It’s seaweed slogging time

In Southwest Nova right now, the ocean-connected topic of the day is lobster fishing but on the gardener’s calendar the season may well be viewed as seaweed-scavenging time.

During late fall, stormy weather deposits tons of seaweed ripped from the rocks it grew on. The bounty is fair game for gardeners who recognize this valuable material as a winter mulch for their soil.

Many years ago I learned about the miraculous properties of sea plants and became a strong advocate of their use in the garden.

Seaweed acts as a catalyst for plant growth, enabling it to absorb nutrients from the soil more effectively. I’ve often referred to it as “medicine for plants” because of its ability to improve plant health and resistance to stress, disease and pest attacks.

Although it may not be appealing to view it as such, the sea actually acts as a gigantic septic tank for earth. It’s where every bit of trash and trace elements go to after having been flushed through rivers and streams.

Seaweeds found on the ocean floor thrive on these trace elements for sustenance. It is precisely for this reason that for centuries, seaweed organic fertilizers have been used to supplement the nutrient needs of plants.

In addition to traditional fertilizer components of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, seaweed has boron, zinc, magnesium, and iron, to name just a few micronutrients.

On some of the warmer days this month you might want to visit the closest shoreline and gather seaweed, rockweed or kelp to bring home to your property. It can be applied directly to the soil (don’t worry about removing sea salt as snow melt will do that for you. Arrange the seaweed as a two to four-inch mulch in perennial beds or around shrubs or include it in the compost pile. It decays quickly over winter as it contains little cellulose. It also doesn’t add any weed seeds.

In Europe, seaweed is layered for growing potatoes in barren areas. In Britain they mix grass seed with an extract of brown algae, which is sprayed on slopes along highways. The mixture keeps the seed in place, retains moisture and binds the soil.