You may have noticed that I use seaweed Extract like it's a religion. I’m obsessed with it. I have to admit that this obsession began early in my home growing journey with advertisements that promised me a boost in yields, resistance to disease and pest, and improved taste & aroma.
As a new grower, this was all they had to say for me to hand them my hard earned money. Nutrient companies have a funny way of over simplifying things, don’t they?
It wasn't until much later in my growing journey that I found out how Seaweed extract works to make my plant do all those great things the advertisement originally sold me on.
Let's start with the obvious. Seaweed extract contains over 70 trace minerals. These minerals include calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron. Yes! They are in small amounts but are also very bioavailable, which means your plant can absorb and use them quickly.
Seaweed also has large amounts of auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, abscisic acid and brassinosteroid. These are natural plant hormones responsible for plant growth. Now that we have the obvious out the way, let’s get to the good stuff, (as if that wasn't good e nough already).
The organic matter, Amino acids , carbohydrates and humic acids in the seaweed extract can improve the physical qualities of soil. It does this by improving structure, texture, water holding capacity, and microbial population in the soil.
Need another reason? Studies from Washington state have even found a low amount of diluted seaweed extract foliar sprayed on leaves can act to prevent some pests
Liquid Seaweed usually does not have much of an NPK value so it shouldn't be used as the only mineral source. There are however some Seaweed extracts that include NPK, usually derived from organic sources. A good example of this is Neptune's Harvest Fish Seaweed Blend.
Maxi Crop Liquid Seaweed has been around for a long time. This is always a safe go to for me
Grow More Seaweed Extract is another classic.
But the number one brand I like to use is Blue Planet Nutrients Liquid Seaweed.
