Q&A for How to Use Seaweed in the Garden

It depends on what you're growing. If you want to grow organically, you will add quality compost and a little bit of nitrogen fertilizer. You don't need to add other things. If you're looking for a fertilizer that does everything, you want a balanced fertilizer. If you look at the front of the bag of fertilizer, there are three letters, NPK, representing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, along with their quantities, for example, 10-10-10 or 20-20-20. This is much more potent and a lot easier to over-apply. You have to be very careful. An organic fertilizer might look like 3-3-3 or 3-5-2. It's generally weaker and you have to generally apply more of it. What you apply is based on the requirements of your plants. Some plants want more fertilizer than others.

Basically, there are restrictions on the types of chemicals, the types of insecticides, and the types of fertilizers that a certified organic farm can use. Sometimes they are more earth conscious, so for example, certain pesticides would not be allowed on a certified organic farm. Usually, it's more natural, but not always. There are many exceptions and many instances where certified organic farms are less sustainable. It's not necessarily always true that certified organic farms are safer or more natural. It depends 100% on the ethics of the grower.

You can put kelp, or any seaweed, into a bucket or large glass jar and fill with water. Leave this in the sun, covered, for a few days and your ‘tea’ will be brewed. Use this as a foliar spray to deter insect pests, or apply directly to the soil around seedlings. Bear in mind that this concoction will smell bad, so be sure to store it downwind!

Seaweed will benefit your garden at any time of year, but it is especially useful as a mulch to protect plants during hot, dry weather.

You don't need to unless the smell bothers you.

If insecticides are needed, spray or dust the stems at their base. Start treatments when the vines begin to run, or when the first adult borers are detected. Repeat in seven to 10 days. Two applications help manage most squash vine borer adults.

Keep the seaweed in a water barrel and use sparingly. Take it from the barrel and spread it at the start of the next season and add fresh to the water barrel.