Organic seaweed growth stimulant.

Hi taty Most gardeners feed toms liquid /comfrey/seaweed feed when the fisrt truss has set to  start fruiting thats the way i usually do it Darren

If you're using ordinary multi-purpose compost to grow your seedlings in, the rule of thumb is that the nutrients will last for up to 6 weeks. As I've mentioned here on previous occasions, I'm not sure that can always be relied upon these days, and I for one will be mixing in a little Growmore to the mix at the final planting out stage.

As far as I'm concerned a 'growth stimulant' is a posh name for a liquid fertiliser - if you think your plants look a bit pale and weak despite having enough warmth and light, I'd definitely go for an occasional well-diluted feed (but nowhere near as often as you would feed after the fruit start to set.)

Thanks Darren.
I usually only start "proper" feeding after the first truss has set. I just wondered if this seaweed extract stuff would just give small seedlings a little bit of a leg up without actually feeding.

What you do not want is a lot of leafy growth before any flowers, which additional feeding is likely to produce.

Seaweed extract? What nutrients does it contain? The label on the bottle will, I bet, go on about trace elements and easy availability, but with a smokescreen about any chemical analysis. Trials invariably show very little. Sales are made on muck and magic. It is a natural organic product so it must be good.

Use it at about 10ml  per 5 litre for seeds and young seedlings going up to 20ml as they get older. I've been using it for a few years and ii certainly makes a difference leaves darker green and about 4 or 5 inches taller at the 4' mark. me and a mate did experiments with different varieties and these results were very consistent.

I was trying to find info about this very question recently and came across this: http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Seaweed%20extracts.pdf

Seaweed extract? What nutrients does it contain? The label on the bottle will, I bet, go on about trace elements and easy availability, but with a smokescreen about any chemical analysis. Trials invariably show very little. Sales are made on muck and magic. It is a natural organic product so it must be good.

The bottle gives no indication of what is in it, which seems strange. I think it's maxicrop. All it gives is dilution rates for different applications. Can be used as a seed soak before planting seeds, so it shouldn't hurt to give established seedlings a little slurp.