How to Make Fish Emulsion Fertilizer

The byproduct of fish can be used to make organic fertilizer.

Fish emulsion is one of the most powerful organic fertilizers that you can feed your plants. It provides a quick boost of usable nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to plants. While the product has a powerful aroma as well -- it is made from the remains of fish -- you may find nutrient benefits to your plants, outweigh the temporary unpleasant smell.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 5-gallon bucket with lid
• Blender
• Fish
• Molasses
• Epsom salt
• Dried leaves and grass

1. Add fresh fish parts to a blender with warm water and emulsify. Avoid using canned fish for the fertilizer, since these tend to contain extra preservatives.

2. Fill the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket with dried leaves, straw, dried grass, newspaper, and/or sawdust. These will help to control the smell and absorb extra nitrogen from the fish.

3. Add molasses (unsulfured or dry) to the fertilizer bucket as well. This helps to control the fish emulsion smell and also build up the microbes in order to speed up the process of decomposition.

4. Add fresh or dried seaweed to the container (optional).

5. Add 1 to 2 tbsp. of Epsom salts. This adds needed magnesium and sulfur.

6. Add the lid and stir the fish emulsion once or twice a day and let the concoction sit for at least two weeks.

7. Dilute the fish emulsion fertilizer to a 1-to-5 ratio and add to your plants, or spray on the leaves as a foliar fertilizer.

References

• Shenandoah Rose Society; Making Your Own Fish Fertilizer; Charles Shaner

Resources

• North Carolina State University Extension; Fertilizer from the Sea; Melissa Ann Pline Brown, et al.