liquid fish sourcing

Two points relevant to a discussion about liquid fish hydrolysate are cost effectiveness and the fish species involved. I recently gave this answer in addressing the question are all cold-processed fish sources the same:

Cold-processing of whole fish is the key to a biological product. The filet may have been removed but the oils are still intact. Neptune's Harvest and Organic Gem are both out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and utilize unwanted species caught in trawling nets, primarily dogfish shark. Dramm and Schafer's in the Midwest utilize Asian carp, an invasive species determined to reach the Great Lakes. Brown's in North Carolina utilizes rainbow trout but I suspect this might be farm-raised fish (fed gmo soymeal). I've heard Brown's gets a charge of ocean species as well but haven't confirmed that. And then there's Pacific-Gro in Washington that promotes the higher quality oils found in wild salmon coupled with crab and shrimp remnants to add a 'chitlin factor' to its fish product. Price point certainly matters and that often comes down to shipping costs. I order from Organic Gem as a pallet load of four barrels ships from relatively nearby in the Northeast. I've had the opportunity to use the Dramm product and it seems equally rich. Same for Neptune's Harvest. Most growers understand that we are not talking about 'fish emulsion' which lacks the oily portion and has been pasteurized. Be aware as well that some conventional ag companies spike nitrogen levels in so-called hydrolysate products.

Chime in with your experiences. I'm particularly wanting to hear anything more about the fish species being used. Some powdered fish fertilizers are made from species specifically caught solely for this one purpose. Such taking from ocean ecosystems on an industrial scale to prop up depleted soils fails on an ethical level in my opinion. It's a fine enough line (as described above) with what I consider to all be reputable companies.

Lost Nation Orchard
Zone 4b in New Hampshire



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2018 06:22PM by Michael Phillips.

Fish,whole or partial, are for all practical purposes free for me, but I am unsure how to process them. I live in the upper midwest, and filling a bucket with rough fish from a local lake could be done with the kids, a few fishing poles, and a can of corn. Just chunk them up, run through a blender, add water and an aerator for a while, and filter out solids later?

Tom Kleffman
currently building a fruit orchard from scratch on the Bayfield Peninsula of Wisconsin, 4 miles south of Lake Superior, dead center of the snow belt, zone 5.

I use Pacific Grow since it is "local" but I buy it from a retailer. Expensive and smelly, but does the job well, trees happy! I am intrigued to hear other responses to Tom's idea of processing his own fish! Sounds very cost effective and would make for happy kids too!

VistaRidge orchard, Quilcene, WA zone 8a est. 2012
235 Cider and heritage apple trees, 72 varieties,

Me too. I live 5 miles away from a fish plant. The only reason I never pursued this myself was that I was concerned about the smell, (I don't care, but my neighbours, (right wing types), very probably would), and attracting things like raccoons, (of which we already have a considerable number.) (And, by an old man's flight of ideas, did you know that a 1 ft. high, 2 wire fence connected to an electric fence charger is absolutely protective of your fruit crop from the raccoons? They can't jump over it, and their delicate little hands are excellent conductors when they try to climb over it. I confess that I derive a perverse satisfaction from the banshee screams they let out the first night they come around, never to be repeated. (They aren't dumb, and they learn very quickly))

Broomholm Orchard
Zone 5b in Nova Scotia

Just gearing up for this season's spraying. Have to get some more liquid fish - have been using Gardener's Dream from PEI, Canada....not sure of the fish species.

We are going to buy some bulk blackstrap molasses from agsolcanada.com and I see they have liquid fish as well.

What are your thoughts on this product?
[www.agsolcanada.com]


Thanks
Joanne

G2V Farm
Zone 5B/6
Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia
Canada

The quick way to affirm the integrity of a fish hydrolysate product is to look at the N-P-K numbers on the label. The first number is nitrogen. If this is a 2 or a 3, you're golden. Up that to 4 or 5, it's fish emulsion. Up that even more and the "fish" is spiked with synthetic nitrate.

Agricultural Solutions offers many fine products for Canadian growers.

Lost Nation Orchard
Zone 4b in New Hampshire