[Janeymiddlewife]

I have gathered some fresh seaweed as i vaguely recall hearing it's very good for soil and I have some parts of my plot that are quite clayey.
I was thinking of digging it in where I'm going to plant spuds.
I assume it will need rinsing to remove salt, do I use it as a mulch, chop it up, or bury it?

[Trillium]

What I recall of past posts, you can add seaweed any way you feel it will work best. If you can get lots, chopping it up and mixing it into the soil should work well. I don't think folk bother to rinse it off as the salt content is minimal and won't hurt the soil.

[MOLUSC]

sea weed  is  rich in trace elements and micronutrients and has roughly the organic content as farm manure.
It must be rinsed or left out in the rain (not soaked) to remove the salt content.

[Janeymiddlewife]

See - that's what i love about this forum - completely conflicting advice , just like in the real world    
Glad it will be of some use anyway - any other opinions out there?

[Dabhand]

Not sure but are you allowed to remove it from the beach or is it illegal?  I had heard that you're not allowed to remove sand or seaweed to take home for personal or business use.  If it can be taken, I am a very happy bunny as I only live 4 miles from the sea.

[Janeymiddlewife]

Not sure but are you allowed to remove it from the beach or is it illegal?  I had heard that you're not allowed to remove sand or seaweed to take home for personal or business use.  If it can be taken, I am a very happy bunny as I only live 4 miles from the sea.

Oh dear - I'd better not let on where it was then - quite remote, only met one man walking a very friendly Staffy - he seemed quite bemused by the idea - and then let on he used to commute to Reading (where I live) every day - 110 miles or so from home and we bump into a "LOCAL"!
Will be interesting to see if anyone else knows the legality - seem to remember there was a similar thread about removing firewood a while back
Hey ho - Criminal record here we come

[Trillium]

Okay, I was mistaken about not rinsing it off. Here's another posting about it.

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=26459&highlight=seaweed

[johnathome]

Oh well,
I mentioned to a mate i was going to dig another bed (grass at the mo) and plant some spuds but i was a bit concerned about wireworm.

Heres what you wanna do, he said, get some seaweed, dig 2 spades deep and put it in. The seaweed stops the wireworm 'cos they dont like the salt.

Guess its up to you :roll:

[Dabhand]

[quote


Heres what you wanna do, he said, get some seaweed, dig 2 spades deep and put it in. The seaweed stops the wireworm 'cos they dont like the salt.

Guess its up to you :roll:[/quote]

Yeah and your jacket spuds are already salted ready for the oven.


 

[Janeymiddlewife]

Oh well,
I mentioned to a mate i was going to dig another bed (grass at the mo) and plant some spuds but i was a bit concerned about wireworm.

Heres what you wanna do, he said, get some seaweed, dig 2 spades deep and put it in. The seaweed stops the wireworm 'cos they dont like the salt.

Guess its up to you :roll:

Well that settles it then - mine is freshly dug over grass, so I'll leave it unwashed - might kill off a few slugs too :twisted:

[johndf1]

I live in Jersey and over here the farmers spread seaweed on their fields before planting early potatoes - it makes a great fertiliser.  They have been doing this for centuries so there is no problem with it.  I also use it for runner beans and when well decomposed for all sorts of other crops.

[Janeymiddlewife]

Buried the evidence today    - bloomin' hard work though as ground so hard - nearly broke the fork on some lumps of frozen clay, felt very virtuous! Here's to a fantastic crop of spuds :santa: