I've recently read that fish emulsion (diluted of course) is a good "starter" fertilizer for seedlings, but it didn't mention an acceptable ratio (like 1 teaspoon to a gallon of water, for example). Does anyone use this smelly stuff on their seedlings? :)
Fish emulsion on seedlings?
If you use it, use between 1-3 teaspoons per gallon.
Generally, seedlings require about 100-300 ppm of nitrogen. Very young seedlings in very early stages, should probably only get 50 ppm, but shortly after 100 ppm is a minimum for most seedlings. As they mature, 200 ppm is pretty standard. heavy feeders (wave petunias etc) benefit tremendously from 300-400 ppm per watering.
I have given a link below to a PPM fertilizer chart discussion.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/479374
Depending on the actual brand, fish emulsion is usually 5-7% nitrogen which means that 1 tsp will give 65-100 ppm nitrogen. e.g. you would use 1 tsp on very young seedlings, 2-3 tsp/gallon for most seedling fertilizer needs, and 4-5 tsp/gallon for more aggressive seedlings.
I have also attached the same chart again, but please do see the above thread for more discussions.
I had awful luck using alaska fish emulsion (5-1-1) on my seedlings. VERY slow to no growth and awful root systems. This is planting in cocopeat with no fert added. After changing to Peaceful Valley's Omega 6-6-6, they jumped to attention and promptly began growing. My more permanant remedy which works wonderfully is to add some fish meal to the cocopeat before planting. The seedlings in that mix outperform those fertlized with liquid fertilizer by far.
I have used 'Muskie' fish emulsion for several years, it is a Cdn product though. I also mix my fish emulsion with liquid seaweed. That's all I use & have excellent results. On very young seedlings I only use the liquid seaweed but as they get bigger & are transferred into pots, I begin the mixing of the two.
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