Improve Your Soil the Old Fashioned Way with Seaweed Fertilizer

Fertilizer has been important to farmers and gardeners as long as they've been cultivating the fields. In the search for ways to improve the quality and quantity of the crop, countless types of fertilizers have been tried. Some have been more successful than others. As strange as it may seem, seaweed fertilizer is among the most valued ways to improve soil quality.

Seaweed fertilizer has been in use in coastal regions throughout the world for hundreds of years. In England, in the Channel Islands, there is actually a trade specifically dedicated to harvesting and drying seaweed. Then it's used for a variety of products, including garden fertilizer.

In Ireland, seaweed also enjoyed popularity as a fertilizer. Farmers would lift the soil in rows, lay down seaweed and then replace the soil. Although it's not so popular these days, this was common practice for planting and cultivating potatoes in that country. The coastal regions of Ireland continue to count seaweed and kelp as a major industry to this day.

You can make a big difference in the quality of your garden soil by using seaweed. This is because seaweed grows in seas and oceans, where all the elements that are known to exist can be found. These elements become part of the seaweed as well, and are then passed along to the benefit of your garden soil.

Environmentally conscious gardeners are particularly attracted to seaweed fertilizer. This is because it's an all-natural plant based product which can be added to the soil along with other organic kinds of fertilizer. There's no downside to it as there is with so many of the chemical laden commercial fertilizers. There are somewhat questionable ingredients contained in many of these products. And the manufacturing process is associated with high levels of pollution.

Seaweed fertilizer can be added directly to the soil, just like mulch. Lay it in between and around your plants. You'll find that it breaks down very rapidly.

It can also be added to your compost bin. It will add nutrients and help to break down the other ingredients in the mix. You can also make it into a tea, either using the liquid or powder forms. Then you gently spray the mixture on the leaves, thereby providing them with a readily available source of nutrition.

Seaweed has a long and fruitful history in gardens throughout the world. If you live near the sea, you might be lucky enough to pick it up on a nearby beach. However, taking a trip to a nearby nursery is an option for just about everyone. Check the shelves for various kinds of seaweed fertilizer, including kelp meal. And while you’re there, ask them to give you some tips on how to add it to your garden to give it new life.