Fish Hydrolysate: Feeding Soil, Not Just Plants

When I think about fish hydrolysate as a fertilizer, I always get that nostalgic feeling—early childhood memories of helping my dad feed the garden with fish. Fish hydrolysate is a microbe-first fertilizer: its cold-processed peptides and free amino acids are immediately digestible, spiking microbial activity and the enzymes that convert organic nutrients into bioavailable forms. Those same amino acids chelate micronutrients, supporting consistent nutrient cycling. Fish hydrolysate also contains a wide array of oils, vitamins, and trace minerals that act as co-factors for microbial metabolism. That biology then builds soil structure with microbial “glues”—polysaccharides and glomalin-related soil proteins—improving aeration and water infiltration. Net effect: fish hydrolysate doesn’t just feed plants—it cultivates the soil food web that feeds plants. Let’s break it down.

What is fish hydrolysate?
Whole fish (heads, bones and all) is cold-processed using enzymes to break the fish into amino acids, small peptides, oils, and trace minerals—essentially a balanced, microbe-friendly fertilizer. This differs from fish emulsion (cooked, with many oils removed) and fish meal (dried and ground). The reason fish has been used for centuries as a spark for soil fertility is that it’s a complete microbial food. As we’ve discussed many times, fertilizer should serve the entire soil web—not just the plant. When you introduce a fertilizer, the name of the game is to bring something that fills gaps in your soil’s profile and feeds the microbiology.

A quick historical note.
In the early 20th century, acid-assisted “fish silage” and later enzymatic hydrolysis methods were developed (notably in Scandinavia/Poland) to transform fishery by-products into stable liquids rich in amino acids, oils, and minerals. Growers found that, applied to soil, this delivered a balanced nudge to fertility, structure, and microbial life.

Why growers love hydrolysate (key takeaways):

• Immediate microbe fuel. Balanced peptides and free amino acids microbes can metabolize on contact—ramping protease/phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere.
• Natural chelation. Amino acids hold nutrients in solution right where roots feed, smoothing uptake.
• Biostimulant. Oils, vitamins, and trace minerals add carbon energy and enzymatic co-factors; plants respond with better rooting, richer chlorophyll, and improved stress tolerance.
• Soil structure. As microbes feed, they produce extracellular polysaccharides and glomalin-related proteins that knit aggregates, improving water infiltration and aeration—the soil food web feeding the plant.

If you want a balanced input that pairs fish protein with kelp and humics, check out Flowerbird’s Soil Love—a soluble dry blend of these three microbe-centric components that gently stokes fertility and keeps the biology humming. It’s such a simple fertilizer to add in to your garden with just 1 teaspoon per gallon of water, it is a low application rate and covers the bases for feeding the soil biology.