How to make a homemade (DIY) fish fertilizer or fish amino acid fertilizer?

I've been looking for ways to add more economical and natural fertilizers at Maryland. I'm happy that I learned a simple recipe known as fish fertilizer. I'm grateful to my good friend and fellow fruit collector who shared the basic recipe. Now I'm passing it forward to other growers like you reading this article.

What is in fish fertilizer (a.k.a. fish emulsion fertilizer or fish amino acid FAA)?

Fish emulsion also known as fish fertilizer is a natural garden fertilizer that is made from whole fish or parts of fish. It provides an NPK ratio of 4-1-1 and is most often used as foliar feed to provide a quick nitrogen boost. Making your own homemade fish fertilizer will give you amazing results. Organic farmers has been using this type fertilizer for quite sometime. 

Molasses is the by-product of beating sugarcane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The dark, rich, and somewhat sweet liquid is commonly used as a sweetener in baked goods, as a natural remedy for many ailments, and added to animal feed. 

Molasses is full of vitamins and minerals. It also provides food for the healthy microbes in the soil. The greater amount of microbial activity in the soil, the healthier plants will be. Having known these benefits, it would be a good idea to include this liquid in our recipe. Read more here.

What you needed:

1 kg "sea fish" fresh from the market 
(Tip: buy the cheapest one you can find. 
Last time we had "tamban" (cost Php 20 or $.50 /kg)

1 L Molasses Php 100 or $2

1 bucket with lid (air tight)

1 cup water

blender

How:

1. Chop fish in tiny pieces.

2. Puree the fish chunks using a blender. Add 1 cup of water.

3. Mix fish puree and molasses in the bucket. Cover for 20-30 days.

4. Using a strainer collect the liquid and store in clean bottles. Keep it for 3mos.

Application: 

Foliar application. You can apply this to soil or to the leaves of the plant. Do not directly apply this to plants. You need to dilute this with water and make your own mixes.  

Ratio: 

1tbsp FAA to 1 gallon Water.

When to use this recipe? 

Easy as 1,2,3 right? We started using fish fertilizer before the fruiting season. If you can start using it earlier in the year, much better. Efforts will definitely pay off when you see your plants grow healthier. Hopefully it will give you a good harvest too. I hope this recipe helps you grow a healthy dragon fruit garden. 

Let me know about your experience using this recipe. Send me a message here.