Fish Extract Fertilizer

[Nishant]

Hello All,

I bought this fish extract fertilizer from Kaisen Bonsai here in UK and made a solution as suggested to feed the pine bonsai. The mugo pine has some new back buds developing and the dwarf scottish pine has its new candles still forming. I thought fertilising them would do good.

I dipped the pot in the solution I prepared just as I water them. I think I may have made a big mistake by doing this as this may have caused an overdose of fertilizer. The solution was meant to be sprayed from top.

Any ideas/suggestions please. If its wrong can I put the pots back in normal rain water to wash away or dilute the absorbed solution.

Please advise.

Thanks.

 

[hemmy]

Hello All,

I bought this fish extract fertilizer from Kaisen Bonsai here in UK and made a solution as suggested to feed the pine bonsai. The mugo pine has some new back buds developing and the dwarf scottish pine has its new candles still forming. I thought fertilising them would do good.

I dipped the pot in the solution I prepared just as I water them. I think I may have made a big mistake by doing this as this may have caused an overdose of fertilizer. The solution was meant to be sprayed from top.

Any ideas/suggestions please. If its wrong can I put the pots back in normal rain water to wash away or dilute the absorbed solution.

Please advise.

Thanks.

Is there a health issue with tree that is making you think you over did the fertilizer? If you mixed the solution as labeled there should be no difference between overhead watering and dunking. I’m not sure you could overdose most fish emulsions at the prescribed mix concentrations.

 

[Forsoothe!]

What's the assay? Outside of the stink, I guess you don't have Raccoons, Possum, Groundhogs, Squirrels, etc.?

 

[Jzack605]

You can water thoroughly to try to remove the fertilizer from the soil.

Was it straight concentrate or watered down?

I doubt you overfertilized though. I do drenches all the time with liquid fertilizers for landscape trees. The end of the day the lucky client gets the remainder of what's in the spray tank. So a few trees will get more than necessary/usual. Never had an issue.

 

[Nishant]

Thanks all for replies. I had fertilized it only yesterday. It was suitably diluted, actually more dilute than advised.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I highly doubt you could OD on fish fertilizer. Likely it was something else if you had a problem...which you didn’t say.

 

[RobertB]

watch out with ferts with high kelp. ive hurt some trees with pure kelp before.. i think it was an OD of kelp

 

[Nishant]

I highly doubt you could OD on fish fertilizer. Likely it was something else if you had a problem...which you didn’t say.

Thanks fir reply. There was no damage as such. It was only yesterday I did the fertilising.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

No worries - dunking (soil drench) and spraying are interchangeable activities. If it is safe for one, it is safe for the other. If you can wet the foliage with the fertilizer there is the added benefit that some part (sources vary on significance) of the fertilizer can be absorbed directly through the leaves and or needles. There definitely is foliar absorption, how much varies with the report. So drench your soil and wet your foliage with the fertilizer to get all the benefit possible from the fertilizer.

 

[Nishant]

Would folliar spray leave streak marks on needles and leaves, either immediately or over time?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Would folliar spray leave streak marks on needles and leaves, either immediately or over time?

No, you seem very concerned about the use of fish emulsion. It’s really not that big of a deal. If you’re having issues, it’s most likely something other than the fish fert. Photos would help diagnose a problem.