fish fertilizer

[wingnut]

All the guts/skin/heads as well as small spinyrays go into the garden. It is a great free fertilizer. Beware skunks/coons/dogs will dig to get em! Luckily my garden is fenced.

[DiggingDogFarm]

I ferment mine!

Fish parts, kelp, bat guano, molasses and some water with a little yogurt whey to get it started!

Excellent fertilizer!!!

~Dig

[wingnut]

Have to try that recipe. Thanks Dig

[hillbillyBob]

anybody making fish meal out of dried fish parts ??

[wingnut]

To wet around here to dry anything!

[nativesun78]

In preparation for next year, I would like to use fish parts for my garden. Do you guys use fish bones even after they've been cooked? Or do you only use the parts of raw fish after they have been gutted and de-boned?

[DiggingDogFarm]

Originally Posted by nativesun78

In preparation for next year, I would like to use fish parts for my garden. Do you guys use fish bones even after they've been cooked? Or do you only use the parts of raw fish after they have been gutted and de-boned?

I compost anything that isn't oily/fatty or overly salty.

[nativesun78]

Thank you Diggy

[cornbreadlouie]

I put a couple of salmon heads in one of my earthboxes with a sweet 100 & numex big jim pepper and both are growing like mad.

Way more vigorous than the sungold & black prince in my other earthbox. And I planted those almost 3 weeks earlier.

Next year I'm definitely doing heads under all of my plants.

[sheysd1]

I use water from my fish pond. I don't use chemicals of any kind in the pond, it is totally, naturally self cleaning and sustaining. It isn't even filtered. The live plants keep the water filtered and the fish keep the plants happy, works great and my plants really like it.

[Jeannine Anne]

Oh good, I just canned 10 salmon and froze the heads..

[salix]

Apparently that is part of the reason for the growth of the forests along the coast - millenia of bears dragging fish carcasses into the bush...

[TerraGenics]

Pacific Gro makes a great cold processed fish hydrolysate!

[Sun City Linda]

Originally Posted by cornbreadlouie

I put a couple of salmon heads in one of my earthboxes with a sweet 100 & numex big jim pepper and both are growing like mad.

Way more vigorous than the sungold & black prince in my other earthbox. And I planted those almost 3 weeks earlier.

Next year I'm definitely doing heads under all of my plants.

CBLouie- I have EBs also. There is not much support on the EB forum for adding compost as most claim it turns the growing medium to mud and messes with the wicking action. Also, since EBs dont use dirt but sterile growing medium, I dont understand how the fish head nutrients get broken down to become available to the growing plant. Please continue to share your results. Linda

[cornbreadlouie]

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

CBLouie- I have EBs also. There is not much support on the EB forum for adding compost as most claim it turns the growing medium to mud and messes with the wicking action. Also, since EBs dont use dirt but sterile growing medium, I dont understand how the fish head nutrients get broken down to become available to the growing plant. Please continue to share your results. Linda

I pretty much disregarded the instructions I found online for Earthboxes. I used Fox Farm potting soil, I think it was Happy Frog, along with a few shovefuls of home prepared compost so there would be worms, the two salmon heads and some Scotts tomato fertilizer. Time release even though Earthbox says not to.

Too poor/lazy to follow instructions and track down dolomite lime and whatnot.

The sweet 100 is definitely the healthiest tomato plant in my yard, with the best production, but I noticed the pepper didnt do as well as the ones I planted in 5 gallon buckets. I put it a little too close to the southern fence so now it only gets sun in the mornings/late afternoon but is still throwing off more tomatoes than any of my remaining plants. I will take some photos tomorrow when its light.

My EB with the sungold and black prince didnt do as well as the one with the fish heads but that was another one where I just kind of winged it. Didnt have access to the fish heads when I those.

Perhaps next year I will actually follow the instructions with one and fish heads in another and see which way truly is better, but I definitely wont complain about what the plant has given me.