Fish Compost?

[flytier]

Hey Everybody. I work at a salmon hatchery and we have a load of fish compost that was put down last year. In preparation for bringing it home I mixed it half and half with peat moss today and I guess before I use it I'll mix in some perlite and/or vermiculite. It will be used in pots out by the door because I don't want the stink in the house, needless to say. In it I'll be putting in some White Widows, if that makes any difference.

What I'm wondering is if anyone has ever used fish compost for growing weed. Is there anything in particular that I need to do to get it ready? Also, would I even need to add fertilizer to this mix, and is it too rich for growing weed? Any information would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Minoo96]

Hi Flytier. I'm a new grower so take my advice with a bit of salt. (also i'm jobless atm, no one has answered you yet, I will try to help )
I have never used fish compost, that being said, after having looked a little bit online I found this:
http://www.gardenmyths.com/fish-fertilizer-worth-buying/
Basically says its just like normal manure. It shouldn't burn your plants then. You might want to add some fertilizer like I did... I mean, soil is nice, compost is nice. Why not adding some dry blood as well? That's a source of nitrogen. You could add some bone meal for phosphorus (slow release, careful), you could add some particular guano for the potassium. Some worm's casting, maybe. or worms themselves caught fresh from the forest or the garden. Let the whole thing sit for a month, then test its pH, amend if necessary. Let it sit again. etc. I've added horse manure to my mix. Granny told me it burns plants easily, so I was careful not to add too much (i added handfulls, not like dried blood which I tried to calculate the correct grams necessary etc... To give a difference as to how each ingredients must be dealt differently)

You could/should keep some liquid fertilizer on hand, just in case. But honestly, if you amend your soil like you plan to, plant shouldn't have too much trouble with NPK. I think if my plants had a problem of nutrients, it'd be a secondary nutrient problem: Magnesium, calcium, iron etc. Don't forget about those in the mix either that's why I keep some liquid fertilizer that are supposed to add secondary nutrients.
Also from what I gather, if your fish compost has been done properly it shouldn't smell much. If its mixed with soil it shouldn't smell at all! (unless you were talking about the plant's smell ;P Never grown White widow, can't tell you if it smells or not)

 

[flytier]

Thanks for the info Minoo. I was actually thinking about putting in a bit of salmon feed in there too. As far as I know, it might have some bone meal in it. From what I've been told, salmon feed goes good on a lawn. I was just down to Walmart to but some bags of potting soil and saw bags of manure compost for three time the price of the soil itself. Kind of had a laugh at that. I have access to an entire bin of better stuff for free. It does have a little bit of a smell though; I wouldn't want it in the grow room, which is in the kitchen! Wife won't let me anyway. As for fertilizer, I just use a weak solution of Miracle Gro. My WWs appear to be doing pretty good with it.

Thanks also for the link. I'm off to read it now.

 

[Minoo96]

Yeah I know, the cost of industrial manure, compared to producing your own. Of course its not easy to make if you live in the city, but in rural area its almost a must. Its a dustbin for everything organic. (compost and manure are basically the same thing, manure is more aged i think. Not 100% sure).
Do you know about molasses? Its a good help also

 

[flytier]

I've done a bit of reading about molasses and I have an auto that can probably use it for the budding stage in a couple weeks, if it lasts that long. I gave it a good burn last night putting a light too close to it. If not, I have the WWs following it by a few weeks.

 

[Minoo96]

Molasses can be used throughout the grow actually! Not only during flowering or at the end before flush. you're actually feeding the microbes in the soil, rather than feeding the plant. Some component of the molasses will be used by the plant of course, but it's mainly used by the microbes. Good luck with your grow!

 

[flytier]

Right on... thanks for the info. I got a few things together today and put down what I hope is a good recipe: the fish compost and peat mix, black soil from Walmart, perlite and I'll probably throw in some leftover potting soil for good luck. I'm trying it out now with a black-eyed Susan and I just put some bean seeds in water to germinate. Kind of like a test run for the soil mix and a bit of camouflage for when I put the real deal outside on the deck. I'll get a few more plants together over the next couple cheques for good measure.

Oh, and I checked out the link as well. I was kind of surprised to find out that there's nothing really special about the fish compost. But hey - at least it's an eco-friendly way to go.