Fish meal questions

[Serenity]

mom2 I noticed mentioned this was good to add to the soil in another thread.

I inherited a big bag of it in my shed when I moved. Can anyone share some guidance on how much do you use and what to do with it?

I mean do you need to water it in, dig it in, sprinkle it on the surface? Glad I saw that thread, I was about to throw it out. :D Thanks mom2 for the tip!

[justjoy]

I read the thread too and went and bought some fish meal. I'm not certain I did it correctly, but I just mixed it into my soil before I repotted my plant.

[mom2manyboyz]

It's a little scary that people read what I post. :) I just till it into my garden. In a garden it is 1/2 to 1 pound for ever 50 sq feet.

For a potted plant I would use a small amount (probably half a teaspoon) and mix it into the soil if I were repotting. If I weren't repotting, I'd just mix it into the water. It is a slow release fertilizer. It takes 30-60 days to release into the soil.

[SageMother]

Native Americans used to simply place a whole fish in the soil a few inches under the seeds, I think. Since the meal isn't the whole fish, tilling it into the soil seems the sensible thing to do!

[mom2manyboyz]

Yes Sage, you are right about this. Have you heard about the 3 sisters? It is companion planting that I read about involving fish.

Legend has it that the native americans taught the pilgrims to grow things as three sisters. It includes corn, beans and squash. A small dead fish was dropped into each hole before the corn was planted.

[Green-Moo]

I'd heard the beans / corn / squash combo described as the three sisters before, but never heard about the addition of the fish before. I imagine my cats would dig the dead fish back out before they had a chance to do the plants any good at all!!

[SageMother]

I'd heard the beans / corn / squash combo described as the three sisters before, but never heard about the addition of the fish before. I imagine my cats would dig the dead fish back out before they had a chance to do the plants any good at all!!


LOL!

I think sprinkling a little cayenne pepper around the garden would keep those pesky cats from doing any digging! You could also plant catnip in an area far removed from the garden to draw their attention away.

[mom2manyboyz]

I didn't know about the cayenne pepper SageMother. Thanks for the tip. I'm not using whole fish, but sometimes the fishmeal does draw their attention.

[tater03]

I had never heard of burying the whole fish before. So this doesn't attract cats. I have one that comes around and would hate for him to start digging things up.

[mom2manyboyz]

LOL. It's just a historical practice. Probably where the idea of fish meal came from in the first place. I don't know if anyone still buries a whole fish.

I like idea of the cayenne pepper. Does anyone know if this would keep the neighbors cats away from my son's sandbox?

[gnandita1]

I have not heard of whole fish buring in the soil.Does it really happens in reality?

[Serenity]

It's a little scary that people read what I post. :) I just till it into my garden. In a garden it is 1/2 to 1 pound for ever 50 sq feet.

For a potted plant I would use a small amount (probably half a teaspoon) and mix it into the soil if I were repotting. If I weren't repotting, I'd just mix it into the water. It is a slow release fertilizer. It takes 30-60 days to release into the soil.

Thanks very much for the guidance, mom2manyboyz. Since I originally posted this thread I've found another big bag in the shed, so I'm doubly grateful! I'll do it your way. Can you put it down on grass too or do you think that would be a waste? I've no idea if it's expensive or not but if it is, the grass can do without LOL. :D

Love the three sisters story too, thanks for sharing that! That was new to me.

[mom2manyboyz]

I believe it runs around $5.00 per pound. I don't know about the grass. I don't think I would put it directly on the grass. If I had an area of weeds that I had tilled in the spring to replant grass seed, I might add some fishmeal during the tilling process.

Good luck

[Rose White]

I'd heard the beans / corn / squash combo described as the three sisters before, but never heard about the addition of the fish before. I imagine my cats would dig the dead fish back out before they had a chance to do the plants any good at all!!

Burying fish when planting a garden is what the Native Americans taught the Pilgrims.

Rose White, author
"Easy Gardens A to Z"