A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2005 Fish, Kelp and Corn meal extract....

Umm I thought I had a thread here about the extract I making. Over the years I've made a lot of extracts of one type or another. This one is different as I mixed items together.

Mid-June:
Well in just a little over 2 1/2 weeks the wormbeer (the accelerant)/ molasses have liquidfied 50 chopped up/ ground mullet. There is not even a scale to be found.

I also add kelp, and corn meal to this mixture. The kelp still there but much softer for sure. From what I read and have talked with other gardners who make seaweed extract it takes from 2-3 months to go liquid if no accelerant was used.

The liquid is now yellow/ tan in color (corn meal) and about the same as light pancake syrup in thickness. All in all I have a 35 gallon container full of this stuff. This ought to be interesting.

Aug 01:

Update on the fish/ seaweed extract. Well the fish has been long gone. However the kelp meal is still there. The corn meal is gone. A few days back the whole shebang stopped working off. So I added more molasses and a large bottle of cane syrup. Next I add one packet of dry yeast. Man is it ever working off now. I run a shovel into the bottom of it and the surface explodes from the gasses being released! The liquid is still yellow/ tan in color but darker. It is now about as thick as good pancake syrup.

I tested this mixture (deluted) out on some earthworms....now in the third day and the worms look happy~~!

Wonder how much longer the kelp meal will take to finish breaking down... I was hopeing to have filtered and bottled this stuff up by now. I will give it one more month. If the kelp is still there then I will filter out the liquid. Next I will take the kelp and dry it out. I will then use it to make teas. What is left after that I will feed to my worms.

The reason I mixed items this time was in effort to control the odor of fish extract. There is an odor--not too strong, and it does not smell like fish. Once deluted and run through my watering sytem I don't believe there will be any odor. I've also added 2 pound of epson salts.

Hi P_Raye,
I've been wondering about these fish and kelp emulsions you've been speaking of. I haven't seen any in the gardening shops in my area.

Is this something that has to be made, not bought?

Most Fish and Seaweed extracts are purchased. The one I purchase when I do is by Maxicrop. Most private garden centers will carry it or order it in. Home Depot and places like that do not carry it. One gallon is about 18-20 dollars each.

Well it has been over two months and my mixture is still working off big time....Fish is long since gone but the grains are still there. (Kelp meal.)

Hey P_Raye,
Meant to let you know, I found one called Atlas Fish Fertilizer (5-1-1). It was about $8 or $10. Hope this is something good? The price is much lower than what you mentioned, so I'm uncertain.

Z.

The rating is about right. What about seaweed extract? You will need that too.

Gee ray not seen you in like 4EVER(like hurricane season!)
I guess your who I need to see.I'm looking at Gardens alive and looking into getting some kelp/fish emolision.Maxicrop WAS recomended to me.But I had a catalog from Gardens alive last year(mostly for the bug section..color pics,insect diseases& nutrient deficintcys) so I strolled over here to organcis.
Let me tell you WHY I want fish stuff.I grow burgmansias.I fertilize them pretty well.I do see that they are healthier when fertilized tons.they get compost regularly plus compost tea waterings.I use epson salts too.I asked in burg forum about foliare feeds and whay they used and why.my soil is sandy...and after digging my pond bigger where my brugs grew last yearI know my sand goes about 3 ft deep(But I bet I don't dig 3 ft deep evenly& level for 13 X20either)Frosty pink is only one I really have any problems with.Before it blooms it sets buds then the leaves turn yellow and when a few of those drop then the blooms open and no more yellow.I'd say my soil is more on acidic side cause is woods& lots of pines/cedars/junipers& acidic plants do well.I've never actually done a soil test but my on a few spots.
NOW you got me interested in your lil factory going(I still gotta search your old post...did you find it?)Also............. Gardens alive has liquid kelp spray I was going to order.I see they have Kelp meal/Kelp powder& some stuff called deep seas alive that PH balances & conditions the soil.maybe you could explain more too me:
what those are ?
and what they do?

& would I want to condition my soil and foliare spray& still use my compost tea& fertilizers?

& would all that be too much salts?(but with sandy soil I would have good drainage..least in some spots)


And and...off topic...Don't you do something hydroponically?I ws wondering because I cut my brugs back at frost and root cuttings& was thinking maybe do cuttings hydroly<<*new word>.I set them in milk jugs and change water every few days.its just from dec-March& by feb alot of them are traded off,unless I'm planting them.

I'll stop with the questions....for now.