Using Seaweed as fertilizer

Strawberry bed with new seaweed addition

I was away on my holidays in Lahinch Co. Clare and decided to bring back a bit of the beach with me. I have been reading for years on the benefits of seaweed fertilizer so I decided to give it a go.

Some of the benefits of Seaweed fertilizer:

• Saves water, keeps soil moist at ground level
• Eliminates the need to weed
• Repels slugs and other pests
• Enriches the soil
• Boosts lethargic plants
• Helps lighten the soil
• Does not contain weed seeds, unlike bark mulch

 I collected 3 bags of seaweed once the tide had gone out. I put those bags of seaweed on 2 of my strawberry beds (as they have just finished fruiting) -  the other I left to do another day, please don't leave seaweed for any length in bags, the stench a day later is intolerable! 

Lahinch beach with the tide in

I had always read how quickly it composts down, but couldn't believe the changes in just a week - see photos below. What was a good mulching of about 4 inches was reduced down to powdery thin covering. I can see now why they recommend doing 2 coverings. Now I just need to head back to the beach.

After one week

Close up

Some links I found useful details about using seaweed as fertilizer:

http://eartheasy.com/blog/2010/09/how-to-use-seaweed-to-mulch-your-garden/
http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/seaweed-fertilizer.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaweed_fertiliser