Does Crab Meal go bad?

Groat21

Active Member
I'm looking at ordering more amendments, and the larger sizes are a much better deal, but I am wondering which ones will go bad/lose effectiveness over time.

Here is a list of amendments that I use:
Crab Meal
Kelp Meal
Neem/Karanja cake
Malted Barley
Alfalfa
Rock Dusts (Glacial, Basalt, Gypsum, Greensand, Dolomite Lime)

I know the Kelp, Neem, Karanja, Malted Barley, and Alfalfa will lose their effectiveness over time, but would the crab meal? and the rock dusts? (I don't see how rock could go bad though lol)
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
If kept cool and dry should stay good for years. I have some dry amendments that have been sitting in a cabinet at room temp for over 3 years now. The only thing that ever “went bad” on me was a bag of red frog compost tea mix; went anaerobic & smelled horrid so we tossed it. Was only stored for a couple months but it was during the summer & it tends to get humid around here.
 

Dreaming1

Well-Known Member
Crab meal must be decaying from the moment it is separated from blood flow of the living animal. The mineral stuff should stay intact for a long time, the protein of any flesh leftover would decay. May help with growing beneficial bacteria though... Same with everything else, probably best used as fresh as possible, unless fermentation/decay is part of a process to change/improve the material. But as long as no bad fungus/bacteria is growing, it should be fine to throw in as soil texture if nothing else.
 
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