Chopped eel as a fertiliser + more

[fletchy]

Hey guys.

 

This is my first time here, and I wanted to ask something. My friend is a fisherman and he kills eels, chop them up and put it in the bottom of his pot because he says it fertilises his plants.

 

Would this be a source of nitrogen considering the fertiliser Blood and Bone, has nitrogen from "bone and flesh"? Just an interesting alternative that I would be keen to try as long as it didnt kill the plants.

 

Also, the plants are 3 weeks old and the stems are still kinda week and some of them still slightly bend over, is this a nutrient deficiency or what? The soil is crappy grade soil, mixed with Blood and Bone, and then some Miracle-Gro.

 

 

Thanks guys.

[nouseforaname]

hey,

first up welcome to ozstoners.. i have a bit of knowledge on this but no where near as much as other members.. When using dead animals fish etc they need time to decompose and turn into benefical nutrients for the plants.. A old mate used to put dead wallabys and possums in his plot but i think it was like 3-4 months before planting and he still had to go water them.. also think he had some plastic lining in there to speed the process up.. sea weed needs to sit in water for a period too i think ... in regards to your youngings maybe stake them up somehow but be sure not to disturb the roots.. hope that helps some

[fletchy]

So where would I place the chopped eel to decompose?

 

 

And, I tried staking 2 of the plants already (out of about 20) but it seems like the plant is relying on the stake too much and its as if the ones with staked stems are now behind the other plants stem wise.

 

 

Thanks

[Frazz]

fishermans pots must stink something chronic after bout 3 wks ... and it is a brilliant form of fertilizer, but maybe better composted by placing a few fish in a plastic rubbish bin add half bag of potting mix secure lid , place in sun for a month or more, add the other half-bag of soil, mix around and soon you have some mighty fine enriched soil for your pot plants ...

 

plants weak stemmed ... could this be cause they are not receiving enuf bright, direct sunlight and are stretching out for sunlight?

 

[fletchy]

Well i just moved them off my property, into the bush near the beach, so they should be recieving alot of sun, especially since the area looks so good (its very green and lush)

[nitram]

Hi letchy.

 

cheap and works a dream do it yourself insect appellant white oil

 

Mix together 1 cup (250ml) of cooking oil, 1 teaspoon of dish washing liquid and 1½ cups (375ml) of water. Dilute this mixture at a rate of 6 teaspoons (30ml) per litre of water for spraying.

 

If you use this white oil on orchids or ferns dilute the spray to 3/4 strength and do not spray when the temperature is above 25°C (ie light on = don't spray[/font])

 

 

This Recipe is good for Powdery mildew which is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. It is one of the easier diseases to spot, as its symptoms are quite distinctive. Infected plants will display white powder-like spots on the leaves and stems. The lower leaves are the most affected, but the mildew can appear on any part of the plant that shows above the ground. As the disease progresses, the spots get larger and thicker as massive numbers of spores form, and the mildew spreads up and down the length of the plant.

Milk fungicide: One part of full-cream milk to 10 parts water. Mix well and it's ready to use, cover every part of the plant, both sides of the leaves and the stems.

 

Take care; too much milk in the mixture can promote sooty mold

 

Grass hoppers and other pests including borg prevention is a "Garlic Spray"

 

Garlic Spray - Do It Yourself Pest control

 

Three large cloves of crushed garlic

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

One teaspoon of liquid soap

One litre of water

 

Combine the garlic and vegetable oil and leave to soak overnight. Strain and add to the litre of water along with the liquid soap. Spray regularly. Garlic in known for its antifungal and antibacterial properties, but it is its insect repellent qualities that most gardeners admire.

 

Ps/ it's organic

[fletchy]

Oh sweet, yes I hadnt thought much about pest control other than pissing around the general area of the plants (never on them).

 

So when would I use the white oil?

 

I'm going to go check on the babies today, so I will give an update on those stems, had a couple of days of sunny days and rainy nights so they should be cranking.

[mull]

Make a good liquid fert by putting a fish in 2 freezer bags then a shopping bag. Hang it up outside until it becomes liquid and bones (3-6mth). Dilute and water on as a plant food.

 

Smells lovely while breaking down, so hang on the fence of your favourite neighbours

 

With yours, might want a repot with some better soil, perlite or clay etc for better drainage mate. Have a good run.

[Pam]

Hmmm, Native Americans planted a small fish under their corn seed, one for each plant. That's the way I've always heard it done.

If the stems are still too weak, you can add soil up to the seed leaves. The stem wll grow roots.

Good Luck!

[RobbieGanjaSeed]

Well the eels will ultimately fertalise the soil, but while anything is decomposing , it actually reduces the amount of nitrogeon immediateky available. So to put the fish directly under the seeds would be ok, so long as they will have time to decompose before the plant is setting roots into that area.

 

Where to decompose it? Well either familiarise yourself with composting, or just dig the fish intot he ground where you wil plant.

I personally wouldn't ever put a dead fish in a pot, well never "again".

 

Before I became more familiar with composting and such things Imade the error of putting fish in the bottom of styrafoam boxes that contained loads of red compost worms in each.

One day all of a sudden the stench hit us, y "us", I mean myself that morning inside the house, the neighbors, up and down and back several houses, and even my wife an dkids a block away walking home from the shops.

 

it smelled like raw sewrage, completely filthy and no way something you'd want ya plants talking to. I had a smal waist high fence, and all I could do was take a spot in my yard with the neigbors, pretending to know nothing of the source, adding my concenr of "my god, someone's ruptured a sewer main", and other punts. It was all my fault, and I couldn't do anything about it with all the neighbors out in their yards wondering what it was.

 

So when they finally went in, I quickly turned out the boxes, corr...it was rotten. In a mad panick ('cuase I was growing in the sheds and didn't want attention of this type), I boiled the kettle, and started pouring boiling water on the half rotten fish. Wow! What a big mistake. If it was bad before, I had the neighbors worried it was walking deth, comming into their kitchens. they came reeling out, coughng and gagging, "what the fuck?//" was all anyone could say. I'd quickly stashed it away again, and joined in with the "wher eon earth could that be comming from?" kinda talk.

 

Karen was in the house near peaing herself, she reckoned as soon as she and the kids smelled it they said "that'll be dad up to something in the garden again"..I was always experimenting with smething in the garden with turd, or something..

 

But buried in the soil, and not in a pot, the fish will be available to millions of microbes, small animals etc to break it down quickly and so be great fert. But in a pot, well it'll be like in the plastic bag mentioned before. nowhere to go, ut in the air.

 

But no matter what you're composting, it will deplete the soil of nitrogeon as it breaks down, something to remember.

 

good luck

 

rob