Soil is vital for every life form. It is a vital part of ecosystem. Plants need soil to grow. All animals directly or indirectly eat plants or plant products to survive. When soil is so important, it needs to be carefully prepared before planting the seeds or saplings in order to enable them to grow stronger, healthier and bear much quality fruits. But, over the time, soil loses its natural vitality; essential nutrients and fertility due to repetitive or overuse and erosion. Soil needs to be replenished or nourished to help it regain its fertility. It can be restored to its original condition by using fertilizers. Fertilizer is a chemical or natural substance added to soil to increase its fertility. We find basically two types of fertilizers such as; chemical fertilizers and natural fertilizers. We know how chemical fertilizers have their bad effects on soil, environment, plants, animals and humans. Among the natural or organic fertilizers, seaweed or kelp fertilizer is considered to be the best.
Seaweed has been used in many places for thousands of years. Seaweeds have been harvested for food, fertilizer and medicine in different parts of the world at least in coastal areas. However, it is only around 30 years ago; scientists have started to understand why it is such a useful product for crops and especially vegetables. It not only helps to promote healthy growth and vigour in your plants but also helps to improve plants’ resistance to insect and fungal attacks. It is also found that seaweed helps reduce stress in plants as it makes them more tolerant of heat and frost. Hence, they opine that it is a balanced product for it contains not only many trace elements but also amino acids, nutrients, vitamins and other vital resources. Of late it has been gaining popularity as an excellent natural organic fertilizer among farmers and gardeners.
Kelp is a type of seaweed that is harvested in the oceans or along the shore from seaweed that washes ashore. Loaded with essential ingredients such as nitrogen, phosphorous, sulfur and potassium, it strengthens soil, allowing plants to become healthier. It also helps accelerate growth and increase flowering and fruiting. People love to compost plant materials such as grass clippings, leaves, vegetable peels and leftovers to create a rich organic fertilizer in their backyards. However, out of all the plant material available, there is no such thing as seaweed or kelp fertilizer which can be used as natural organic fertilizer. Reasons are not far to see as to why it has been so popular among gardeners.
Main reason of advantage of it being in demand is that it is abundantly available as bioactivator. Bioactivators are organic materials that help break down other materials easily. They enhance the soil structure by breaking down remains of plants into absorbable chemical components and thereby make it easy for plants to use them for their growth and development. We know plants need three major elements like nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium to survive, and kelp fertilizer is found to have a little more potassium than other fertilizers, besides other elements, which helps plants develop strong roots. Adding organic materials to your soil helps to condition the soil and make it healthy for your plants. As a result of which helpful bacteria in the soil also find it easy to thrive and cause the soil to form hummus which allows for better aeration, moisture retention and drainage. There is little doubt that soil with such good characteristics is sure to improve seed germination and will allow plants to develop healthy root system. We know that extensive roots yield abundant fruits, flowers and healthier foliage. People living in coastal areas collect kelp directly from the sea shores. Fresh kelp can be blended directly into the soil. Kelp fertilizer also can be applied as liquid fertilizer through sprayers and drip irrigation system. Fruits and vegetables grown in the garden using kelp fertilizers are quite different from the ones grown using chemical fertilizers, as they do not contain any harmful chemicals.