Disadvantages of Fish Emulsion?

Does anyone have advice on what to be cautious of when using fish emulsion? Thanks.

The only thing I'm cautious of is to make sure I have time for a shower after spraying it. Stinky!

Yep, it is smelly! I switched to kelp and some other less stinky fertilizers, especially as I got tired of having flies chase me around the yard when I used fish emulsion.

Thanks !

I find the neighborhood cats (4 legged varieties) love to 'wallow' in the mulch after applications...and 'eye' me up as a possible meal. lol

Is there any possibility that fish emulsion is contaminated with heavy metals and PCBs??

Sure there is. What isn't? At some point, as an organic gardener, I must throw up my hands: we do what we can.

Amen Zeppy!

I have three northern pike carcasses stewing in a five gallon bucket in an attempt to do home brewed fish emulsion. I'm scared to take the top off the bucket! It is going to be nasty!!

You are a brave one JefeQuicktech!

I used fish emusion on all my containers ONCE. The next day a raccoon and dug them
all up. So watch out for the wild life.

Tam

Today was the day. The fishy carcasses had brewed a good long time. Commercial fish emulsion from a bucket could be used for cologne compared to my concoction. Oh my goodness!

Brave? Tammy, my experiment was not brave. It was STUPID!!

Have you ever watched CSI? They talk about the smell of "decomp" to trace dead bodies. Well, I expect the police to come to search the neighborhood now due to the smell of decomp. I cannot recommend the "stewing Northern Pike carcass in a bucket" method.

I may be always game for an organic solution, but this is too much.

hehehe...Jefe, I tend to do that each time I'm cleaning fish! I leave the guts and the heads in a bucket of water. Whoooeeeee, quite odiferous, eh!? :>) (I usually end up pouring it all into the middle of my compost or leaf piles rather than directly in the garden. That way it breaks down and doesn't smell up the place.)

As for store-bought fish emulsion, yes, it can smell when you're mixing it or using it but I've never had our cats or dogs go messing around in what I've sprayed it on. (Maybe cus I use it everywhere they are confused and can't figure out where to "play" in it?)

The brand I prefer is "Alaska fish emulsion". Perhaps that brand is not as much of an invitation to critters? I've used it for at least 15 years and am very happy with it.
Shoe.

Shoe and Jefe that is disgusting!

Well, we may not be on the cutting edge, but maybe the oozing edge?

*grin ô¿ô

I have had cats or something come and rip up my plants after the fish emulsion application, so now I use it on bareroot plants as a soak only. Then I put them in the ground and I use the water just that one time at planting.

Now, that would be a considerable disadvantage, having your plants ripped up. Goodness.

I think they are trying to find the dead fish... :)

Jefe,
When we lived in MN (20 miles N of Bemidji), dad would have me dig a trench in the garden - usually where we had removed a row. Spread the fresh fish parts and cover with soil - no smell that way and it always was gone in a few weeks.

My first attempt at a garden in Houston (1971) - nothing was doing well. A neighbor gave us a couple of bags - maybe 50# of fish. Cleaned them in about 4 hours and buried the remains in the only empty spot in the garden. Amazing transformation - all surrounding plants took off - harvested tomatoes till the first freeze - mid November.

I use it all the time on everything--and the plants love it too.
Debbie

We always used to bury the entrails of the fish when I lived on the farm. For some reason we never had problems with the cats or coons digging them up. 38 years later now that I live in a city cats and coons seem to be dumber or more desperate.

I'll have to give the burying entrails idea a try again.

I think the missing element is the varmint gun.

LOL

that's the technique the native american's used for the three sisters: beans, corn & ???
with a fish planted in the hole.

Tam

Yes, and the kids were posted as sentinels with a pile of rocks to keep the coyotes/wolves and other varmints away. Fun job.

Well, I tried fish emulsion again in the garden and no cats! Nothing dug up or riuned so far.

Zeppy,
As you note, many of us have discovered that lead is an important element in the garden. It is especially effective at high velocity.

THAT'S the problem! I keep sort of chucking little pieces of lead at them durn varmints, but I guess it needs to be moving faster.... :)

3 sisters - beans, corn, & squash or pumpkins i think.

I'm "reading" Mayflower (books on tape while driving) and came across the
answer recently. You are correct! Its beans, corn & squash.

Tam

Has any of you tried Alaska fish emulsion?it does not smell too bad.

Spider...I'm glad to hear you say that. Above, on my June 13th post I said,

"The brand I prefer is "Alaska fish emulsion". Perhaps that brand is not as much of an invitation to critters? I've used it for at least 15 years and am very happy with it."

I'm so relieved to hear that someone else feels it doesn't "stink" so much. Even though it says on the label "deodorized" the concentrate is quite stinky but I don't seem to smell it very much once it is diluted and sprayed (except when I use it in the greenhouse/closed environment!). And I still won't use it in the house on the house plants...big mistake there and I've learned it's not good to suffer from the Wrath of DW! :>)

Horsehoe, I use ot at home on my african violets. The smell is OK and goes away quickly. no one ever complained.

Thanks for the update on it. I'll give it a go (again!) in the house.

I know it sure has my gardenia's blooming like crazy, right outside the door. Wunnerful! Love it!

Jefe-LOL....I use sooo much fish emulsion every year in my beds that I also thought of trying to make my own.....I've changed my mind about that little experiment now....still chuckling.....next to organic farming, fishing is one of my favorite things in the world to do-especially salt water fishing on the Louisiana coast-the hurricanes may have rearranged the landscape severely, but the fish didn't seem to mind much-my friends and I are heading to Grand Isle, LA over Memorial Day for a week of surf fishing....ahhhhhh...I usually collect seaweed from the beach, rinse it in fresh water and dry it in the sun-then grind it into a powder to transport back to the farm (in NW La)...once here I mix it with water (from my well) and give the plants a dose-they seem to love it.....smell is not bad at all (maybe because of the sun drying?)

Jefe: glad you tried this experiment, and not me! When one of my pond fish passes on, I throw it in the freezer in a plastic bag. When it's time to plant something in a fairly deep hole, I raid the freezer. My worm compost is disgusting enough---I can't even IMAGINE what your concoction would have been like----and don't really want to!~~~

I would like to send you a product sample to try, a soil amendment, I'll even pay for shipping.

Can you tell us some more about it, greenhobby?

That is a nice gesture/offer. Looking forward to hearing more!

Shoe