A day at the sea

[Odsox]

Well about an hour all told.
We went and got 2 more trailer loads of seaweed.
Thanks to the storm system that's been off the west coast for about a week, there are literally tons of seaweed washed up. We got 2 trailer loads on Thursday as well (rained yesterday) and so we now have about 2 cubic metres of the stuff.
I need to spread it now to see if I have enough. I want to cover the (mainly) fallow east polytunnel beds to a depth of 6" or so, plus the veg garden the same, and as much as I can tuck around the growing plants in the west polytunnel.
So I may well have to get some more, but I'm sure there will be more storms to oblige.

It was lovely down there today, calm sunny 18 degrees, but no time for sand castles.

[Green Aura]

Do you wash it first, Tony, or is the rain sufficient. We've gathered seaweed (not this year yet) but soak it overnight so as not to salinate the soil.

[diggernotdreamer]

I never wash my seaweed, I just shred it up and put it into a barrel with water and let it break down into seaweed concentrate, or the other stuff that I shred up I put straight onto the ground, usually round the cabbages as they don't mind a little bit of salt. Would there be enough salt to do any damage?

[Odsox]

No I don't bother too much. It's dumped on the sloped concrete apron of the garage and Thursday's lot got rained upon and today's lot probably will before I get around to spreading it.
I spread it on the tunnel bed and turn on the overhead sprinklers for half an hour and then cover the lot with tarpaulin. Then it should be well rotted by spring.

[Flo]

Good heavens and there was me thinking that you went to sea for the sheer fun of it not for a lot of hard labour.

[Odsox]

Good heavens and there was me thinking that you went to sea for the sheer fun of it not for a lot of hard labour.

I did watch our dog trying to chase the swans if you're looking for fun

Regarding salt, I was looking at other sites and as one pointed out, sea water itself is fairly high in trace elements (that's where the seaweed gets it from), so unless your land is naturally saline it apparently does no harm and may actually do some good.... allegedly.

[Green Aura]

I know it's fairly high in Magnesium but I'd read elsewhere about washing it. So, as usual, it's a choice issue.