Is Alaskan Fish Emulsion Fertilizer Worth Trying Out?

Azamax, neem oil, liquid seaweed, and bat guano are just a few examples of organic plant nutrients and pesticides. As a result, it can be quite confusing to differentiate a proven cannabis nutrient solution from snake oil. Alaska Fish Fertilizer and other fish fertilizers are popular and praised by many. Does it work, though? To find out, read more.

Clarification-Please Read This

This article is a review of, Alaska Fish Fertilizer, which is is a brand of organic fish fertilizer. Alaska Fish Fertilizer is well known and rated highly. Nonetheless, the fish byproducts used by Lilly Miller are not special, and fish are not even from Alaska. Therefore, the description, pros, cons, etc., of fish fertilizer will be based on generic fish fertilizer and not specifically Alaska Fish Fertilizer. I will, though in a separate section, review the Alaska product.

Why Not Chemical Fertilizer?

Obviously, you can use both organic, and synthetic fertilizer (AKA-“Chemical Fertilizers”) simultaneously or individually. In fact, unless you are into organic gardening, for whatever reason, opposed to synthetic fertilizers, you should consider using chemical fertilizers. The preceding link will take you to an excellent article on the pros and cons of chemical fertilizer.

Why Fish Fertilizer?

Fish fertilizer helps with both soil health and fertility. Specifically, it provides the following benefits.

Slow Release

Nutrient-rich fish fertilizer slowly releases nutrients into the soil. At first, slow-acting fertilizer seems like a negative. Slow-release fertilizer, though, for some purposes, is actually better than quick-release chemical fertilizer.

Another benefit is that slow-acting fertilizer is that before it becomes useful for plants it must first be eaten and digested by microbes and other organic matter, like worms, beneficial fungi, and bacteria. This digestion results in beneficial and naturally occurring soil microbes and other organic plant nutrients. (i.e.., beneficial bacteria and fungi) being added to the soil. These microbes, and other organisms, break down nutrients, which makes it easier for plant roots to be nourished.

Fish fertilizer can provide these benefits and more.

• Natural Nutrients-A natural source of 5-1-1 nutrients.
• Prevent Fertilizer Burn-As the nutrients levels are less, and it is slow acting there is less chance of nutrient burn. (Too much of any nutrient can harm both a plant and/or the soil)
• Add Secondary Nutrients-Unlike synthetic fertilizers, fish fertilizers will, almost always, have secondary nutrients.

The Three Types of Fish Fertilizer

There are three common ways that fish fertilizer is made, which are Fish Emulsion, Fish Meal, and Fish Hydrolysate. Each of these methods will be explained below.

• Fish Emulsion– Emulsion is a liquid fertilizer made from the liquid that remains after fish are processed for the market. It has the least nutrients of the three types; however, it is also the cheapest, and it is quite versatile.
• Fish Meal-It is made up of fish meal, which is ground up and dried fish. It comes in a powder or cake form and is known for being the slowest acting fish fertilizer, which isn’t necessarily negative.
• Hydrolyzed Fish Fertilizer – It is a commercially made form of fish fertilizer that is made into a compost tea. The ingredeints are fish and occasionally liquid seaweed and liquid kelp are often added.It is manufactured by a process where whole fish is partially digested via enzymes. A major advantage of this method is that all the fish. Additionally,

Fish Emulsion Fertilizer -Alaska Fertilizer uses Emulsion. Therefore, unless stated otherwise, any fertilizer mentioned from now on will be Fish Emulsion Fertilizer

Oh, Oh, That Smell

Fish, to diplomatically put it, have a distinctive smell. The smell isn’t a big issue for an outdoor plant. However, the smell can be unbearable for indoor plants. To fix this problem, to make the smell, many fish fertilizer manufacturers include a masking agent, like natural wintergreen to their fertilizer.

Can You Assume that Fish Fertilizer is Organic?

It seems like a dumb question because, after all, fish is natural. So, you should rightfully assume that most fish-based, plant food would also be organic.

This assumption, though, can be wrong based upon two points. The first reason is that some aquatic fertilizer companies may add synthetic chemicals to their fish based fertilizer. The second reason is that, per US law, only organic food and fiber are regulated by the feds. So, fish and any type of organic fertilizers are not regulated under federal organic labeling standards.

As a result, of no federal oversight, if you desire a truly organic fertilizer you’ll need to check out private organic certification agencies. One such reputable company is Omri. (Click here to find Omri listed fish fertilizer)

How is Fish Emulsion Fertilizer Made

It only takes three steps for emulsion.

1. Mix Up-A variety of fish are mixed into a slushy, stew-like solution.

2. Remove-Essential oils and fish meal are then removed from the solution.

3. Add-To ensure lower soil PH and prevent harmful microbes from growing, sulfuric acid is added.

Alaska Fish Fertilizer Review

Alaska Fish Fertilizer is under the Lilly Miller Brand and is affiliated or manufactured by Pennington Company. Per Lowe’s Alaska, fish comes from the Gulf of Mexico. So, Alaska Fish Fertilizer isn’t an Alaska product.

Alaska fish fertilizer (5-1-1) has a nutrient ratio of 5% nitrogen, 1% phosphorus, and 1% potassium. Additionally, it contains numerous essential minerals like sulfur, magnesium, sodium, and calcium.

Ingredients

Nutrient Profile

The Menhaden fish, a bony fish primarily from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, is used to make their fish fertilizer.

Is It Organic?

Alaska Fish Fertilizer is listed as being organic by Omri.

PROS and CONS

PROS

• Safe-As It is slow release and its nutrients levels, at 5-1-1, are quite low, there is little chance of nutrient burn.

• Organically Certified -It is OMRI certified.

• High Ratings-It is very highly rated with over 400 reviews an overall rating of well above four.

• Versatile-It can be used in various ways, some of which are a foliar spray, soil amendment, and potentially a compost tea.

CONS

• Smell-It smells awful, which is expected as it is made from fish by-products.

• Expensive-Compared to other organic fertilizers, it is quite expensive. It is not as expensive as it looks as 2 tablespoons are mixed in a gallon of water, which covers 25 Sqft.

• Outdoor Use-It can be used both indoors and outdoors. However, because of the smell, it should only be used indoors in a grow tent

• Gimmicky-Not a big issue, but I find that their marketing is a bit deceptive as the company doesn’t have any relationship with Alaska

• Unnecessary-Alaska Fish Fertilizer might work fine, but you can get the same results using cheaper, organic fertilizer.

Is Alaska Fish Fertilizer Recommended For Your Cannabis Plant?

All plants, which includes a marijuana plant, require nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Alaska Fish Fertilizer provides all of these above nutrients. As a result, Alaska fertilizer will work as well on cannabis as with any other plant.

Final Thoughts

Alaska Fish Fertilizer is a highly praised product that’s valued by both cannabis growers and other gardeners. Also, there is only a minimal risk of a nutrient burn with this fish fertilizer. This means it is not that expensive if you are only growing a few plants. Therefore, based upon the overwhelmingly positive reviews and the above, I recommended that you use it first by trying it only on a few plants.

Alaska Fish Fertilizer is under the Lilly Miller Brand and is affiliated or manufactured by Pennington Company. Per Lowe’s Alaska, fish comes from the Gulf of Mexico. So, the only relationship that this fertilizer has with Alaska is its name.

All plants, which includes a marijuana plant, require nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Alaska Fish Fertilizer provides all of these above nutrients. As a result, Alaska fertilizer will work as well on cannabis as with any other plant.