They maintain soil fertility and are better than chemical fertilizers. There are many products available in the market which are used as organic fertilizers.
One of the very famous and widely used fertilizer is fish emulsion. It is a liquid fertilizer which is made from remains of the proceeds of fish oil and fish meal. It is naturally derived form the remains and is very good for plants. They are sometimes treated with chemicals for storage and transportation, but the chemical content is negligible in amount.
Fish emulsion is made from the remains of fish, which are processed to make fish oil and fish meal.
The fish are cooked and are processed to get fish oil. After extracting the oil, the left out oil is then boiled till the water gets evaporated and the solution takes the form of an emulsion.
The boiling time totally depends upon how much concentrated the emulsion has to be. More water may be added to make it a gelatin paste. Now this emulsion is treated with some chemicals for the storage purpose. These emulsions are not used directly, they are diluted with the help of water and then sprayed on the plants.
The nutritional content of the fish emulsion in terms of N:P:K is either 5-1-1 or 5-2-2. These values are interpreted as nitrogen 5 %, phosphorus 1 or 2 % and potash 1 or 2%. NPK is a very essential content of any organic fertilizer.
Apart from these constituents, there are many other minerals and nutrients too which are very helpful for the growth and development of the plant. This organic fertilizer is associated with a very strong odor of fish which will stay at least for two days.
To solve this problem you can get deodorized fish emulsions. Although this fertilizer is mild, you need to give the plants only the required amount of it. Excess of it may harm the plant because of the high nitrogen content.
How to Make it at Home
You can make fish emulsion at home too. You will need water, brown material (straw or leaves, sawdust and grass clippings), fish parts, a 5 gallon bucket, molasses and stirrer. Get all the material and start the process. First of all, take the bucket and fill it half with the fish parts including the bones, skin, flesh, heads, guts etc.
Fill the rest of the bucket with the brown material contents like straw or leaves, sawdust and grass clippings. Now add ¼ cup of molasses and 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt. Mix the contents with the help of the stirrer.
Cover the bucket with a lid. Leave the mixture to rot for two or three weeks. Regularly stir the mixture so as to facilitate its mixing with air everyday. After the mentioned period use the emulsion with water.
The application of fish emulsion is easy and the benefits can be seen quickly because of its quick absorption. Following are the things required and the steps which you need to follow.
- Garden Sprayer
- Fish emulsion
- Take 2 gallons of water and 2 tablespoons of emulsion in a garden spray. Close it and shake it so that it gets mixed up nicely.
- Spray the mixture on the leaves, foliage and stems of the plants. Spray even on the undersides of the leaves.
- Once you are done, pour some of the emulsion on the soil, so that it is absorbed by the roots.
- Now water the plant thoroughly. Repeat the procedure twice or thrice a week. It will help your plant to grow faster and healthier.
Excess of fish emulsion may result in plant's death, hence use only the required amount. You can apply it to small plants to give them accelerated and healthy growth.