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"making fish head tea" how long is too long?

I live in the weed capital...all the Mexico weed flows through the RGV on it's way to all your neighborhood, we catch 10,000 pounds or so a week. That is only a small portion of the total flowing through. We just do not grow any.......so most folk do not need compost tea, just an 18 wheeler to get their load to Houston.
 
Just a thought , I have a cousin that makes organic fish fertilizer commercially. He used to get all his fish parts from a fish processing plant in San Pedro. Unfortunately the plant closed down a few years ago so he switched to a dry fish meal product. I only mention this because the smell while processing dropped tremendously and it is just as effective at producing a quality product. Also a viable option for those who do not have access to fish parts and want to make their own natural fertilizer.
 
Pepper-Guru said:
I feed twice a season. It lasts. So you saving the rest for later mixing?
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its been hiding in my woods this long, i figured why not keep it a lil longer and see if it works. i used it on my cucumbers and squash plants that were obviously suffering. we'll see how they recover.

actually i need to snap a few pics for a before and after.


the smell is all gone this morning but it did linger a little yesterday. i can handle that for a free fert that only needs twice a season.
 
I have some fish crap that I sat outside for a few weeks in a sealed container. I am gonna try this fish shit fert. I hope something in it helps jump start my plants. They are considerably smaller than most others I see on the forum. Ugh
 
*Definitely* be prepared for animal interest after application. I stopped using fish ferts in any of my in-ground plantings for this reason.

Cats (food and spray), dogs (rolling around - still unsure what natural purpose this serves), racoons (which will also strip green peppers, I have found) and flies.

Well worth it if you have a controlled area, but if not, get ready...
 
been almost a week now. the few trial plants we're in need of attn and have since started their rebound in growth. we've been lucky so far with the animals and haven't had any issues yet(knock on wood) i had worse problems after tilling in the black cow in the spring, my dog loves her a fresh patty :confused:
 
Here's how they do it in Vietnam (courtesy of watching my in-laws). Throw fish carcasses, shrimp and/or crawfish heads and shells in a bucket with just enough water to cover the mess. Cover the bucket and leave for about a month or so. What you have now is more like a thick stew consistency. Dig holes about 12-18" deep around whatever you are trying to grow and throw in a hefty dose of the slop into each hole. Cover back with dirt. Put something heavy over each hole! Cinder blocks, logs, buckets full of water, whatever you have that is heavy enough to keep a curious mammal from digging up your precious fish guts. Last but not least: watch the plants go bananas. All that calcium from the bones and shells is great for fruit production.
 
I remember when I was a kid I used to go down to the one local creek and fish for carp since there were many and a good fight. I would bring em in and let em go. One day this old-timer came down to the end of his property where I was fishin and said he had $10 for the next 10 fish bigger then my elbow to hand I brought in. He watched as I got them and then I helped carry them up to his.... garden! As a kid that is how I saw it even though I had heard of the pilgrims and indians burying fish I thought it was odd. He had a few holes dug already and tossed one in each and had me lay the others in a pile. I remember seeing huge plants later that year when walking by and wondering if it was because of the fish since his neighbors gardens were somewhat shorter. Plants? don't know but they were big.

I really need to go fishing more...damn being a grownup sucks sometimes.

:)
 
Good find man! I just made a tea with some bluegill and rock bass I caught last week. Added some CaMg, Buffaloam compost, worm castings, mychorrizae, chopped up fish, let it brew a couple days, sure did stink but my plants reacted really well and are starting to get that healthy waxy sheen back to the leaves. Good stuff IMO. Plus my 5 year old begs me to go fishing all the time, so it takes care of a couple things in my case.
 
Jamison said:
Good find man! I just made a tea with some bluegill and rock bass I caught last week. Added some CaMg, Buffaloam compost, worm castings, mychorrizae, chopped up fish, let it brew a couple days, sure did stink but my plants reacted really well and are starting to get that healthy waxy sheen back to the leaves. Good stuff IMO. Plus my 5 year old begs me to go fishing all the time, so it takes care of a couple things in my case.
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Fish On brotha! Now I want to go do a little fishing. Hmmm

God knows I got worms, and tomorrow is Sunday.
 
Kept one today to try a tea......

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