Where Can I Get Fish Heads?

[CFrance]

I am about to start my second tomato crop. Lowes has tomatoes that are bred to withstand the Florida sun & heat.


I read a farmer's trick was to put a fish head in each hole when planting. It was suggested to freeze the fish heads first to avoid dealing with yucky heads.


I would imagine Winn-Dixie and Publix get their fish already beheaded. Maybe Lighthouse Seafood? Blue Fin probably uses theirs to make stock for chowder.


I wonder if I put half of a can of sardines packed in water into each hole if that would do the same thing.

[photo1902]

I am about to start my second tomato crop. Lowes has tomatoes that are bred to withstand the Florida sun & heat.


I read a farmer's trick was to put a fish head in each hole when planting. It was suggested to freeze the fish heads first to avoid dealing with yucky heads.


I would imagine Winn-Dixie and Publix get their fish already beheaded. Maybe Lighthouse Seafood? Blue Fin probably uses theirs to make stock for chowder.


I wonder if I put half of a can of sardines packed in water into each hole if that would do the same thing.

Why not buy fish fertilizer from Lowe’s, Home Depot, or a nursery

[davem4616]

decades ago I had read that the native Americans had used fish heads in their gardens....so being a fisherman, I saved a slew of trout and salmon fish heads in the freezer and planted them under my tomato plants, corn seed, etc.

later that day we went off to a birthday party with the kids...when we arrived home in the evening the whole garden had been dug up and completely destroyed....

never could tell if it was house cats that roamed free in the neighborhood, dogs or wild critters...but that ended my experiment with fish heads

lots of racoons in TV....they like to wash their food before eating it, so if you do put the fish heads under your plants, put out a bowl of water for the racoons to use

What has worked well for me growing tomatoes in the south is a tip that a Canadian gave me...1st week sprinkle a Tablespoon of Epsom salt around the base of the plant (no need to dig it into the dirt) and water...next week sprinkle a Tablespoon of powered milk around the base of the plant, (again no need to dig it into the soil) and water. Repeat this for about 3 cycles of each. You'll have a nice crop. At the time I was a snowbird...so I'd also do this when I went back north and planted a garden...those tomato plants were in the ground and they would grow to 12 ft lengths...I had to use the green metal fence post to keep them up, as they'd fruit from the bottom to the top and were so heavy they kept breaking the wooden stakes


Good luck... nothing tastes as great as a backyard tomato

[Madelaine Amee]

I am about to start my second tomato crop. Lowes has tomatoes that are bred to withstand the Florida sun & heat.


I read a farmer's trick was to put a fish head in each hole when planting. It was suggested to freeze the fish heads first to avoid dealing with yucky heads.


I would imagine Winn-Dixie and Publix get their fish already beheaded. Maybe Lighthouse Seafood? Blue Fin probably uses theirs to make stock for chowder.


I wonder if I put half of a can of sardines packed in water into each hole if that would do the same thing.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this post is kinda tongue in cheek :icon_wink:. Can I suggest you forget growing your own tomatoes and buy them from someone at the Farmer's Market in Brownwood on Saturday morning. I cannot tell you his name, but he has a small covered stall and sells produce grown hydroponically and his tomatoes are $1.00 a piece and they are almost, not quite, as good as Northern tomatoes.

I am also going to shop The Villages Grown and see what their tomatoes are like, because the tomatoes in the stores are not edible. They all have a white core going through them that is kind of woody.

Mobile Market - The Villages Grown (https://thevillagesgrown.com/mobile-market/) The Grown has a mobile van that is in my area tomorrow. Going to give them a try.

If you decide to experiment with growing your own toms I wish you the best of luck. I tried it for a couple of years and it was very disheartening, but the birds loved them!

[Chi-Town]

Check out Muri Ghonto sources.

[blueash]

Have you tried Dr. Demento's. They have the roly poly kind. Yum

[CFrance]

Have you tried Dr. Demento's. They have the roly poly kind. Yum
??? Is this a joke I'm not getting? When I google Dr. Demento, I do not get a tomato!

[CFrance]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this post is kinda tongue in cheek :icon_wink:. Can I suggest you forget growing your own tomatoes and buy them from someone at the Farmer's Market in Brownwood on Saturday morning. I cannot tell you his name, but he has a small covered stall and sells produce grown hydroponically and his tomatoes are $1.00 a piece and they are almost, not quite, as good as Northern tomatoes.

I am also going to shop The Villages Grown and see what their tomatoes are like, because the tomatoes in the stores are not edible. They all have a white core going through them that is kind of woody.

Mobile Market - The Villages Grown (https://thevillagesgrown.com/mobile-market/) The Grown has a mobile van that is in my area tomorrow. Going to give them a try.

If you decide to experiment with growing your own toms I wish you the best of luck. I tried it for a couple of years and it was very disheartening, but the birds loved them!
We just finished havesting our first crop, from seeds I had that my neighbor germinated in January. We had grown plants we got in Leesburg several years ago. Growing herbs and tomatoes and container gardening has kept me from going crazy during quarantine. I thought it would be interesting to try this variety that supposedly tolerates Florida heat.


I will try the epsom salts and powdered milk idea mentioned above. I never thought about the cat/raccoon problem. Nothing is munching on the herbs, though.

[Marvic 1]

We just finished havesting our first crop, from seeds I had that my neighbor germinated in January. We had grown plants we got in Leesburg several years ago. Growing herbs and tomatoes and container gardening has kept me from going crazy during quarantine. I thought it would be interesting to try this variety that supposedly tolerates Florida heat.


I will try the epsom salts and powdered milk idea mentioned above. I never thought about the cat/raccoon problem. Nothing is munching on the herbs, though.

I'm bless that you don't live next to me, your gong to attract plenty of flies.... Shoo Fly! :MOJE_whot: Shoo Fly!

........... :jester:

[600th Photo Sq]

Why not buy fish fertilizer from Lowe’s, Home Depot, or a nursery

That's to easy and it cost $$$.

[Ecuadog]

decades ago I had read that the native Americans had used fish heads in their gardens....so being a fisherman, I saved a slew of trout and salmon fish heads in the freezer and planted them under my tomato plants, corn seed, etc.

later that day we went off to a birthday party with the kids...when we arrived home in the evening the whole garden had been dug up and completely destroyed....

...
About 65 years ago, my father planted a rose garden for my mother, using all the fish heads from his latest cod trip, with much the same result. Thanks for the memories.

[Sensei]

Please consider calling Stokes Seafood in Leesburg
719 W Main St, Leesburg, FL 34748
Hours:
Closed ⋅ Opens 9AM Tue



Phone: (352) 787-3474

[Pinball wizard]

??? Is this a joke I'm not getting? When I google Dr. Demento, I do not get a tomato!

But you WILL get Fish Heads!

[Slapnut]

You can also buy fish emulsion that you mix with water at Lowe's or home Depot that does the same thing

[RoadToad]

Tomatoes like slightly alkaline soil conditions, a little salt promotes that condition. And, like most plants, they like nutrients. Decaying fish parts provide that. But hey, save yourselves all the mess and fuss and use reqular fertilizers and soil conditioners.
Google "how to grow tomatoes".

[davephan]

I’m growing tomatoes in soil and hydroponically, the hydroponically grown tomatoes are now six times larger than the soil grown tomato plants. The hydroponic tomato plants grow dramatically faster than the soil plants because the roots don’t have to work hard to find nutrients.

Growing hydroponically is very easy to do. You can start from seeds, which adds another month or two to the growing process, or buy tomato plants at the store and wash off the soil in the roots. I start with seeds, because I can have the tomato variety I want, and I’m not limited by what the garden center is selling.

The process of growing hydroponically does not use soil. You can start growing with hydroponics on a small scale of one plant or ramp up to giant greenhouses larger than many football fields in size.

I grow my tomato plants in black five gallon buckets with six inch net pots built into the bucket tops. I drill holes in the bucket tops top hold the round tomato cages. The tomato plants grown hydroponically will grow taller than the tomato cages. An air stone is put in each bucket and connected to an air pump similar to aquarium air pumps. Injecting air in the nutrient makes a huge difference in the growth rate compare to not using air. The black bucket color is important because translucent colors let light into the buckets, which causes algae growth, which will be a big mess.

The hydroponic nutrient is cheap to make using the three part dry mix of Masterblend fertilizer, calcium nitrate, and epsom salt. I also use General Hydroponics pH up to set the pH at 6.

You could place the bucket inside a larger decorative planter pot or inside a larger planter box made of wood or stone, to conceal the bucket.

Growing with hydroponics is easy to learn by watching free YouTube videos. After you start growing hydroponically and see how dramatically better and faster the plants grow, you probably won’t grow the tomato plants in soil anymore. I had many extra tomato plants that were started from seed that I planted in soil.

When the tomato plants get large, they can consume up to 2-1/2 gallons of nutrient per day! There’s never any weeding when you grow hydroponically!

If you need help in starting to grow hydroponically, I can help you do that. Using a dead fish as fertilizer is an old Indian trick, but will become a horrible mess if animals smell and dig up the dead fish. The animals can smell and detect the buried fish much better than you can with your nose.

[PugMom]

'Fish Head's' was a gag song i remember back in high school. they typically played it in the am to get people to wake up, supposedly in a silly mood, on a local rock station.. Dr Demento hosted a sunday eve radio show (in the NY area) that frequently played this song, along with the "Curley Shuffle" & other comedy songs.

[17362]

We always planted ours with a handful of bone meal. Then used Epsom salts later. Nummy.

[goodhnds]

Doesn’t matter what you put in hole. These tomatoes have no taste.

[Nick B]

Cherry tomatoes are the only hope for summer. It's too hot at night for fruit to set.

[Travelhunter]

I am about to start my second tomato crop. Lowes has tomatoes that are bred to withstand the Florida sun & heat.


I read a farmer's trick was to put a fish head in each hole when planting. It was suggested to freeze the fish heads first to avoid dealing with yucky heads.


I would imagine Winn-Dixie and Publix get their fish already beheaded. Maybe Lighthouse Seafood? Blue Fin probably uses theirs to make stock for chowder.


I wonder if I put half of a can of sardines packed in water into each hole if that would do the same thing.
Buy fish oil. Fish emulsion on amazon. Mix With water and you can use once every week or two weeks.

[ALadysMom]

I’m growing tomatoes in soil and hydroponically, the hydroponically grown tomatoes are now six times larger than the soil grown tomato plants. The hydroponic tomato plants grow dramatically faster than the soil plants because the roots don’t have to work hard to find nutrients.

Growing hydroponically is very easy to do. You can start from seeds, which adds another month or two to the growing process, or buy tomato plants at the store and wash off the soil in the roots. I start with seeds, because I can have the tomato variety I want, and I’m not limited by what the garden center is selling.

The process of growing hydroponically does not use soil. You can start growing with hydroponics on a small scale of one plant or ramp up to giant greenhouses larger than many football fields in size.

I grow my tomato plants in black five gallon buckets with six inch net pots built into the bucket tops. I drill holes in the bucket tops top hold the round tomato cages. The tomato plants grown hydroponically will grow taller than the tomato cages. An air stone is put in each bucket and connected to an air pump similar to aquarium air pumps. Injecting air in the nutrient makes a huge difference in the growth rate compare to not using air. The black bucket color is important because translucent colors let light into the buckets, which causes algae growth, which will be a big mess.

The hydroponic nutrient is cheap to make using the three part dry mix of Masterblend fertilizer, calcium nitrate, and epsom salt. I also use General Hydroponics pH up to set the pH at 6.

You could place the bucket inside a larger decorative planter pot or inside a larger planter box made of wood or stone, to conceal the bucket.

Growing with hydroponics is easy to learn by watching free YouTube videos. After you start growing hydroponically and see how dramatically better and faster the plants grow, you probably won’t grow the tomato plants in soil anymore. I had many extra tomato plants that were started from seed that I planted in soil.

When the tomato plants get large, they can consume up to 2-1/2 gallons of nutrient per day! There’s never any weeding when you grow hydroponically!

If you need help in starting to grow hydroponically, I can help you do that. Using a dead fish as fertilizer is an old Indian trick, but will become a horrible mess if animals smell and dig up the dead fish. The animals can smell and detect the buried fish much better than you can with your nose.

Wow! Impressive post. Thanks for sharing your knowledge in such detail. I don’t love tomatoes enough to do all of that but it reminds me of something I value but others don’t. I recently got a card making rubber stamp that says “Of course it’s handmade. Why would I spend $7 when I could buy $90 in craft supplies?” Tomayto, tom-at-oh

[ALadysMom]

Buy fish oil. Fish emulsion on amazon. Mix With water and you can use once every week or two weeks.

Fish emulsion worked for me in Indiana but it’s liquid dead fish so it may attract the same critters as a fish would. We called it “fish farts” because it was so stinky.

[DonnaNi4os]

I’m guessing that planting any fish products in the ground would likely attract things you don’t want in your yard such as rodents.

[DonnaNi4os]

I remember, many years ago, going on a tour of Disney World’s hydroponic gardens. They were quite impressive and at the time were the source of vegetables for their resort. I am assuming they still do that. If you haven’t seen it you really should.

[shannondwd]

I am about to start my second tomato crop. Lowes has tomatoes that are bred to withstand the Florida sun & heat.


I read a farmer's trick was to put a fish head in each hole when planting. It was suggested to freeze the fish heads first to avoid dealing with yucky heads.


I would imagine Winn-Dixie and Publix get their fish already beheaded. Maybe Lighthouse Seafood? Blue Fin probably uses theirs to make stock for chowder.


I wonder if I put half of a can of sardines packed in water into each hole if that would do the same thing.
I have tried many times in the summer here to grow tomatoes 🍅 it doesn’t work... to hot and even the bees hibernate in the summer here. Plant in September and March. I get 2 crops a year. Also the small tomatoes 🍅 do best here , sweet 100 etc. but f

[wiltma]

The other thing we did for a large garden in Connecticut was to collect seaweed at the ocean. Work it in in the fall, let it decay over winter and retill in spring. Lots of nitrogen

[BlackhawksFan]

Have you tried Dr. Demento's. They have the roly poly kind. Yum

Loved Dr. Demento back in the day, great bit.

[Scorpyo]

I am about to start my second tomato crop. Lowes has tomatoes that are bred to withstand the Florida sun & heat.


I read a farmer's trick was to put a fish head in each hole when planting. It was suggested to freeze the fish heads first to avoid dealing with yucky heads.


I would imagine Winn-Dixie and Publix get their fish already beheaded. Maybe Lighthouse Seafood? Blue Fin probably uses theirs to make stock for chowder.


I wonder if I put half of a can of sardines packed in water into each hole if that would do the same thing.
Give a man a fish head he plants for a day. Teach him how to fish for fish heads he plants for a lifetime! :clap2:

[MandoMan]

'Fish Head's' was a gag song i remember back in high school. they typically played it in the am to get people to wake up, supposedly in a silly mood, on a local rock station.. Dr Demento hosted a sunday eve radio show (in the NY area) that frequently played this song, along with the "Curley Shuffle" & other comedy songs.

I remember that, too. Actually, though, there are people who say fish heads are the tastiest part of a fish, or at least the cheeks. Check it out on YouTube.

Dr. Demento is still alive, by the way. He plays a song I wrote on his radio show. It’s called “Battery Boy (The Vibrator Song)”. You can find it on YouTube. Too risqué to post here.

[Curtisbwp]

I would use sardines also great for tomatoes is 'a whole egg and a banana' i use a drip irrigation with coconut fibers with no soil AND
I use an areoponic dystem. To propergate i use fogponics. Do you buy determinate or indeterminate tomatoes??


I am about to start my second tomato crop. Lowes has tomatoes that are bred to withstand the Florida sun & heat.


I read a farmer's trick was to put a fish head in each hole when planting. It was suggested to freeze the fish heads first to avoid dealing with yucky heads.


I would imagine Winn-Dixie and Publix get their fish already beheaded. Maybe Lighthouse Seafood? Blue Fin probably uses theirs to make stock for chowder.


I wonder if I put half of a can of sardines packed in water into each hole if that would do the same thing.

[golfing eagles]

Where Can I Get Fish Heads?

Try the ocean?????

Perhaps Luca Brasi could help:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[MercerLunatic]

tomatoes like egg shells added to the soil. Crush and put in soil under the plant. I did this for several seasons. along with tomato fertilizer and grew tomatoes that needed 6 ft stakes to hold them up. Lots of grape tomatoes and Big Boys.

[CFrance]

I would use sardines also great for tomatoes is 'a whole egg and a banana' i use a drip irrigation with coconut fibers with no soil AND
I use an areoponic dystem. To propergate i use fogponics. Do you buy determinate or indeterminate tomatoes??
The tomato plants are determinate. I would prefer the indeterminate variety so as not to have fruit all at once, but I was taken with the claim that these are heat tolerant. They are called Summer Set and are supposed to yield 8-10-oz tomatoes.


Thanks for the suggestions.

[Pinball wizard]

'Fish Head's' was a gag song i remember back in high school. they typically played it in the am to get people to wake up, supposedly in a silly mood, on a local rock station.. Dr Demento hosted a sunday eve radio show (in the NY area) that frequently played this song, along with the "Curley Shuffle" & other comedy songs.

Barnes & Barnes - Fish Heads - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn73Wtem0No)

[bilcon]

:a040::a040:How about going fishing, catching fish, eating them, and save the heads after you finish. Duhrrrrr! Buy then, the tomatoes, not fish heads, at the Farmers Market. Great produce for Florida. A lot less work.

[greenhillsgirl]

When I grew great tomatoes in PA, I used fish emulsion. Ortho use to sell it. My mother’s Italian neighbor, kept a 5 gallon plastic tub of water and a few fish heads, by his garden. He would constantly add a fish head and keep it full of water. He had the best darn tomatoes we ever ate.

[davem4616]

I have tried many times in the summer here to grow tomatoes 🍅 it doesn’t work... to hot and even the bees hibernate in the summer here. Plant in September and March. I get 2 crops a year. Also the small tomatoes 🍅 do best here , sweet 100 etc. but f



I've had the same experience....even tried those 'high heat' tomatoes one year....it's just too hot in the summer IMHO for growing tomatoes outside in TV

I plant a crop in September (in pots) and another crop in January.

[bmarasco]

what tomato variety are you using .. I have had zero luck with the Bonnie Grape (Tami G) variety ... also the Bonnie Zucchini would not pollinate - the flowers were so ‘delicate’ that they would off the plant in the wind !! Any suggestions appreciated !!

[Boomer]

Danger Will Robinson! Danger Will Robinson!

Er, I mean, Danger CFrance! Danger CFrance!

I see you have a picture of a handsome doggie by your name sooooooo, if you let anybody talk you into using fish emulsion, be careful where you leave it.

I once used fish emulsion on my flowers. Once. Just once. I turned my back on the plastic bottle while I was working in my yard — accompanied by my dog, Mandy.

Before I realized it, Mandy had bitten the bottle open and rolled around in the stinky stuff. She was so proud.

I read that what stinks to us is like perfume to dogs. She was so happy with her version of Chanel.

I think we had an easier time getting rid of the stink after Mandy’s encounter with a skunk.

Boomer

[nututv]

Just wondering here. Possibly buy a bag of bait shrimp. I'd think 4 to 6 would be equivalent to a moderately sized fish head and bait shrimp is stupid cheap and easy to acquire.

[dougawhite]

Dr. Demento is still alive, by the way. He plays a song I wrote on his radio show. It’s called “Battery Boy (The Vibrator Song)”. You can find it on YouTube. Too risqué to post here.

History of the good Dr: Reed Magazine: Dr. Demento (1/4) (https://www.reed.edu/reed_magazine/aug2002/features/Dr_Demento/index.html)

[retiredguy123]

I could be off base here, but why couldn't you just buy a cheap fish? Why does it need to be the head?

[davem4616]

come on folks....read the thread...ya don't wanna put any fish heads, shrimp or fish entrails in the ground down here, the darn
critters will dig it all up.

those of you that don't garden, don't understand how much those of us that always did continue to want to...go enjoy yourselves and buy to your hearts content at the farmers market...ya can take the backyard farmer out of the garden, but ya can't take the garden out of the backyard farmer

[anothersteve]

The Fish Head Song - YouTube (https://youtu.be/JKDtUzRIG6I)

Steve

[CFrance]

come on folks....read the thread...ya don't wanna put any fish heads, shrimp or fish entrails in the ground down here, the darn
critters will dig it all up.

those of you that don't garden, don't understand how much those of us that always did continue to want to...go enjoy yourselves and buy to your hearts content at the farmers market...ya can take the backyard farmer out of the garden, but ya can't take the garden out of the backyard farmer
The planter is elevated. We're talking two fish heads. We live in a CYV.

Thanks to all that replied with good suggestions, plus the wonderful fisherman who pm'd me.

[Mayrath]

for a refreshingly new aroma, I like to put a few fish heads under my pillow at night...

[Stu from NYC]

Tony Soprano can get you all the fish heads you need at a very good price.

The rest of the fish is still attached as it just fell off the truck today.

[mtdjed]

I am about to start my second tomato crop. Lowes has tomatoes that are bred to withstand the Florida sun & heat.


I read a farmer's trick was to put a fish head in each hole when planting. It was suggested to freeze the fish heads first to avoid dealing with yucky heads.


I would imagine Winn-Dixie and Publix get their fish already beheaded. Maybe Lighthouse Seafood? Blue Fin probably uses theirs to make stock for chowder.


I wonder if I put half of a can of sardines packed in water into each hole if that would do the same thing.

That would work fine. A full can would likely work better. That is what the Indians did. Or was that for corn?

[davem4616]

The planter is elevated. We're talking two fish heads. We live in a CYV.

Thanks to all that replied with good suggestions, plus the wonderful fisherman who pm'd me.


a raccoon or a 'possum' would have no problem reaching an elevated planter....

keep a dust pan and a broom handy to cleanup in the morning if you go with actual fish heads

[CFrance]

a raccoon or a 'possum' would have no problem reaching an elevated planter....

keep a dust pan and a broom handy to cleanup in the morning if you go with actual fish heads
I went with sardines 6 weeks ago. Absolutely no problems with critters. Lots of blossoms and the first couple of tomatoes showed up 5 days ago.:MOJE_whot:

[LoisR]

I couldn't resist. You can usually find a fish head on the front end of a fish. So much for good judgement.

[Stu from NYC]

I couldn't resist. You can usually find a fish head on the front end of a fish. So much for good judgement.

Think how much easier it would be to get fish heads if you found a two headed one:bigbow: