Seaweed as a mulch?

[Scottydog]

Hi,

As I live on the coast I have easy access to loads of seaweed. Are there vegetables that would benefit from using seaweed as a mulch? Also are there any plants that would be adversely affected? Could I also use seaweed as a fertiliser/soil improver.

Many thanks, Scottydog

[Capsid]

Seawood is a very good soil improver/fertiliser but you had better check first that you can remove it form the beach. There may be environmental laws in place that prevent you from doing so.

[Dottie]

Suppose to be good for asparagus.

[carlseawolf]

It's not against the law to collect seaweed of the beach that has been washed up with the tide , but it is from the rocks where it grows.
To use as a mulch is a great idea but i would do this in winter to cover your beds as it has a terrible habit of attracting flys that lay eggs in it , then i spring just turn it into the ground like you would with manure.
I would leave it away form your root crops as it may cause splitting of roots.

[ixi1456]

maybe a stupid question but wouldn't it make the ground salty i am sure i read somewhere that to much salt is no good for soil as i was going to use salt to kill the slugs

[carlseawolf]

The amount of salt in seaweed is not that great if it is freshly washed up on the beach , it's the dryed stuff that has been there along time that you do not used as sea spray from the waves will add extra salt to the weed.
A quick search on the net for seaweed will give you lots of answers and results of trials that have taken place.

[King Carrot]

The amount of salt in seaweed is not that great if it is freshly washed up on the beach , it's the dryed stuff that has been there along time that you do not used as sea spray from the waves will add extra salt to the weed.
A quick search on the net for seaweed will give you lots of answers and results of trials that have taken place.

what he said both times - really knows his seaweed

when I get it this year I plan to dig it in immediately, as last year I mulched with it and also had a heap sitting on the ground waiting to be used, and boy, does it get maggots in it , the birds absolutely loved it and were always rooting through it - be great for chickens I reckon.

[Geordie]

I use seaweed as my main source of organic matter on the allotment, tomatos love it added as a mulch or soaked to make a liquid feed.

[Paulottie]

Seaweed is great for spuds,(secret of Jersey Royals and used by the Irish) Asparagus likes salt anyway. Good soil improver...you can of course wash it if your worried about salt. It makes an horrific smelling 'tea' (make comfrey seem like Channel no 5) but full of trace elements.... But as a compost activator it is truly fantastic.

[rana]

At the Heligan gardens in Cornwall they put a thick layer of seaweed on the veg garden each winter. By springtime it has rotted into the soil. It improves soil structure and fertility.

[selfheal]

Does anyone know much about seaweed on a big scale?

i know of somewhere that has 600tons of seaweed that has been sat in a heap rotting down for almost a year now, if not longer. i used some of it before it had broken down last summer as a mulch for my veg patch and it seemed to work fine, but im talking big scale dumps of this well rotted seaweed to use as organic matter to mix into heavy clay soils on a new allotment site.....

just seems like a very tempting offer when i could probably get it for free, and theres plenty to go around. BUT i dont want to make a big mistake and mess up 28 plots!!!

any thoughts?

[rana]

Hi self heal..... I'm also in Dorset so is there any chance of revealing the location of this 600 ton pile of garden gold. It would certainly help improve my heavy clay veg plot.....

[di]

Google always seems to land me in this place