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bower · February 2, 2014

I used raw kelp to mulch the garlic I planted last fall. By spring it will be starting to decompose and drizzle some nutrients down into the soil... I didn't have a (seed free) straw to use instead. Kelp breaks down much quicker and of course, seeds no weeds.

I used raw kelp to mulch the bulbils I planted the previous year. They grew to a good size (I think!) although they are a Porcelain variety (Music) so I was pretty pleased with that.

Hermitian, I find the idea that trace elements from kelp are not available to plants once they are incorporated in a living soil ecosystem, pretty hard to believe. Do you have a source to cite for that?

I'll admit I'm used to using the raw seaweed in bulk, not some expensive powder in tiny quantities, although I make soluble powder for specific uses - rooting cuttings, transplant stress and so on. Kelp rots as well and faster than any land vegetation and makes compost of very high quality. The sweetest carrots on earth are grown in this region by farmers who use kelp as a bulk fertilizer. I also use coarse chopped kelp in my tomato container soil to help with moisture retention (as suggested on a UN-FAO website) and found it very good for the first part - but by late summer every bit of it has been turned into soil and consumed. Need to use more to offset the conversion rate.

If trace elements from the kelp are not, and cannot be bioavailable to plants as you suggest, what is happening to my soil. I should think it would be harmful in the long term if this was the case.

February 2, 2014	#10
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	I used raw kelp to mulch the garlic I planted last fall. By spring it will be starting to decompose and drizzle some nutrients down into the soil... I didn't have a (seed free) straw to use instead. Kelp breaks down much quicker and of course, seeds no weeds. I used raw kelp to mulch the bulbils I planted the previous year. They grew to a good size (I think!) although they are a Porcelain variety (Music) so I was pretty pleased with that. Hermitian, I find the idea that trace elements from kelp are not available to plants once they are incorporated in a living soil ecosystem, pretty hard to believe. Do you have a source to cite for that? I'll admit I'm used to using the raw seaweed in bulk, not some expensive powder in tiny quantities, although I make soluble powder for specific uses - rooting cuttings, transplant stress and so on. Kelp rots as well and faster than any land vegetation and makes compost of very high quality. The sweetest carrots on earth are grown in this region by farmers who use kelp as a bulk fertilizer. I also use coarse chopped kelp in my tomato container soil to help with moisture retention (as suggested on a UN-FAO website) and found it very good for the first part - but by late summer every bit of it has been turned into soil and consumed. Need to use more to offset the conversion rate. If trace elements from the kelp are not, and cannot be bioavailable to plants as you suggest, what is happening to my soil. I should think it would be harmful in the long term if this was the case.