fish emulsion?

dipchip2000 · January 25, 2010

Please dont throw rocks at me, however has anyone ever put a dead whole fish in the bottom of a tomato planting hole? Its organic and would provide numerous nutriants as does the fish emulsion you buy at the store. I am going to try a few regardless but just wondered who has already done it.
thanks
dipchip2000

travis · January 25, 2010

If you use dead fish as fertilizer in your garden, I suggest you also purchase a couple of live traps and bait them with dead fish heads to catch the raccoons and other critters that would otherwise dig up your plants to get at the buried fish.

Flame of Bodensee · January 25, 2010

Well i have done this not before, but i have read about it in the last days.
it should help the plants amazingly, but like travis said keep in mind that some animals would love diggin them up for dinner. Perhabs if you dig them very deep you need no traps

.
mhm... dunno what my neighbours would say if i burie fishheads in my garden, they think perhabs now he is really crazy now

. When i would try this, i'm thinking about it too, perhabs dried fishheads would do the same thing when they get slow watered and rott slower too.

greetz Matthias

desertlzbn · January 25, 2010

My dad does this, but he buries them really deep. His tomatoes look Great!

newgardener_tx · January 25, 2010

I will cook and eat the fish myself and plant bones and scales down

pete · January 25, 2010

I have put a couple of whole dead creek chubs or minnows in the hole, which already has good soil, and did not notice any difference in the plants with or w/o fish. My garden is fenced and rabid pit bull dogs patrolling the beds, so nothing was dug-up. Currently working on a mote with live gators, but the permit keeps getting rejected (something about not being safe if kids want to swim). IMHO-will probably help especially if your soil is poor, but if you have good soil, let your cat have the fish.

Pete

dipchip2000 · January 25, 2010

I live in an urban enviorment and have never seen any critters or their damage. I also have access to a fishing dock that I visit amny times during spring and fall. I think I can still fillet my fish to eat and use the carcass as fertilizer. I am definitely going to try and see what happens. probably about 18 inches deep in the very bottom of the hole. I will surely post results either good or bad.
dipchip

travis · January 25, 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by dipchip2000

I live in an urban enviorment and have never seen any critters or their damage.
dipchip

From the Merle Haggard song, I had gotten the distinct impression y'all had all manner of critters in Muskogee

remy · January 25, 2010

My father used to do that when he lived up here and they did extremely well. He did plant them pretty deep and he didn't have critter problems.
Remy

Paul R · January 25, 2010

Many years ago I and some friends went White Bass fishing during the spawn run. They were good eating fresh, but after thawing them they were nasty. Saved them, put 1 fillet in each tomato hole and whala, darn nice tomatoes all the way around. I put all fish carcases in the garden now.

darwinslair · January 25, 2010

Fish make good food.

Feed scraps to my neighbor's chickens and they do a pretty good job of breaking them down into fertilizer that nothing is going to try to dig up and eat.

Tom

prizebull · January 25, 2010

We used to catch suckers ,when I was a kid at home, during the spring run and put the whole fish 6 to 8 inches down,always had nice tomatoes.It sounds like a good idea and maybe I'll try it again this year.
Thanks for the idea!

veggie babe · January 26, 2010

Yes, I have buried fish in the garden. Like others have mentioned bury them deep. Actually this is one way the American Indians fertilized their crops. I say give it a try.

Neva

dipchip2000 · January 26, 2010

Travis
we do have all kinds of critters here but most wouldnt dig up the tomatoes cause that would be too much work. Will post results when available, can hardly wait to start diggin and plantin.
dipchip

stormymater · January 27, 2010

We used to dip net shad during their spring run up the Potomac for their roe with my Dad when we were kids. The males that we kept by mistake went directly into the garden accompanied by the females once their roe was harvested. Dad had THE garden in our neighborhood (after Victory gardens went out of vogue & well before gardening became fashionable again). Sometimes the terriers would be raising Cain & we'd look outside to see a neighbor with her kid in our backyard saying, "Now look, Jonathon, that's a bean" (as she pointed at a tomato plant covered in little green tomatoes). Hey, it was downtown DC - what can you say?
Those shad were very helpful I believe.
I have been amending my raised bed with hish heads & "trimmings" from my favorite local fish monger. We abut on some wild federal property & I have had no problem with the possums, raccoons, foxes or coyotes ventruing into the fenced garden to dig up the fish offal. Turning those beds this spring may get dicey though...

January 25, 2010	#1
dipchip2000 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Muskogee, Oklahoma Posts: 664	fish emulsion? Please dont throw rocks at me, however has anyone ever put a dead whole fish in the bottom of a tomato planting hole? Its organic and would provide numerous nutriants as does the fish emulsion you buy at the store. I am going to try a few regardless but just wondered who has already done it. thanks dipchip2000

January 25, 2010	#3
Flame of Bodensee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Germany Posts: 39	Well i have done this not before, but i have read about it in the last days. it should help the plants amazingly, but like travis said keep in mind that some animals would love diggin them up for dinner. Perhabs if you dig them very deep you need no traps . mhm... dunno what my neighbours would say if i burie fishheads in my garden, they think perhabs now he is really crazy now . When i would try this, i'm thinking about it too, perhabs dried fishheads would do the same thing when they get slow watered and rott slower too. greetz Matthias __________________ Let the Vegetables grow.....

January 25, 2010	#9
remy Buffalo-Niagara Tomato TasteFest™ Coordinator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Z6 WNY Posts: 2,354	My father used to do that when he lived up here and they did extremely well. He did plant them pretty deep and he didn't have critter problems. Remy __________________ "I wake to sleep and take my waking slow" -Theodore Roethke Yes, we have a great party for WNY/Ontario tomato growers every year on Grand Island! Owner of The Sample Seed Shop

January 25, 2010	#2
travis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 2,984	If you use dead fish as fertilizer in your garden, I suggest you also purchase a couple of live traps and bait them with dead fish heads to catch the raccoons and other critters that would otherwise dig up your plants to get at the buried fish.

January 25, 2010	#4
desertlzbn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Tucson Posts: 659	My dad does this, but he buries them really deep. His tomatoes look Great!

January 25, 2010	#5
newgardener_tx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: austin, tx Posts: 249	I will cook and eat the fish myself and plant bones and scales down

January 25, 2010	#6
pete Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: cincinnati Posts: 202	I have put a couple of whole dead creek chubs or minnows in the hole, which already has good soil, and did not notice any difference in the plants with or w/o fish. My garden is fenced and rabid pit bull dogs patrolling the beds, so nothing was dug-up. Currently working on a mote with live gators, but the permit keeps getting rejected (something about not being safe if kids want to swim). IMHO-will probably help especially if your soil is poor, but if you have good soil, let your cat have the fish. Pete

January 25, 2010	#10
Paul R Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Avilla IN Posts: 300	Many years ago I and some friends went White Bass fishing during the spawn run. They were good eating fresh, but after thawing them they were nasty. Saved them, put 1 fillet in each tomato hole and whala, darn nice tomatoes all the way around. I put all fish carcases in the garden now.

January 25, 2010	#11
darwinslair Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Lake Minnetonka MN Posts: 229	Fish make good food. Feed scraps to my neighbor's chickens and they do a pretty good job of breaking them down into fertilizer that nothing is going to try to dig up and eat. Tom

January 25, 2010	#12
prizebull Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Akron,N.Y zone 6 Posts: 44	We used to catch suckers ,when I was a kid at home, during the spring run and put the whole fish 6 to 8 inches down,always had nice tomatoes.It sounds like a good idea and maybe I'll try it again this year. Thanks for the idea!

January 26, 2010	#13
veggie babe Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: east texas Posts: 686	Yes, I have buried fish in the garden. Like others have mentioned bury them deep. Actually this is one way the American Indians fertilized their crops. I say give it a try. Neva

January 27, 2010	#15
stormymater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pleasure Island, NC 8a Posts: 1,162	We used to dip net shad during their spring run up the Potomac for their roe with my Dad when we were kids. The males that we kept by mistake went directly into the garden accompanied by the females once their roe was harvested. Dad had THE garden in our neighborhood (after Victory gardens went out of vogue & well before gardening became fashionable again). Sometimes the terriers would be raising Cain & we'd look outside to see a neighbor with her kid in our backyard saying, "Now look, Jonathon, that's a bean" (as she pointed at a tomato plant covered in little green tomatoes). Hey, it was downtown DC - what can you say? Those shad were very helpful I believe. I have been amending my raised bed with hish heads & "trimmings" from my favorite local fish monger. We abut on some wild federal property & I have had no problem with the possums, raccoons, foxes or coyotes ventruing into the fenced garden to dig up the fish offal. Turning those beds this spring may get dicey though...