DIY Liquid Fish Hydrolysate

Advanced Techniques
, , , ,
1

Hey Folks,
For years I bought liquid fish fertilizer for the garden and my grows. For foliar and soil feeds. Great benefits on many levels. Good Nitrogen, Phosphorus, other nutrients and boosts microbial activity in soil.

First I’d use any old fish emulsion. Then I learned that emulsion is boiled and loses a lot of good nutrients in the process, versus liquid fish hydrolysate, which both retains nutrients as well as not having much of a fish smell because of the natural process in which it’s “digested.”

So for many years I’d buy from a company called Neptune’s Harvest. It is good stuff and has helped me a lot, but the stuff gets expensive.

Then I came upon some DIY websites that explain how easy it is to make the stuff yourself. It is basically a fermentation process the way you’d make sauerkraut or a good hot pepper sauce.

Fish, some form of sugar for the microbes to eat & multiply, and water. An airlock is a good idea, but some folks just use a bucket outside somewhere. Some liquid from an old ferment will kickstart things.

I fish, so it’s easier for me, but I imagine talking to someone at a market could get you some older fishies that they’d be throwing away.

My next idea is about getting a bag of seaweed next time I’m on the coast. I’m all about the gibberellins.

Here’s a link to making your own fish juice:

Also lots of videos online under DIY Fish Hydrolysate.

Happy Trails

“Water? Never drink the stuff. Fish fuck in it.”

  • WC Fields
20 Likes
2

Nice post, I use the same method to get rid off bio garbage in the summer, I just take a bucket and throw in cuttings of veggies I grow and salad rests, drop the equivalent amount of molasses or unrefined sugar on top of it and wait for about 2 weeks for it to ferment, I’m oversimplifying it of course as there is more to it than that, but it works especially on my tomatoes my ganja not so much might be on me though.

3 Likes
3

Hey @kincrab
That reminds me of a book I found in a library:

It had a variety of other “recipes” that can be done with common household or yard related goodies (I ended up taking photos of the better pages and saving in a file!).

4 Likes
4

Thank you for the suggestion, I find it all very interesting unfortunately my ganja didn’t like it but I’ll give it another go at some point, I think I got the dose wrong and that caused some issues with the absorbing of water in my substrate, the water was running off instead of getting drawn in after a while probably the sugar part did the damage.

1 Like
5

Thanks for sharing!

I found a free copy online.

5 Likes
6

Thank you fella :pray::heart:

3 Likes
7

Yay. Thanks for that.

2 Likes
8

I killed two good clones that had rooted well and were just about to take off. I let a bunch spill from the jar into their pot and that was it. I was being lazy and trying to add a drop or two without diluting it. The stuff is very strong and will burn without being diluted properly.

You may not be waiting long enough on the ferment time. A month is better. Depends on the material, but there shouldn’t be too many undigested sugars after the ferment. Also depends on what material you are using and the ratio of sugar.

2 Likes
9

It didn’t burn mine per se but it did change the consistency of my soil after a while, I used it like a main nutrient and that was my mistake, it’s supposed to be used sporadically as far as I know, nothing wrong with the method as I have used it with great results on tomatoes plants but was more conservative at dosing them.

2 Likes
10

ps can’t like your comment, I’m like limited for now.

2 Likes
11

I looked through the online copy of the book. It ends at page 45 or so.

I’ll add some of the recipe pages here:

Plant Juice
Plant Juice1512×2016 313 KB

!

Plant Juice|375x500

Plant Juice ii
Plant Juice ii1512×2016 303 KB

Plant Juice iii
Plant Juice iii1512×2016 264 KB

Plant juice iv
Plant juice iv1512×2016 328 KB

Plant juice v
Plant juice v1512×2016 344 KB

Plant juice vi
Plant juice vi1512×2016 236 KB

5 Likes
12

Ive been waiting for spring to do this same method, fish + seaweed + brown sugar in a 5gal bucket, keep lid on for the entire summer basically, let fermentation happen till next spring as use this stuff as fertilizer after its been diluted 1x a week.

2 Likes
13

You don’t have to let it sit for months. I’ve used a strong food processor, but even with cutting them up small with a knife, you’re looking at a month maybe to see almost all the solids liquify. Also, I’ve done them all indoors with an airlock and I’ve never smelled anything. I’ve added airlocks to 2 & 5gallon bucket lids before for other ferments. You need a special gasket they sell at brewing/ferment supply joints.

Seaweed would make it super nice.

3 Likes
14

Can you link me to the lid?

Thank you for the other info, super helpful.

2 Likes
15

look up Garum if you wanna make something extra spicy

3 Likes
16

Homebrewer-turned-home grower here. You don’t really need a special lid. You just need it to seal with a way for gas to escape through an airlock, so you can use a standard five gallon lid drilled for an airlock. They’re cheap! https://craftabrew.com/products/airlock-3-piece?variant=28803922066&country=US&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=21277009195&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADnlQvnYGWFaSfITiYOFw6XenMCMJ&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhs7luvOliwMVFzCtBh1NxDreEAQYBSABEgKKmvD_BwE

3 Likes
17

You may find other less expensive sites, but this is what I pulled up fast.

Here is a link to the grommets:

Airlock link:

You can use any bucket with a lid. If you want the box stores carry food grade 2 & 5 gallon buckets with lids. For the grommets you just drill a small hole in the lid and pop the grommet in it. The rubber grommet gives a good seal around the airlock.

3 Likes
18

If Pliny the Elder dug it, it must have been a hoot.

2 Likes
19

I know you can use regular seaweed harvested from the ocean but you need to soak it in water for awhile to get the salt off. People around here just throw the whole fish in the ground a few inches under the roots and let nature take its course

3 Likes
20

Definitely need to wash the salt off. Good point.

A fish head under each corn stalk is an old Native American method.

I’d actually like to try and make dried fish meal using the sun on a bunch of chopped fish, maybe with a high carbon material as an aggregate. Yumm,

3 Likes