Seaweed

[gillian62]

I collected seaweed yesterday as I read it is good for the garden. Now I can't remember where I read about it.

Any ideas please on what I can use it on?

[Paulottie]

At this time of the year....you might find it doesn't rot well if spread as a mulch now. I'd compost it first(makes your heap really fizz) or make seaweed 'tea' (smell revolting but great tonic/feed with lots of trace elements)

Traditionally used on asparagus and potatoes.(bed prep or Autumn mulch) but good for a lot of things

[King Carrot]

I dig it in to or under beds in a trench, pretty much prior to planting - it does break down very quickly once in the soil especially if the grounds warm.

[elsie-scot]

Just moved to an area plentiful in seaweed. Make sure you take "dead" seaweed. Give it a quick wash in the sea to let any beasties escape. Any still attatched to a stone, leave it alone. Then soak it in water to get any excess salt out. As I am late in getting plots this year, I have cut it up smallish and dug into potato bed.

You can also soak it to get some great plant food. Have yet to do this, but from what I have read, just soak seaweed for a few weeks, easier to put seaweed in a porous bag - pillowcase, net bag - so you can take it out and throw in compost bin - soaking seaweed is very gooey and smelly!.

[solway cropper]

My seaweed soup has been brewing since last October and has had 3 changes of seaweed to extract as much nutrient as possible. It's in a big plastic drum and when I took the top off last week and stirred it up it really did stink. So much so that I was worried the neighbours might complain. Anyway, end result is nearly 5 gallons of thick, gloopy liquid feed which I dilute about 20 to 1. The spent seaweed just goes on the compost heap.