’s why some 12-0-0 blood meal product labels say “Contains 12% water-insoluble nitrogen” and others say “Contains 6% water-insoluble nitrogen plus 6% water-soluble nitrogen”.

I feel sure you have the natural, untreated product. Use it in your garden at 8 pounds per 1000 square feet. Dogs and other animals may find it attractive so till it into the soil after applying.