Do you think it will work

[ameno]

Seaweed: I used to use seaweed on asparagus, which is salt tolerant. We live near the sea and can drive onto the beach. It was used here traditionally by brassica growers as a manure.

But, the geology of West Cornwall contains some highly mineralsed rocks. Until I have researched heavy metal and arsenic content I am holding off.

If heavy metal levels in Cornish seafood are generally considered low enough for safe consumption, then I would have thought using seaweed on the soil would be perfectly safe, especially as heavy metals in the seaweed would effectively be "diluted" twice before they actually reach any people (first by the seaweed only being a small portion of the soil the plant grows in, and second by the soil being the source of only a portion of what actually makes up the finished plant).

You mean that they get all over the garden or get very big?

Both. The normal variety with seed itself everywhere, and the plants will get quite large.
Both the normal variety and the sterile one also have large, fleshy roots, and will regenerate from even tiny pieces, so trying to dig them out is a real struggle, as they will likely come back.
The best approach is to get hold of a root cutting of the sterile variety and plant it somewhere you know it will be able to stay permanently, without the need to try and dig it out in a few years' time.

[Iris_Germany]

This year my harvest was not as expected, and the soil was very dry, I even had to water quite regularly which is not normal, so once the beds were empty I dug down to check the soil and about 4 inches down there were lots of tree roots, as I work with 2ft. high raised beds this meant the beds were pritty full of roots, so I have now decided to build a larger raised bed sitting on a concrete bed the ends and one side are made with concrete slabs which are also sealed to the base with concrete, which hopefully will stop roots getting in the remaining side is built with timber, which should let any excess water drain out, as I also had to cut down an ash tree suffering with Ash dieback, I have used the wood to part fill the bed which hopefully will act as a water store in the future, a sort of hugelkulture bed which I hope will be a bit more environmentally friendly compared to burning the wood as there will be no pollution and as said less watering, so do you think I have given myself a lot of work for nothing?

Seaweed:

I have informed myself this evening about seaweed (of which I knew nothing at all) and dearie me, this is some kind of wonderplant for free! Apparently, it's a great fertilizer where they even plant potatoes. Nothing else! Seaweed and potatoes! And it worked!

You do that too in your garden? With the seaweed nearby?

If I was at a coast somewhere, I would take home 100 Kilo seaweed instantly, make a bed, put the potatoes in there and voilà!
These guys here did it (there are pictures of their seaweed bed). They had a concrete bottom, threw 40 cm of seaweed on it and put potatoes in. And they got a good crop, they say.

Sorry, it's not in English. But one can look at the pictures. And what's the best: They did absolutely nothing. No ridge, no weeding, no watering.

https://strand-manufaktur.de/seegras-kartoffeln/

[Iris_Germany]

Seaweed: I used to use seaweed on asparagus, which is salt tolerant. We live near the sea and can drive onto the beach. It was used here traditionally by brassica growers as a manure.

But, the geology of West Cornwall contains some highly mineralsed rocks. Until I have researched heavy metal and arsenic content I am holding off.

Arsenic? Could be useful if one has rotten kin, hahaha
I don't want to know how many spouses had to go this way in the last century and before ...

The seaweed seems to be very useful. I googled a bit after the topic got mentioned. It does not rot very easily and seemingly can be used in raised beds over years as a basin for storing rainwater. And I have seen pretty baskets and so one. What a shame that it is not of more use. At our coasts, most of the seaweed apparantly goes to compost companies. The seaweed housetops are getting rare nowadays, and no-one wants to do anything with it.

A pitty.

[quanglewangle]

Seaweed: I used to use seaweed on asparagus, which is salt tolerant. We live near the sea and can drive onto the beach. It was used here traditionally by brassica growers as a manure.

But, the geology of West Cornwall contains some highly mineralsed rocks. Until I have researched heavy metal and arsenic content I am holding off.

[Iris_Germany]

2 point from above, I collect seaweed and spread it on top of my soil, without washing it, any water contained within the seaweed in free of salt any salt present on top of the seaweed is minimal as it would get washed of by the rain or simply run off it. As for my soil being dry that was caused by tree roots absolutely swamping my raised bed they sucked all the moisture out of the soil which inhibited my veg

I only asked because I thought that seaweed contains salt in itself (does that make sense in English?)
Not ontop or outside but that the plant stores salt like Salicornia for example .

But if not ... What do I know! Hahaha! I do not live there, I only heard that somewhere. I have no idea what plants grow at the ocean/sea and what you can do with them.

So, forgive me if I am completely wrong with that ...

[Iris_Germany]

You certainly need gloves for dealing with nettles. I can tolerate them to some extent but not if I am harvesting them in any quantity.
I find comfrey mildly itchy but the bees love it.
I just put comfrey leaves on the ground and let them dry out. Next time it rains they disappear into the ground. I do not quite see the advantage of tea unless there is some kind of fertilizer emergency.

The tea is for the tomatoes, cucumbers and other heavy feeders.
I throw them fully onto my beds too, when it is possible, without cutting or making any tea of it. As I have to deg my vegetables in the greenhouse anyway, I mix the water usually with nettle-water and what else I find underway and what makes a good manure-tea.

[rary]

I have one question concerning the seaweed you mention on other comments: Do they contain salt?You seem to live near the sea, what I am envious of, I admit ... :-)))
There your climate conditions are surely a lot different than where I live: In the south-west of Germany, but near a low mountain range.

And your top soil was dry all the time? Here, it rained and rained and rained. You must be in a completely different climate region than I am.

2 point from above, I collect seaweed and spread it on top of my soil, without washing it, any water contained within the seaweed in free of salt any salt present on top of the seaweed is minimal as it would get washed of by the rain or simply run off it. As for my soil being dry that was caused by tree roots absolutely swamping my raised bed they sucked all the moisture out of the soil which inhibited my veg

[Iris_Germany]

Please be aware that comfrey can be difficult to control, unless you obtain a sterile strain, if you can some I would highly recommend it as that is all I use for feeding my tomatoes

You mean that they get all over the garden or get very big?

My few borage seeds got so humongous plants that they took the place of half of a bed away. I wanted to cut them down, then the bees and bumblebees attacked me ferociously, so that I did not dare to touch them until the end of the season.

[Plot70]

You certainly need gloves for dealing with nettles. I can tolerate them to some extent but not if I am harvesting them in any quantity.
I find comfrey mildly itchy but the bees love it.
I just put comfrey leaves on the ground and let them dry out. Next time it rains they disappear into the ground. I do not quite see the advantage of tea unless there is some kind of fertilizer emergency.

[rary]

Comfrey? I heard that, only that I do not find any here. I looked for it during walkings in vaine.

I looked comfrey up btw. some minutes ago and I found astonishing: It is full of proteins! I haven't heard that before. Maybe I will really look for it next year and when I find some, I plant them in my garden. So, thanks for mentioning it.

Please be aware that comfrey can be difficult to control, unless you obtain a sterile strain, if you can some I would highly recommend it as that is all I use for feeding my tomatoes

[Iris_Germany]

Away from the coast comfrey is also good and does not sting while you are harvesting it.

Always in my bag when I am walking to my garden:
Heavy construction work gloves.
Without them, I would not dare to collect nettles.
They are my armor.

[Nicos]

I get a rash too ameno.

I use it quite a bit - steamed and wrapped around achy joints. Does the trick - but the bristles itch afterwards.

[ameno]

Away from the coast comfrey is also good and does not sting while you are harvesting it.

Tell that to my arms...

It's true that comfrey doesn't sting, per se, but the bristles bring my skin out in a horrible rash. I think others here have experienced that before, too.

[Iris_Germany]

Away from the coast comfrey is also good and does not sting while you are harvesting it.

Comfrey? I heard that, only that I do not find any here. I looked for it during walkings in vaine.


Whereas horsetail and golden buttoms there is a lot and I take them home too. First is full of silicium and the latter I make manure tea from. I have some of the golden buttoms in my garden too because the bees love them.

I looked comfrey up btw. some minutes ago and I found astonishing: It is full of proteins! I haven't heard that before. Maybe I will really look for it next year and when I find some, I plant them in my garden. So, thanks for mentioning it.

They look pretty and then I cut them for my fertilizer. I have a patch of nettles too in my garden. They grow to be sacrificed for my nettle tea.

(What I haven't been aware neither is that comfrey is a member of the borage family. I love borage in my cuncumber salad.)

[Plot70]

Away from the coast comfrey is also good and does not sting while you are harvesting it.