Going fishing and had a thought about fish in the garden....

bertaluchi

bertaluchi

Well-Known Member
So what if I catch a bunch of fish this weekend on my fishing trip and take the heads and guts and put them in the ground where I will plant in about a month. Will that help out? Will it break down enough to be beneficial? I always hear about fish in the garden but I have only used fish emulsions and fish bone meal from a store. Does anyone have any experience with fresh fish in the garden? I usually don't start my outdoor plants until the end of March or early April. Will that be enough time for the fish to cook?
 
greasemonkeymann

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
bertaluchi said:
So what if I catch a bunch of fish this weekend on my fishing trip and take the heads and guts and put them in the ground where I will plant in about a month. Will that help out? Will it break down enough to be beneficial? I always hear about fish in the garden but I have only used fish emulsions and fish bone meal from a store. Does anyone have any experience with fresh fish in the garden? I usually don't start my outdoor plants until the end of March or early April. Will that be enough time for the fish to cook?
Click to expand...
done it... it's messy, stinky.. and takes a longass time to breakdown..
If you can source fish meal and fishbone meat that's a HELLUVA lot easier..\
If not?
Get a meat tenderizer and a cutting board and beat the bejesus out of it, then either mix with alfalfa meal to help dry it, or lay it out in a thin layer in the sun..(birds will love you)
but it'll smell fuuunnnnky...
For me, bottom line was to buy the meal was a lot easier and less stinky
But to answer your question, whole fish carcasses would take probably 4 months or so to be available..
As for the guts? not sure on that one...
 
bertaluchi

bertaluchi

Well-Known Member
greasemonkeymann said:
done it... it's messy, stinky.. and takes a longass time to breakdown..
If you can source fish meal and fishbone meat that's a HELLUVA lot easier..\
If not?
Get a meat tenderizer and a cutting board and beat the bejesus out of it, then either mix with alfalfa meal to help dry it, or lay it out in a thin layer in the sun..(birds will love you)
but it'll smell fuuunnnnky...
For me, bottom line was to buy the meal was a lot easier and less stinky
But to answer your question, whole fish carcasses would take probably 4 months or so to be available..
As for the guts? not sure on that one...
Click to expand...
Thanks for the quick response. I was thinking about it but 4 months is way to long. I'm just gonna stick to my fish bone meal and emulsion. thanks
 
KingBlunted

KingBlunted

Well-Known Member
My family has mixed in many kinds of fish into the garden for many generations. Not just the heads and guts but the entire fish. Depending on species each fish is under a lb or over 40lbs, doesn't matter. Native American technique I was told. Always had great vegetable gardens but yes there is a risk of an increase in animal activity. One year I remember white assed wasps burrowing in the garden to get to the fish.
 
bertaluchi

bertaluchi

Well-Known Member
the animal attraction makes me nervous. I have a lot of wildlife in my area. I always have to be on the lookout for black bear, as well as coons, possum, and armadillo. They all like to mess around in my garden but when the bear come through they just knock plants over. They also love to eat my banana trees. Not so much the fruit, but the actual trunk of the tree. Banana trees are very soft and full of water.
 
bertaluchi

bertaluchi

Well-Known Member
Hell yeah, lots of banana trees growing down here. I think from like Orlando on south you can grow them. The further south the better. And we got lots of armadillos down here too. A truly dumb-ass animal. And the like to dig. They can fuck up a root zone right quick. lol but it is a beautiful place to live. Coldest night we had this year was 40. Only problem down here is the rain during the summer months makes outdoor growing nerve racking. We wait to see the first patch of bud rot and then harvest. We wait as long as we can but I almost never keep a plant past mid september. Way too much risk of rot.
 
MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
bertaluchi said:
So what if I catch a bunch of fish this weekend on my fishing trip and take the heads and guts and put them in the ground where I will plant in about a month. Will that help out? Will it break down enough to be beneficial? I always hear about fish in the garden but I have only used fish emulsions and fish bone meal from a store. Does anyone have any experience with fresh fish in the garden? I usually don't start my outdoor plants until the end of March or early April. Will that be enough time for the fish to cook?
Click to expand...
I found a nice write up on making Fish Hydrolysate. It starts off with a Lacto B serum, same as bokashi, and basically mix it with sugar water and let it set for 3-4 weeks... Here it is, I am going to try this atleast once this summer. The fish are going to be caught regardless!

http://theunconventionalfarmer.com/recipes/fish-fertilizer/
 
thumper60

thumper60

Well-Known Member
bertaluchi said:
the animal attraction makes me nervous. I have a lot of wildlife in my area. I always have to be on the lookout for black bear, as well as coons, possum, and armadillo. They all like to mess around in my garden but when the bear come through they just knock plants over. They also love to eat my banana trees. Not so much the fruit, but the actual trunk of the tree. Banana trees are very soft and full of water.
Click to expand...
all those critters will dig for rotten fish
 
kkt3

kkt3

Well-Known Member
I used the head, guts and tail from a fish for one of my plants last year. It grew to the top of my hoop house and I had to train it to grow along the top afterwards. Don't know if that growth was all because of the fish or not, but it was one awesome plant!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top