Watch this experiment to see the results of using a fish head to fertilize your tomato plant.
In this article, the author explores the effects of burying a fish head underneath a tomato plant. The experiment was set up by burying two fish heads on one side of a garden bed and planting tomato seedlings on the other side without any fish heads or fertilizer. The author divided the area in half and separated each half with a barrier to ensure no roots would wander from the no fish head tomatoes over to the fish head and inadvertently steal nutrients.
After several weeks, the tomato plants with fish heads were greener but growing slower than the plants without fish heads. However, after five to six months, the fish head tomatoes were producing more fruit and foliage growth than the ones without the fish head. The results suggest that burying a fish head underneath a tomato plant can lead to stronger, longer, and more productive growth.
Key Takeaways
- Burying a fish head underneath a tomato plant can lead to stronger, longer, and more productive growth.
- Although the fish head tomatoes were greener, the decaying fish may have impeded root growth, resulting in slower growth initially.
- Fish heads are an effective way to dispose of fish waste in a way that also helps to grow more food and improves soil health.
Experiment Setup
The experiment involved burying fish heads underneath tomato plants to see if they would perform better than those without fish heads. The setup started at the end of April by saving two fish heads from a Good Friday Easter dinner. The garden bed selected was well-rested with nothing grown in it for six months prior and had excellent soil condition.
Before burying the fish heads, the area was divided in half, and each half was separated by a barrier to ensure no roots would wander from the no fish head tomatoes over to the fish head and inadvertently steal nutrients. Two fish heads were buried on the southern side of the barrier, and four young Scorpio tomato plants were transplanted, with two on the northern side about a meter apart without any fish heads or fertilizer of any kind, and the other two planted directly over the top of each fish head.
To ensure no animal or dog got tempted to dig up the fish, a barrier was tied around the base of the fish head tomato cages three weeks later. Over the next several weeks, all the tomato plants were managed the same, given appropriate water, and pruning to a few main leaders trained up the cage, leaving them to eventually branch out.
After two months, the plants without the fish heads were still slightly outperforming the fish head in overall growth. At the five to six-month mark, there was a considerable difference beginning to show between the two plants. The ones with the fish head were still growing strong with much better fruit and foliage growth than the ones without the fish head, which were pile dying back and had practically stopped producing new tomatoes.
At the seven-month mark, when the final harvest was done, there was still some life left in these fish head tomatoes. The fish head tomatoes were more productive and produced more fruit than those without fish heads.
The experiment showed that placing a fish head underneath a tomato plant works. It grows stronger, longer, and is more productive. This is a good method to dispose of fish waste in a way that also helps to grow more food, saves on fertilizer, feeds the worms and microbes, thus improving the soil health, and it’s a win-win for everyone except for the fish.
Initial Observations
In this video, the speaker conducts an experiment to test the effectiveness of burying a fish head underneath a tomato plant. The experiment is conducted in a garden bed that has been well-rested for six months and is divided into two halves, with a barrier separating each half to prevent roots from wandering. Two Scorpio tomato plants are transplanted on each side, with one side having fish heads buried underneath and the other side without any added nutrients.
After three weeks, the tomato plant with the fish head appears to be greener than the one without, but it is growing at a slower rate. Over the next several weeks, all tomato plants are managed the same way and are given appropriate water and pruning. After two months, the plants without the fish head have the first ripe tomatoes, but the fish head plants are not far behind.
After five to six months, the fish head tomatoes are producing more fruit and have better foliage growth than the ones without the fish head. At the seven-month mark, the plants without the fish head have completely died, leaving the fish head tomatoes to continue for another four weeks.
In December, eight months after the experiment started, the speaker digs up the fish heads and finds that they have been almost completely devoured by microbes and worms. The speaker concludes that burying a fish head underneath a tomato plant works, as it helps the plant grow stronger, longer, and more productive. Additionally, it is a good method to dispose of fish waste while improving soil health and saving on fertilizer.
Mid-Experiment Observations
The experiment involved burying two fish heads under a tomato plant to determine if the tomatoes grown with fish heads would perform better than those grown without. The experiment was conducted in a garden bed that was well rested with nothing grown in it for six months prior. The soil was in excellent condition and mulched with a thin layer of old corn stalks before burying the fish heads.
The area was divided in half, and each half was separated by a barrier to ensure that no roots would wander from the no-fish-head tomatoes over to the fish-head tomatoes and inadvertently steal nutrients. Two tomatoes were planted directly over the top of each fish head without any extra nutrients added, and the other two tomatoes were planted without any fish heads or fertilizer of any kind.
After three weeks, the tomato plants were growing nicely, and it was observed that the fish-head tomatoes were greener than the no-fish-head tomatoes. However, the ones without the fish heads were growing bigger at that stage. Over the next several weeks, all the tomato plants were managed the same way, given appropriate water and pruning to a few main leaders trained up the cage, leaving them to eventually branch out.
About two months later, the no-fish-head tomatoes were still slightly outperforming the fish-head tomatoes in overall growth. The first fruit was picked 61 days after planting, and the plants without the fish head had the first ripe tomatoes. However, the fish-head plants weren’t far behind, and fruit was harvested from all plants. It was noticeable that the fish-head tomatoes were also producing more fruit after the five to six month mark.
In October, there was a considerable difference beginning to show between the two plants. The ones with the fish head were still growing strong with much better fruit and foliage growth than the ones without the fish head, which were pile dying back and had practically stopped producing new tomatoes. It wasn’t long after that when the ones without the fish head completely died, leaving the fish-head tomatoes to continue for another four weeks.
Even at the seven-month mark, when the final harvest was done in November, there was still some life left in these fish-head tomatoes. The last of the fruit on the plants was left to demonstrate the difference in fruit production, resulting in some wastage.
Eight months after the experiment started, the fish heads were dug up. The fish heads were almost completely devoured by the microbes and worms, leaving only a few bones and small pieces. The experiment showed that placing a fish head underneath a tomato plant does work, and the tomato plants grow stronger, longer, and are more productive.
The findings suggest that this is a good method to dispose of fish waste in a way that also helps to grow more food. It saves on fertilizer, feeds the worms and microbes, thus improving the soil health, and it’s a win-win for everyone except for the fish.
Harvesting Period
In a video released by Self-Sufficient Me, the speaker conducted an experiment to determine whether burying fish heads underneath tomato plants would result in better tomato growth. The experiment began in April, with two fish heads buried in a garden bed that had been well-rested for six months. The area was divided in half with a barrier to prevent roots from wandering, and four tomato plants were planted, two on each side of the barrier.
The two tomato plants on the southern side of the barrier were planted directly over the fish heads, with no extra nutrients added. The two plants on the northern side of the barrier were not planted over fish heads and received no fertilizer. After three weeks, the tomato plants with fish heads had greener leaves, but were not growing as fast as the other tomato plants.
After two months, the tomato plants without fish heads were slightly outperforming the fish head plants in overall growth. However, after five to six months, the fish head tomatoes were producing more fruit and had better foliage growth than the tomatoes without fish heads. By seven months, the plants without fish heads had completely died, while the fish head tomatoes were still producing fruit.
Eight months after burying the fish heads, the speaker dug them up to see what had happened. The fish heads had been almost completely devoured by microbes and worms, leaving only small pieces behind. The speaker concluded that burying fish heads underneath tomato plants can result in stronger and more productive growth, as well as improving soil health.
End of Experiment Observations
After burying two fish heads under a tomato plant, the speaker in the video observed the growth and production of tomatoes over an eight-month period. The experiment was conducted in a garden bed that had not been used for six months prior to the experiment. The soil was in excellent condition and was covered with a thin layer of old corn stalks before burying the fish heads. The area was divided in half, and a barrier was placed between the two halves to prevent roots from the no-fish-head tomatoes from crossing over and stealing nutrients from the fish-head tomatoes.
The four tomato plants were transplanted in April, and two young Scorpio tomato plants were planted on the northern side, about a meter apart, without any fish heads or fertilizer of any kind. The other two tomatoes were planted directly over the top of each fish head without any extra nutrients. The roots were deliberately not left with much of a gap between the base of the tomato plants and the fish heads to ensure that the roots would grow around and hopefully through the fish head, using it as a slow-release fertilizer throughout the life of the plant.
Three weeks later, the tomato plants were observed to be growing differently. The tomato plant with the fish head was smaller but greener, while the tomato plant without the fish head was larger but lighter in color. The fish-head tomatoes were getting more nutrients, hence the greener leaves, but the decaying fish may have impeded root growth, and that’s why the ones without the fish were growing bigger at that stage.
Over the next several weeks, all the tomato plants were managed the same way, given appropriate water and pruning to a few main leaders trained up the cage, leaving them to eventually branch out. About two months later, the no-fish-head tomatoes were still slightly outperforming the fish-head tomatoes in overall growth. However, after five to six months, in October, there was a considerable difference beginning to show between the two plants. The ones with the fish head were still growing strong with much better fruit and foliage growth than the ones without the fish head, which were pile dying back and had practically stopped producing new tomatoes.
At the seven-month mark, in November, the ones without the fish head completely died, leaving the fish-head tomatoes to continue for another four weeks. Even at the eight-month mark, in December, there was still some life left in these fish-head tomatoes. The last of the fruit was left on the plants to demonstrate the difference in fruit production, which resulted in some wastage.
Finally, after eight months, the speaker dug down to find out what happened to those fish heads. The fish heads were almost completely devoured, and only small pieces remained. The microbes and worms had completely broken down the fish heads, and the calcium in the fish bones was excellent for tomato plants. The fish head experiment was deemed a success as the tomato plant grown on top of a fish head grew stronger, longer, and was more productive.
Digging up the Fish Heads
In a previous video, the speaker discussed burying kitchen scraps in the garden. In this video, the speaker conducts an experiment to determine whether burying fish heads under tomato plants improves their growth. The experiment involved burying two fish heads in a garden bed with four tomato plants, two of which were planted on top of the buried fish heads. The other two tomato plants were planted without any fish heads or fertilizer of any kind. The speaker observed that the tomato plants grown on top of the fish heads had greener leaves, but the plants without fish heads were growing bigger overall.
Over the next several weeks, the speaker managed all the tomato plants the same way, giving them appropriate water and pruning. After five to six months, the tomato plants with fish heads were still growing strong with much better fruit and foliage growth than the plants without fish heads, which were dying back and had practically stopped producing new tomatoes. Even at the seven-month mark, the fish head tomatoes were still producing fruit while the plants without fish heads had completely died.
When the speaker dug up the fish heads eight months after burying them, they found that the microbes and worms had almost completely devoured them. The speaker concluded that burying fish heads under tomato plants does work and results in stronger, longer, and more productive plants. This method also helps to dispose of fish waste in a way that improves soil health and saves on fertilizer.