Fish for Fertilizer?

Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:22 pm

Has anyone tried putting a piece of fish in their holes when planting? I have a pond behind my house that I fish at occasionally and could easily catch a couple (were really only talking two or three) and cut them up for planting with my tomatoes and peppers. I have read about making a fish emulsion and using it as a watering\side dressing for plants but the whole blending and storing of dead fish is turning me off. it would be much easier just to cut them up and throw them in the hole.

Any experiences or opinions? Thanks!

Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:29 pm

My husband tried that once and we ended up having raccoons digging up the garden so we had to replant everything.

Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:42 pm

Here is a post from earlier.
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... en&start=0

Eric

Mon Mar 14, 2011 5:54 pm

All fish go into the compost pile!

Bury deep to keep the racoons out, but they will be gone soon enough.

My Dad used to till them into the rows throughout the year. Especially after those big crappie days.

Mon Mar 14, 2011 6:02 pm

Especially after those big crappie days

I'd have to go to Eastern Washington for crappie days. :wink:

Eric

Mon Mar 14, 2011 6:22 pm

DoubleDogFarm wrote:Here is a post from earlier.
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... en&start=0

Eric

Thanks, I did a quick search but it came up with tons of unrelated threads...sorry for being "that" guy!

Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:02 pm

My grandfather used to go "shrimping" in Beaufort SC every summer when the SC DNR would open the waters for bating. He used a mixture of white clay and this stuff he called "Fish Meal" to make a bait for the shrimp. The fish meal was basically ground up fish and it was pretty coarse, you would see some partial scales, bones and such if you looked close enough. He use to buy it in 50lb bags at the local feed and seed store and would usually buy 25-30 bags of it. I used a few left over bags in my garden one year, pouring it pretty thick (maybe 1-2" thick by 10" wide down between my tomato rows. Then I tilled it under maybe 5" deep. Gave it a good watering and within a month my tomatoes exploded and grew over the 7 foot mark. I wound up having to stake each one with a 1"x1" 10 foot board.

A word of caution though, when wet fish meal stinks really really bad.

Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:08 pm

I always put fish in my garden.When we remodeled the kitchen I put the old sink with garbage disposal behind my shop and when I clean fish I grind the up and dig a trench in the garden and pour them in.If animals become a problem I'll mix some hot peppers in as I grind.