I bought a bag of it from our lottie shop, but I'm unsure how to use. What plants is it good for and do I just sprinkle it around the plant or before planting..?
ta
Seaweed meal is an enhancer which means you should use it spring and autumn at about 20z per square yard and then raked in. I have never used it but i don,t see any thing wrong with sprinkling some around your plants.
I use seaweed meal...as I prepare ground for planting..I sprinkle it on surface and leave it to it...it will eventually get worked in and digested by little things in soil and then releasing it good things. Yes it is enhancer or conditioner..but it doesn't feed your plants...it will provide minerals to your soil and help plants to be healthier and hardier,,but it is slow to do so. If you plants get everything important from the soil for optimum growth then your veg will provide all the nutritional goodness for you... ;)
You can also sprinkle it into your compost bin where it will be worked while composting will take place..then nothing is wasted and washed off by heavy rains..and when you use your compost..all that goodness will be readily available for the plants...
I haven't found plant yet that would not like it...it is general stuff anywhere and everywhere...
Not entirely true?
Needs a long lead time?
Tim...seaweed meal belong to sort of 'grey area' ...it does have very little to offer within NPK ratio so it doesn't actually contribute as a fertilizer does..not anymore than any other green manure that is added to the soil..that's why it is generally preferred as soil conditioner. It is like vitamin pill for us,,,it doesn't actually feed you but should do good.. ;) And yes..it does take some time to release it's goodness..that's why adding into compost bin is good way of getting it 'pre-digested' for then nutrients being soon available for plants.
I specially like to use it with my brassicas..I use it liberally when preparing the ground and as brassicas are slow to mature..by harvesting...they have had chance to take up some of the stuff... ;)
As I said i have never used it, but i do know it was widely used among the top leek growers up here because Seaweed meal is an excellent, slow release, all round fertilizer.
Yes..leek growers like to use as it is said to promote hardiness.....against deseases and weather...
oh..forgot...golf course where I work use seaweed spray for the greens same reasons..... ;)...more like preventative measure against proplems...just like multi-vitamins...! ;) ;D
I use a seaweed variant - Calcified Seaweed. Haven't got a clue if it is a totally different product or just a variant. It is excellent for cauliflower growth. I apply it when there is plenty of green growth, about half way through the growing cycle; but before the head starts to form. Brings them on a treat. ;)
Yes it is different...it is form of marine limestone and it is used instead of lime..
it is produced by sea organisms, and it is taken from sea bed,,dried and graded...but like seaweed it is good source of trace elements, vitamins and amino acids..which encourage bacterial activity in soil..more activity ..happier plants.... ;D
KT are you sure about using calcified seaweed as it is no longer available, sure you are not getting confused with calcified plus
Quote from: davyw1 on May 31, 2010, 15:24:53
KT are you sure about using calcified seaweed as it is no longer available, sure you are not getting confused with calcified plus
Just been emailed back by a fellow plotholder working in the shop. It definitely says Calcified Seaweed on the label. We are still selling it and they have had a resupply since Christmas.
I have been told that the reason Jersey Royal potatoes tasted so good was that the growers in Jersey used seaweed in the trenches, they are not allowed to use it any more because of ecological factors. Could this be the reason that these potatoes do not taste the same as years ago. I have thought of using calcified seaweed on my potato plot but some of you are very negative about this product. What are your thoughts on doing this if I can now get hold of the product.
queenbee.
See goodlife's post.
Very different to Seaweed.
queenbee...I would not use calcified seaweed with your potatoes..as like lime it is not suitable for the crop...you get scabby taties..
If you have some..use it around your brassicas..they will like it..but do not add if you have used lime already.. ;)