How to Make Fish Emulsion

If you are into organic gardening, then you will most likely already know that fish emulsion is one of the best natural fertilizers available in the world.  If you want healthy and blooming flowers then you should consider using fish emulsion as your fertilizer of choice.  Another use of fish emulsion is disease control.

So why should you make your own fish emulsion instead of purchasing it in stores? For one thing, it’s cheaper to make your own fish emulsion. Also there are fewer nutrients in store bought fish emulsion because they use trash fish and fish bones. This version has less protein and fewer fish oils than if you were to use fresh fish parts.

The first step in making fish emulsion is to set up a compost of fresh fish parts in a bucket that can be closed. (If you are squeamish about using fish parts you can substitute seaweed, which will also produce a nice fertilizer). Fill the bottom half of the bucket with leaves, sawdust, or straw. Adding molasses will speed up the decomposition process and will help to control the smell of dead fish.

It is important that you stir the mixture daily in order to speed up the decomposition process and to also improve the microbial growth in the fish emulsion. Continue this process of stirring the fish emulsion for a minimum of 1-2 weeks. If you would like to increase the sulfur content of your fish emulsion then you can add a couple tablespoons of Epsom salt to the mix.

After close to 2 weeks of this process your fish emulsion is ready to be added to your regular compost pile. You are also ready to make a fish emulsion tea.

When brewing your fish tea it is a good idea to add seaweed and let it brew for about one week making sure you stir it up every few days. You know the brew is ready when it has a yeasty type smell. It also might have a layer of foam on top of the tea.

Dilute the fish emulsion with a 1:5 ratio of water. The fish emulsion can then be used as a foliar feed or a soil drench. A soil drench of fish emulsion is most beneficial for a plants root system while foliar feeds improve the nutrients to plants leaves.