How to Use Fish Fertilizer in a Garden

Fish fertilizers provide organic nutrients for a healthy garden.

Fish fertilizer is used primarily in the form of a liquid. Fish emulsion fertilizer is partially decomposed pulverized fish -- the reason for its very strong smell, although the smell does dissipate within a few days. Using fish emulsion or liquid fish fertilizer is recommended for organic gardens as it provides up to 5 percent readily available nitrogen and several trace elements.

Things You'll Need

• Fish emulsion, meal or hydrolized fish
• Broadcast spreader, or fertilizer injector for a garden hose
• Garden hose and spray nozzle
• Shovel
• Tiller

Instructions

1. Mix powdered fish meal into the soil before planting your garden. Spread a thin layer of fish powder with a broadcast spreader over the soil and turn in with a shovel or tiller. Plant the plants or seeds as normal.

2. Add liquid fish emulsion to the garden after plants have become established using a liquid fertilizer injector. Fill the injector with the recommended mixture of fertilizer and water, as described on the fish emulsion label. Secure the injector onto the end of the garden hose and turn on the water supply. Water the plants in a sweeping motion, concentrating on the base of the plants, until the fertilizer has been used up.

3. Water the garden well by using a watering nozzle attached to the garden hose. Concentrate on all of the areas that were watered with the fish emulsion. The garden should get water for at least 15 to 30 minutes to be sure the that the emulsion has been washed down into the soil. If the emulsion is allowed to set on the leaves, it can burn the plants.

Tips & Warnings

• Periodically through the year, fish waste products such as innards, skulls and skins can be buried throughout the garden to increase the nutrients in the soil. In sustainable practices, when a farmer has gone out fishing, he uses the leftover waste parts of the fish that he cleans as fertilizer for his garden.

• Too much fish emulsion and byproducts can burn plants in a garden. Be sure to water plants deeply after each application to dilute the intensity of the nutrients.

References

• Virginia Cooperative Extension: Fertilizing the Vegetable Garden
• Arizona Cooperative Extension Master Gardener: Soils & Fertilization
• North Carolina State University: A Gardener's Guide to Fertilizing Trees and Shrubs
• The Organic Gardener: Fish Emulsion