Fish Fertilizer Improves Lawns, Crops, The Environment

I am reminded from time to time of Kermit’s lamentation that “it isn’t easy being green.” We all want to do the right thing. It’s just that doing it is often, well, so hard. Let’s face it. Tossing that aluminum soda can in the trash, along with this morning’s newspaper, and the plastic milk jug you emptied into your cereal is easier than placing those items in separate containers and hauling them to the local recycling center.

But faced with the overwhelming evidence that emissions, produced largely by our own bad habits, are destroying the planet, many of us are beginning to consider the impact our actions have on the environment and are making adjustments accordingly. If you belong to this group, (and if you are reading this you probably do), give yourself a quick, well-deserved pat on the back. ‘Tis a noble thing to try to preserve our planet for those who will inherit it from us, namely our children and grandchildren.

But to be successful in our endeavor to preserve and protect we have to break away from our habit of doing the same old things we’ve always done in the same old way that we’ve always done them.

For instance, when it’s time to fertilize the lawn or garden, most people just pick up a bag of whatever they see in the garden section at Wal-Mart. That old bag of triple 13 will do the trick, they reason. And they are right, up to a point. The problem with that approach is that most of that stuff is petroleum-based. And as such, it is harmful to the environment. And since it is so chemically potent it can cause a lot of top growth before the root system catches up and it can burn your lawn or garden.

Then, of course, there is the issue of run-off, where those toxic chemicals find their way into our streams, lakes and rivers, and eventually, into our drinking water.

Organic fertilizers, on the other hand, won’t green-up your lawn or garden as quickly as a chemical product but they will build the soil and they release their nutrients more slowly, thereby feeding the plants over a longer period of time, driving crop yield improvements and producing a fuller, greener lawn for a longer period of time. And since it is organic and tends to stay in the soil, there is no reason to be concerned about runoff.

Fish fertilizer is one of the best of the organics and it’s one of the most potent fertilizers available today. And fish fertilizer has been around for a long time. In fact, both the Pilgrims and Native Americans used fish to fertilize their crops.

So while the idea of fish fertilizer certainly isn’t new, its use is becoming much more widespread as people catch on to the fact that it is a healthier choice for our environment and it offers benefits, such as soil formation, that chemicals cannot.

If you are of a mind to do so, you can find instructions on the internet for making fish fertilizer at home, although I wouldn’t recommend doing your research before meal time. In fact, you probably want to give your meal a considerable amount of time to settle before reading about the finer points of home brewing fertilizer from fish scraps. But if you have the stomach for it, you can certainly do it.

If, like me though, you’d rather gnaw off your arm at the elbow than toss a bunch of dead fish or fish parts into a blender and hit puree, there is a convenient, odorless and much less stomach-turning solution to your green fertilizer conundrum.

There are a handful of fish fertilizers available in the marketplace but in our opinion the best is found in the Southeastern U.S. and is available nation-wide through the internet.

Hydrolysate Company of America, LLC, is an affiliate of Country Select Catfish and is the largest fresh fish producer in the U.S., processing over 1.5 million pounds of live-weight fish weekly. They have been in the fish processing business in Mississippi for more than 30 years, providing a full line of catfish in the form of fresh products, marinated products, breaded products and cooked products to grocery stores and restaurant chains throughout the country.

For the last six years they have been manufacturing a catfish fertilizer, made from 100% U.S. farm-raised catfish protein which provides benefits beyond synthetic fertilizers and outperforms other fish fertilizers as well.

Their products, Multibloom (for the garden), and Megagreen (for lawns), do not spew the pungent fish smell common to other fish fertilizers due to the manufacturing process and the addition of organic mint to the mix. These outstanding fertilizers promote growth, disease resistance and soil formation and they are made from a renewable and fresh supply of raw materials.

Multibloom and Megagreen can be absorbed through the roots or foliage and both can be applied with a spray or drip system and they will not clog your equipment. Due to the slow release of nutrients they also will not burn or stripe.

These organic fertilizers enjoy several advantages over chemical and other fish fertilizers:

• Slow-release nutrients prevent quick, non-lasting green-up only effect

• Long-lasting, green between applications

• N-P-K 2.2-3-1 is actually better than higher N-P-K rated synthetics

• 13% protein is unequalled in the fertilizer industry

• Made up of 17 Amino Acids immediately ready for use by plants and grass vs. slow conversion to usable form with synthetics

• Virtually all nutrients are available for use by plants (behaves like a balanced 20)

• 97% of the nutrients are absorbed by turf and plants. Only 20% are absorbed from most synthetics.

• Both products come in convenient sizes from a 32 oz. ready-to-spray bottle to 275 gallon totes to 4500 gallon tankers

• With traditional fertilizers – most nitrogen vaporizes or leeches out; not available to the plant

• Unlike conventional fertilizers, the cost of Multibloom and Megagreen is NOT tied to oil prices

• Synthetics contain larger particles that will not go through sprayer – Must be applied with a bucket

• Other fish fertilizers lack product consistency – Unsure of freshness and quality of catch

• Variance in raw materials species (100% U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish vs. catch-of-the day)

The cost of applying Multibloom or Megagreen to your lawn or crops is comparable to using chemical fertilizers. But the cost to the environment is much, much less. So when it’s time to fertilize, do yourself and our planet a huge favor. Don’t do it the same old way with the same old chemicals. Break tradition and try fish fertilizer instead. We think you’ll be glad you did.

by Jeff Whitaker

For more information about the excellent products described in this story, including how to order, visit the Multibloom website.