eel grass

[TightenUp]

i have access to tons of this stuff. it is usually brown and dry and washed up on the beach. does anyone use this as a mulch or add to their compost pile? after storms i can get it in its wet/green form. a mix of both would prob be best.

i understand this is not kelp or saragassa(spelling??) weed. i am specifically asking for help with eel grass

[janezee]

I used it on the East coast, and I use it now. It makes great mulch, especially for the winter. I turn the earth over with a trowel in the spring, and I'm ready to plant.
It's good in the summer, too, though slightly harder to come by.

[TightenUp]

do you clean it off or just use it as is with salt and sand attached?

[janezee]

This year, I have a hardware cloth soil sifter, so I dumped it in there and hosed it off, because I gathered it with lots of bugs in it. You know those ones that jump up at you? Then I let it dry off.
Usually it isn't so buggy, so I just use as is. I haven't found that it caused any problems. I love how it makes the soil so nice and fluffy. Better than peat moss. I bring it home from the beach in those large containers that others cut up for planting.
I also use my containers for washing and bleaching pots, and flipping over plants when frost is imminent. Also great for mixing and storing potting soil.
Oops, you didn't ask about them, did you?
I'm sure you'll love the eel grass. I got it as a tip from an old gardener when I was a new bride, half a lifetime ago. I haven't always had access to the eel grass, but when I moved to the island, I went in search. Not every beach has it, and I consider it black gold. I can find kelp after storms, too. Different beaches, though. It's like a treasure hunt.
Eel grass hides crabs (and lobsters.) We don't crab where there's no eel grass.
I don't use bladder seaweed, though, because it doesn't decay as nicely, lasts lots longer, and gets stiff.

jane

[janezee]

By the way, we need a license to gather seaweed in Washington state now. I know I didn't on Cape Cod 30 years ago, but things may have changed there, too. So many regulations. It seems that folks were pulling it up from the ocean floor and selling it. Shame on them.

[TightenUp]

Originally Posted by janezee

This year, I have a hardware cloth soil sifter, so I dumped it in there and hosed it off, because I gathered it with lots of bugs in it. You know those ones that jump up at you? Then I let it dry off.
Usually it isn't so buggy, so I just use as is. I haven't found that it caused any problems. I love how it makes the soil so nice and fluffy. Better than peat moss. I bring it home from the beach in those large containers that others cut up for planting.
I also use my containers for washing and bleaching pots, and flipping over plants when frost is imminent. Also great for mixing and storing potting soil.
Oops, you didn't ask about them, did you?
I'm sure you'll love the eel grass. I got it as a tip from an old gardener when I was a new bride, half a lifetime ago. I haven't always had access to the eel grass, but when I moved to the island, I went in search. Not every beach has it, and I consider it black gold. I can find kelp after storms, too. Different beaches, though. It's like a treasure hunt.
Eel grass hides crabs (and lobsters.) We don't crab where there's no eel grass.
I don't use bladder seaweed, though, because it doesn't decay as nicely, lasts lots longer, and gets stiff.

jane

thanks for your input

i too have found the the big containers to be great for many gardening related activities including frost protection earlier this year.