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By Gardenista | care2.com
August 24, 2013 10:00 am

Heading to the beach? While you’re there, collect some seaweed to use in your garden. For generations farmers in coastal communities like the Channel Islands have been amending their gardens and fields with it. Rich in nutrients and trace elements like potassium, magnesium, nitrogen, and phosphorous, seaweed can help amend garden soil, and the benefits don’t stop there.

When fresh seaweed is applied to garden beds as mulch, the application can help mitigate weeds, and won’t introduce new weeds or pests the way some bark mulch can. As the seaweed breaks down, it contributes to a lightweight loamy soil. Seaweed can even be brewed into a nutrient-rich tea. Here are six tips for collecting and using seaweed:

Photograph by H Matthew Howarth.

How to Use Seaweed in your Garden:

1. Collect seaweed mid-beach: Says EarthEasy’s Greg Seaman, collecting seaweed from the middle of the beach is your best bet. Seaweed that’s mid-beach is far enough from the water to have had an opportunity to dry out somewhat, but it’s not so dry that land-lubbing bugs have had the chance to get to it.

2. Don’t over-harvest: Seaweed has a crucial role in the ecosystem of beaches, so it’s important not to strip beaches of it entirely. Greg suggests picking no more than a third of the seaweed from any one patch.

3. Use fresh seaweed: According to the Royal Horticulture Society, incorporating fresh seaweed into the garden can be a good substitute for farmyard manure. There’s no need to allow seaweed to dry before adding it directly to garden beds.

4. Layer thickly: Seaweed should be added to gardens in relatively substantial quantities. Greg Seaman recommends two applications of seaweed, each about 4 to 6 inches deep. The Royal Horticulture Society recommends a barrow load per square foot of garden. If you aren’t able to find seaweed in these large amounts, even a small application mixed with compost or other amendments will be beneficial.

5. Add it to your compost pile: According to the Rodale Book of Composting, digging fresh seaweed into your existing compost pile can speed up composting. Existing compost bacteria will feast on the alginic acid in seaweed leaves, kickstarting the process.

6. Make a tea: Fresh seaweed can also be used to brew a nutritive tea. Fill a large bucket with rinsed seaweed and fill with fresh rain or hose water. Allow the “tea” to brew for several weeks, stirring occassionally. Strain the nutrient-rich liquid into a spray bottle and use as an organic (and free) plant food! More details on The Hedge Combers.


Above: A 2011 study at the University of Rhode Island tested the effects of green seaweed (ulva spp) on sweet corn, proving its
potential as an affordable resource in coastal agriculture. Photograph by Kqedquest.


Above: Gather seaweed into large trash barrels or net bags to transport to the garden. Photograph courtesy of Farm for Life Project.

If you’re not near a beach, consider Neptune’s Harvest Fish and Seaweed Fertilizer, recommended by Brooklyn gardener Marie Viljoen in 10 Secrets for Growing an Urban Balcony Garden.

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I just happened to catch a video last week on this subject:

Tom Thayer - Local Legendz - passionate gardener who uses kelp to fertilize his fruit trees

Might give it a spin, but San Diego city residents get free compost(yard/trip) at the Convoy St. landfill.

We are shipping several container per month of dried and compressed giant kelp to China. The buyer there makes fertilizer, food products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other health care products. What blew me away is that they have recently produced a skin-like material from seaweed to permanently place on 3rd degree burn victims wounds. Silver Alginate Powder (alginate is an extract from seaweed) has been used now in the treatment of 1st and 2nd degree burns but the new breakthrough allows the material to be placed over the burn area, preventing infection and will actually attach itself and grow back into a replacement skin. They have had so much success that they report now that burn victims in some cases may be able to avoid having to go through skin grafts later.

It is truly amazing...

Originally Posted by BajaGringo

Silver Alginate Powder (alginate is an extract from seaweed) has been used now in the treatment of 1st and 2nd degree burns but the new breakthrough allows the material to be placed over the burn area, preventing infection and will actually attach itself and grow back into a replacement skin. They have had so much success that they report now that burn victims in some cases may be able to avoid having to go through skin grafts later.

It is truly amazing...

Yes it is truly amazing as I can attest to.
Many years ago I was treated at in a burn unit with Silver Alginate paste (looks like white grease) after being BADLY burned from a electrical explosion and being engulfed in the resulting fire ball.
I was definitely a skin graft candidate and I believe that magic grease saved me from further pain from the skin graft surgery.
I also want to point out that it also helped relieve the pain that came with the burns something that the saline only briefly did while making the ambulance ride to the hospital.

Today unless I told somebody I had been burnt they would not know.

Great story - it gives more and more credence to the ancient practices of using herbal medicine and treatments...