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Many gardeners are unfamiliar with the beneficial properties of kelp, more commonly known as seaweed. This is unfortunate as seaweed can do much to improve your soil and make your garden more vigorous and healthy. This page lists in a very brief summary form some of the more important qualities of kelp. These benefits are summarized from the findings of two classic books on the role of seaweed in plant growth. They are: Seaweed and Plant Growth by Dr. T. Senn of Clemson University and Seaweed in Agriculture and Horticulture by W. A Stephenson, a pioneer in the seaweed industry.
- Kelp contains over 70 trace elements utilized by your plants
- Seaweed contains cytokinins which are important plant growth regulators that control plant cell division and growth
- Cytokinins are especially important in late spring and early summer when your plants are changing from a vegetative growth stage to a mature plant with flowers and fruit
- Cytokinins aid in slowing plant senescence which is the gradual deterioration of plant cells and tissue effectively ending the plant's functional life
- Kelp stimulates soil bacteria to release plant nutrients already found in your soil
- Research has shown that cytokinins directly affects the ability of plant roots to absorb nutrients
- Seaweed contains a plant sugar called mannitol which aids in releasing trace elements in your soil making them available to your plants
- Seaweed increases a plant's stem strength and its ability to withstand wind and rain
- Seaweed also helps your plants deal with the stresses of drought, high temperatures, and frost
- Plants often need the micronutrients of kelp in amounts greater that your soil may provide
- A plant's requirement for trace elements can be met by a low concentration of kelp solution applied the plant leaves
- When your soil limits the amount of nutrients your plants can absorb through roots, foliar spraying seaweed solutions can be very effective in producing a faster plant response
- Research has shown that kelp solutions applied to plant leaves produces a physiological response greater than can be explained by a chemical analysis of the solution's ingredient
- Kelp solutions has increased the germination rates of many seeds
- Seaweed extracts applied to plants has been shown to increase the shelf life of fruits and vegetables
- The starches, sugars, and carbohydrates in kelp have chelating properties making the minerals contained in seaweed available to plants. Chelating is the process that combines minerals with organic molecules such as starch and sugar to make minerals available to plants
- Sea water contains quantities of all known elements which are constantly being replenished from leaching and runoff from from land to the ocean
- Seaweed does not have any major nutritional deficiencies as it lives in the stable, rich nutrient solution of sea water
- The best times to apply a foliar solution of seaweed are early morning, late afternoon or early evening to avoid high temperature periods which may inhibit nutrient absorption
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