The Many Benefits of Liquid Kelp Fertilizer
Liquid kelp fertilizer is a secret weapon of gardeners and farmers worldwide. It boosts root growth, increases flowering rates, and maximizes vegetable size. Learn what it is and how to use it in this guide by Epic Gardening Founder Kevin Espiritu.
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Liquid kelp fertilizer is a natural alternative to artificial fertilizers. It’s typically made without any by-products or environmentally damaging chemicals. The seaweed used to produce kelp fertilizer is harvested sustainably too, making it an ideal eco-friendly plant food.
It usually comes in a concentrate that needs to be diluted depending on the plant it is applied to. For instance, the fertilizer applied to a lawn would be much more diluted than that applied to a houseplant.
Kelp fertilizer is so effective and reliable that it’s used on professional golf courses and football fields across the country. A little bit of this concentrated fertilizer goes a long way in your garden.
How is Kelp Fertilizer Made?
The most commonly harvested kelp is Ascophyllum nodosum, found in the Atlantic Ocean in the cold northern waters. The kelp is collected and then washed with fresh water to remove salt. Once it is completely dried, it is turned into a powder.
It must be at peak cytokinin levels to be effective as a fertilizer. Cytokinins are the growth hormones that enable cell division and turnover rates for rapid plant growth and development.
The Benefits of Kelp Fertilizer
Liquid kelp benefits your plants at any stage of growth. Studies have found that soaking seeds in seaweed extract reduces transplant shock, improves root growth, and boosts the plant’s overall survival rate.
But that’s not the only use. Some of the other benefits are:
- Increased fruit and vegetable size
- Increased flower production
- Increased resistance to disease
- Better root growth, both in rate and root mass
- Fruits and vegetables last longer after harvesting
Using kelp fertilizer is not only a good idea because feeds your crops. It also encourages plants to draw nutrients from the soil more effectively. You’re adding nutrients to the soil and improving their uptake at the same time.
How to Use Liquid Kelp
Many chemical fertilizers tell you to to distribute directly onto the soil. However, many plants also absorb their nutrients through their leaves, thus benefiting more from foliar application.
Kelp fertilizer is typically applied to the leaves in a diluted mixture with a spray bottle. As the plant absorbs the sunlight, it will absorb the foliar application as well. While you can apply a kelp extract directly to your soil or growing medium, applying directly to the leaves is typically more effective.
It is best to use a non-ionic surfactant prior to treating with the fertilizer. That’s just a fancy word for a substance that reduces the surface tension of a liquid. This means your foliar application won’t form water beads and simply roll off your plant’s leaves. Instead, it will saturate the entire leaf surface and increase nutrient absorption.
Liquid kelp can also be used with hydroponic systems to preserve the life of seedlings. The kelp extract ensures that the water bed is fit for growing before it is able to host the growth-necessary bacteria (which takes roughly 4-6 weeks to form).
Should you find your plants beginning to wilt or lose their color, adding the recommended amount of kelp extract will improve the health and appearance of the plants within a day.
There are truly no downsides to using a kelp fertilizer. The product is eco-friendly, sustainably sourced, fairly easy to use, cost-efficient, and yields consistent and amazing results for your garden, no matter how big or small.
