Seaweed Fertilizer – Discover Nature’s Best Kept Secret

Posted by admin in Fertilizers | 2 comments

You may not have thought of using seaweed fertilizer in your home garden before but I hope that, after reading this, you will have enough confidence to give it a shot.

Brown Seaweed

For many coastal regions of the world, it has been common practice to apply seaweed, especially the large brown variety, to the land as a soil improver and fertilizer. Some people like to gather their own seaweed at their local beach (legally, we hope) and use it “wet” or dry or, they may turn it into an organic liquid fertilizer after some kind of fermentation process. Others may just buy the seaweed by the bag if they can get it that way.

However, today seaweed extracts are more widely used. Sold in concentrated form, they are easy for the home gardener to dilute and spray on or apply as a liquid fertilizer to plants. That’s not all. The nutrients in the liquid seaweed extract are immediately available to be absorbed by the plants whereas seaweed and seaweed meal, just like any other organic matter, must first decompose before the nutrients can be released and used by the plants.

Seaweed contains alginic acid which is a soil conditioner. It has now been proven by various studies that seaweed and seaweed products improve the water-holding capacity of the soil and alter its structure making it rich and crumbly.

The use of seaweed and seaweed products in the horticultural industry is now well-established and becoming more widespread as more and more people all over the world discover its many benefits to plants. When applied to vegetable, fruit and flower plants, they include:

• Higher yield of crop plants
• Improved seed germination
• Increased nutrient uptake from the soil
• Increased ability to resist garden pests such as red spider mite and aphids
• Increased ability to resist plant diseases such as mildew, scab and fungi
• Better capacity to resist frost

Here’s a very good example of how seaweed meal was used to great effect by an inventive market gardener:

In Kent, England a market gardener was losing all his seedlings and fertilizers down into the ditch because heavy rain was washing them down his sloping plots. Since he started to use seaweed meal, he has significantly changed the structure of his sandy soil so much so that even heavy rain cannot wash his plants away now.

Personally, I haven’t experienced this particular problem but, if I had, I would definitely have experimented with his method. It worked, didn’t it?

In any case, it’s very clear what amazing improvements seaweed fertilizer can make to your home garden. Among other benefits, your garden plants will enjoy easier access to nutrients and water in the soil and boost their natural resistance to pests and diseases. This translates into less effort on your part in maintaining your home garden and that can’t be bad.

Check out the finest selection of seaweed fertilizers and start producing better tasting vegetables and fruit in your home garden.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, please share it and leave a comment. Thanks.

Copyright © 2009 www.vegetablegardenplantingguide.com