THERE ARE many more advantages to life on the coast
than most of us are currently aware of.

Sure, we have mild winters,
sandy beaches, bathtub races, and
oil slicks, but other places have
neat things too. What do we have
that those less fortunate souls liv-
ing inland do not have? Seaweed!

It is marvellous stuff if you are a
gardener; natural fertilizer, growth
hormone, composting agent,
pesticide and free.

All this may sound a little too
good to be true and surprising that
you have not heard it before; there
is a reason.

You may not have heard about
it from your favorite sales person
at the local garden centre. And
don’t be surprised if the current
garden guru on the radio doesn’t
make a fuss over it. People with
manure for sale are not about to
give you directions to the stable.

The thought of marching down
to the local beach to bag kelp in-
stead of rays may not jive with the
self image you. have been striving
for, but think of the comments
you'll get over the sight of an ob-
viously healthy garden.

Here is what this weed can do

ms Sagagair WATE

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displaying paving
stones in B.C.
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By

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for you. Seaweed contains large
amounts of the macro-nutrients
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassi-
um.

These elements are essential to
plant growth, and there are
precious few organic materials that
can deliver them like seaweed can.

Nitrogen will encourage the
green growth in your plants. It is
essential in the formation of
chlorophyll, the most important
building block in plant develop-
ment. It is also a necessary part of
the composting process; the addi-
tion of seaweed will make the
compost rot quicker as well as
enrich it.

Phosphorus is needed in the
production of flowers, fruit, seeds
and roots.

Seaweed used as a mulch around
tomato plants, as an example, will
produce larger, more numerous
fruit. Not only will the phosphorus
feed the plants, but the Jayer of
organic matter mulching will keep
the roots cool and moist.

Potassium will increase your

plants’ resistance to frost as well as

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provide a valuable building ma-
terial for the production of stems
and roots.

If your tomatoes are more frost

tolerant, they will produce further
into the fall.

It also contains almost all of the
necessary micro-nutrients as well.

These are the minerals such as
iron, magnesium, iodine, boron,
manganese, etc. Even the expen-
sive chemical plant foods can’t
boast as well rounded a supply as
is available here.

You may hear some negative
comments relating to concerns
over a possible problem with sea

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salts leaching into the garden. For-
tunately this does not appear to
happen.

If this were true, the effects

over the

garden gate

Geoff Tobiasson

could be devastating. A build-up
of soluble salts such as these could
burn the roots of your plants,
causing permanent injury or death.

It is always a good idea to hose
it down before applying it to the
garden or the compost pile.

Even if you did not engage in
this precautionary measure, dam-
age could only occur if large
amounts were used.

Seaweed also contains growth
hormones that can encourage plant

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growth and development. If an
ample amount is mixed with the
soil, other hormones can prevent
legginess in young seedlings.

As seaweed is a totally alien
substance as far as insects, siugs,
and certain diseases go, it can be
effective as an organic pesticide.

They just don’t like the stuff
and will go out of their way to
avoid coming in contact with it. In
some cases, seaweed tea (50 per
cent seaweed, 50 per cent water left
to sit for 24 hours), can even kill
some pests.

At this time of year, you can
make the most of your collected
seaweed by using it as a mulch in
the vegetable garden.

Put a two-inch layer around
your plants and it will work all of
the above wonders.

if you gather more than you
need or happen to pick some up in
the fall, add it in two-inch layers to
12-inch layers of compost.

Cover each layer with a liberal
amount of soil to supply the
micro-organisms necessary to the
rotting process. You will have a
superior, enriched soil supplement
in no time. Well, at least in time
for next year’s garden.

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