With Halloween in the rearview mirror and winter rapidly approaching, you may find yourself preparing your garden for the winter season. Some experts claim they have found a way to keep your soil healthy throughout the winter months, the solution is just lying on the beach. Seaweed has long been used in farming as a mulch for its high nutrient content, however, recently some farmers and seaweed experts have explained their success by adding seaweed to the soil before winter instead of springtime.
Seaweed has 16 or 17 different essential plant macro and micronutrients, including selenium manganese and iodine which are depleted soil and can get replenished through the seaweed. It also offers a little bit of nitrogen which will increase your soil’s water holding capacity. Some farmers claim, allowing seaweed to degrade over the winter is more effective than using it as mulch during the growing season. When it’s used fresh as a mulch, it can be too high in sodium. The residue from the sea salt and the concentrated salt can burn the plant if used as a fresh mulch. One of the best ways to take advantage of the mineral properties of seaweed in the garden is to apply it on top of raised garden beds after they are cleared and prepared for the winter.
It also turns out that the best time to collect seaweed on the beach is the end of Autumn through Fall. This is the period when the kelp begins to die back and become dislodged from the seafloor. When collecting seaweeds off the beach please check with your local regulatory office for collection laws and limitations.
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