Content

• Steps
• Tips
• What do you need

Seaweed is rich in trace minerals and potassium, making it ideal for raw compost, mulch or liquid fertilization. It's really easy and your plants will thank you. Up to 60 nutrients can be obtained from algae-based fertilizers.

Steps

1. 1 Collect the seaweed. Make sure that your actions do not harm the ecosystem of the local beach! Look for moist, odorless algae.
2. 2 Rinse the algae to remove excess salt.
3. 3 Fill the bucket or barrel with water three quarters full. Add as much algae as it will be covered in water and leave to soak.
4. 4 Stir the mixture every two to four days.
5. 5 Allow the solution to cook, from several weeks to several months. Fertilizer becomes more concentrated over time. Make sure the fertilizer smell doesn't interfere with your daily life. The solution is ready to use when the ammonia odor disappears.
6. 6 Use the solution as needed. When it's ready, use it as a fertilizer for your plants and garden soil, diluting three to one with water.

Tips

• The mixture can be reused. Pour the slurry into a bucket or barrel and cover with water. However, after re-use the mixture will lose its nutritional value, throw it into the compost pit.
• Types of algae:
  • Sea salad - Ulva lactuca (sea salad); Enteromorpha Intensinalis (gatvid); Caulerpa Brownii (maritime rome).
  • Red algae - Porphyra seaweeds; known to Europeans as the "Laver", to the Japanese as "Nori", to the Maori as "Karengo"; easily removable from coastal stones.
• Powdered kelp can be used as a slow-release, leach-resistant fertilizer. Add the powder directly to the soil, or add it to the compost. Worm farms can also benefit from the addition of these fertilizers, and vermicompost will be greatly improved by it.
• Like natural fertilizers, the algae-based blend provides plants with hormones, vitamins and enzymes that improve flowering, growth, branching and root expansion.

What do you need

• Bucket or barrel
• Seaweed
• Water