Tuesday, June 1, 2010

My Favorite All Around Soil and Plant Food


For decades now I have felt that fish emulsion is THE single best way to feed soil and hence the plants. In my youth, Atlas was the famous brand, the same one that our grandmas used. For maybe 15 years now, 'Alaska Fish Emulsion' has been the one to buy due in part, I believe, to their taking over Atlas in the early 90s.

The analysis of fish emulsion is 5-1-1, but that high nitrogen level is offset by the fact that it is a slow release persistent nitrogen. Fish emulsion has ALL the sea minerals in it, which is one reason that so many gardeners have a near-religious experience after using it the first time after years of using grossly incomplete chemical fertilizers, including that perky blue soluble one.

My Home Depot here in south Tampa sells one quart bottles of 'Alaska Fish Emulsion' for $ 7.57. Since my favorite recipe is 3 tablespoons fish emulsion mixed into a gallon of water (NEVER use softened water on plants!) poured as a soil drench around plants in pots and in the gardens, it can be much more cost effective than some famous chemical fertilizers that leave out essential trace elements while having high levels of salts.

The fishy odor fades in a few hours....try feeding your indoor plants before you go to work, and find the smell greatly reduced when you come home.

Herbs, roses, young seedlings, ferns, veggies, begonias and many many more plants thrive on 'Alaska Fish Emulsion'....so try to buy it in the much more cost effective 1 gallon size on sale.

For years I've told readers and students alike...if you want a real gardening confidence builder, try 'Alaska Fish Emulsion' on your plants every 4-6 weeks or so (although I would use it just 4 times a year on succulents). So many people think they suck as gardeners, when in fact they've been buying pricey chemical fertilizers that suck!


John

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