Life began within the ocean, and ocean products continue to provide both macro and micronutrients for plants.
Many fertilizers lack the balance of macro and micronutrients needed for plants to thrive.
Here is an intro to fish-based plant products.
Fish Emulsion
The fishing industry provides a unique product used for roses as the by-product of their activities.
When you find out how it is produced, you may want to think twice before using fish emulsion as a foliar spray for nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium for roses.
The production of fish emulsion begins by cleaning the fish, removing its humanly consumed part, and then cooking the leftover in high temperatures.
Fish oil is then extracted for other uses.
The protein is then removed and dried to produce fish meal.
Water is condensed into the thick, brown liquid we know as fish emulsion.
After all the processing, what is left is a malodourous fish smell and solid particles to clog your sprayer.
Fish Meal
Fish meal as a slow-release source of primary macro, secondary macro, and micronutrients is another story.
Beneficial bacteria within fish meal brings a protective balance to the rose root system. And since by definition, protein includes nitrogen atoms, fish meal produces the source of nitrogen that leaches into the soil for the roots to absorb.
Just remember that surface moisture contact is necessary for nutrients to become part of the soil. You need to work the fish meal into the soil and water it.
Sprinkling on top invites unwanted animal attention without the benefits to your roses.
Fish Hydrolysate
Research brings innovation to life. Enter fish hydrolysate.
It is designed to bring a whole plant food approach of humans to plants. It contains all the vitamins, proteins, amino acids, enzymes, growth hormones, and micronutrients of a whole fish.
Then through chelation, additional nitrogen and other nutrients are added.
Perhaps the best part is the removal of the fish odor. You can use fish a foliar spray or soil drench to add beneficial foliar and soil fungi.
The question is, why use the whole fish when humans can eat it?
These are fish that are not wanted but still caught in the fishing system by accident or better-said inaccuracies of the fishing process.
Or what is left over after more desirable parts of fish is removed for humans. Think about it this way.
When you visit the meat section of your grocery store and see all the fish fillets, do you ever see any signs of the rest of the fish?
Well, some of it has gone to create fish hydrolysate.
They are grounded up and without harmful heat through cold use of enzymes digested into fish hydrolysate.
Kelp or Seaweed
Any ocean plant can be called seaweed. However, kelp is a particular family of ocean plants called
My dictionary defines kelp as “any large, brown, cold-water seaweed of the family Laminariaceae, ad brown algal seaweeds.
With plenty of carbohydrates, amino acids, and about 60 beneficial micronutrients, seaweed is reported to enhance root growth, improve color, resistance to changes in temperature and drought.
Often used as foliar spray seaweed can be applied as a soil amendment to beneficial soil and foliar fungi.
Final Note
Many gardeners have more than roses in their garden. Beneficial products for roses like fish hydrolysate and seaweed can go a long way toward your other plants.
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