Sea weed Used As Fertiizer, It not a New Idea?

[bluebell]

TV programme last night showed sea weed being used as a "organic" fertilizer and could be a new idea/product for commercial growers? Well yet again school boy history shows that sea weed has, was used as fertiizer for many hundreds of years, in fact there are photos of horse and carts on beaches loading this up, question is maybe its the tractors, vehicles, with the energy, fuel they use thats wrong and horse power and human muscles should load cart, spread it?

 

[yellowbelly]

Then there's the perceived 'environmental' damage caused by removing it

IIRC, that's why Calcified Cornish Seaweed is no longer available - we got accused of wrecking the planet by using it.

 

[collie]

seeweed is a very good fertiliser unfortunately there is that much rubbish and plastic debris mixed in with it that it’s no longer viable to use

 

[Exfarmer]

Then there's the perceived 'environmental' damage caused by removing it

IIRC, that's why Calcified Cornish Seaweed is no longer available - we got accused of wrecking the planet by using it.

I think the Cornish calcified sea weed is actually coral and mining it was a serious mistake for the seabed, due to the good that corl does in the marine environment

 

[collie]

what we used to do was collect the washed up weed from the beach that’s where all the rubbish is now mixed in

 

[Cocomac]

They still use seaweed in the western isles for fertiliser , see pictures of them with the tractors and spreaders getting loaded on the beach at times

 

[yellowbelly]

I think the Cornish calcified sea weed is actually coral and mining it was a serious mistake for the seabed, due to the good that corl does in the marine environment

Ah, I see now.
From the name then, I assume seaweed eventually transforms, somehow, into coral?

 

[DrWazzock]

My ancestors in the Western Isles used seaweed and fish guts to fertilise a bit of land for cereal growing hundreds of years ago. It’s not exactly a new idea.

 

[Exfarmer]

Ah, I see now.
From the name then, I assume seaweed eventually transforms, somehow, into coral?

seaweed and coral are both weird life forms in that every cell in them is a creature in its own right, but they group together for mutual benefit.
Corals are a completely different species to sea weeds though. Fertiliser made from them is effectively lime with some other micro nutrients. However due to the structure of the material has other benefits than straight liming would have on its own.
Seaweed has been recognised as a fertiliser particularly on soils low in potash but its organic nature means like other manures their are benefits beyond the straight forward mineral analysis, though sadly many sales people try to attribute many properties which go above and beyond any provable benefit

 

[Kidds]

Use it regularly and have done for decades

 

[nick...]

I'm sure we used to use seaweed extract on milling wheat in the early 90s.anyone else remember anything about this
nick...

 

[Exfarmer]

I'm sure we used to use seaweed extract on milling wheat in the early 90s.anyone else remember anything about this
nick...

it was really good for blocking nozzles

 

[DrWazzock]

I'm sure we used to use seaweed extract on milling wheat in the early 90s.anyone else remember anything about this
nick...

Yes I can remember that. Like many things it came and went.

 

[nick...]

it was really good for blocking nozzles

Can't remember that.my dad done all the spraying as it allways made me nauseous and feel ill
nick...

 

[Exfarmer]

Can't remember that.my dad done all the spraying as it allways made me nauseous and feel ill
nick...

that was probably Dimethoate , evil stuff!

 

[Exfarmer]

Yes I can remember that. Like many things it came and went.

That is the trouble when a product is oversold by over enthusiastic salesmen on a commission.
Another issue one of the products sold heavily ( cannot remember the name ) included quite a dose of nitrogen to ensure that the leaf turned a lot darker green. It was not possible to show any yield response beyond the nitrogen boost in a crop which had been fertilised to the hilt such as potatoes.
I would certainly not argue that it does not have good properties

 

[Dry Rot]

My ancestors in the Western Isles used seaweed and fish guts to fertilise a bit of land for cereal growing hundreds of years ago. It’s not exactly a new idea.

Yes, "lazy beds" for potatoes and liming by spreading shell sand from the machar. I think there used to be a grant for doing the work for reseeding the moor (then the deer would come in and he crofter could legitimately shoot marauders! Win! Win! That probably doesn't go down well today!

 

[PSQ]

I think the Cornish calcified sea weed is actually coral and mining it was a serious mistake for the seabed, due to the good that corl does in the marine environment

I occasionally find lumps of fossilised coral on the farm.
It's either been brought in as moraine from a glacier and deposited sporadically, or it's been brought in as 'marl' (primitive form of liming from many years ago) and spread to 'improve the land'. If it's the latter then they really should have had a word with the supplier, because the lumps range from golf ball sized to football sized, and certainly wouldn't conform to a sieve test for 'The Fertiliser Regulations', tut tut.

 

[Bogweevil]

TV programme last night showed sea weed being used as a "organic" fertilizer and could be a new idea/product for commercial growers? Well yet again school boy history shows that sea weed has, was used as fertiizer for many hundreds of years, in fact there are photos of horse and carts on beaches loading this up, question is maybe its the tractors, vehicles, with the energy, fuel they use thats wrong and horse power and human muscles should load cart, spread it?

Is this the Scottish fella who is composting seaweed to make a soil improved for sale to gardeners - widely publicised at the moment? Useful story for viewers fed up with election news. It will fade into obscurity soon enough.

 

[vantage]

The seaweed is grown off the coast here on long ropes that is reseeded every third crop, harvesting nutrients that are washed into the sea from many sources! I’m sure the industry will grow massively if the cost can be kept under control.