Not only is this quick and easy to prepare ahead of time, it's practically instant once you've pre-made the Hydrated Kelp meal.
I could go on and on about how kelp meal is a must have for your garden but I think you already know that. Just in case, I'll hit a few key points.
Kelp contains: NPK along with over 60 micronutrients. Plus Alginic acid, Mannitol, Cytokinins, Indoles, Hormones, Auxins and Gibberellins.
There are MANY "liquid" seaweed nutrient bottles and they aren't nearly as good as this easy DIY solution.
Here are the instructions Per Coot:
Take 1/4 cup of kelp meal and cover that with about 1/2 cup of water and let it completely re-hydrate. Once that is done then pour off any excess water and use that for a kelp meal tea.
Take the hydrated kelp meal and puree it as much as possible to make a kelp meal paste. You'll want to do this in small batches and store in the refrigerator in the coldest place which is usually in a corner.
When you need to apply a kelp meal tea than add about 2 tsp. to 1 gallon of water, shake until it's completely dispersed and this is a safe concentration for spraying the leaves and you would probably want to double that amount to apply to the soil.
That's it!
Coot
Great step by step with pictures. I must say this is the first time I have come across the hydration method. So which worked better between the Eco-Nutrients liquid and the ASL Seaweed Extract? He mentioned he noticed a major difference but never mentioned which product showed the difference.
thanks alot for this guys !! made this a few weeks ago and it definitely rocks. i also use the alfalfa / kelp tea and was wondering the same thing roger was. could this method be used with alfalfa meal as well to achieve the same thing ?? would be cool to have rehydrated alfalfa
Very informative article. Great step by step instructions and pictures, very easy to understand.
Good article. I wonder if you could do this with other dried plant? Like maybe alfalfa meal.
Think I will give it a go. The kelp works great like this.
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If you have been reading about cultivating indoors with organic soil then you've heard of SubCool's Super Soil. I admit to starting with this mix and thought I was really doing something special when I first went for it. I bought all the stuff and was really excited to use it.
My results were actually pretty good, but I've since moved on I think you should too.
Besides the "base soil" being purchased instead of made from scratch, I have many other issues. All in all this taking bagged soil and adding worm castings and nutrients isn't a bad idea, but it can be improved upon and money can be saved.
Here is the Recipe: 8 large bags of a high-quality organic potting soil with coco fiber and mycorrhizae (i.e., your base soil) 25 to 50 lbs of organic worm castings 5 lbs steamed bone meal 5 lbs Bloom bat guano 5 lbs blood meal 3 lbs rock phosphate ¾ cup Epson salts ½ cup sweet lime (dolomite) ½ cup azomite (trace elements) 2 tbsp powdered humic acid
Now I'll go through each item: Read more.....
Dean Ousterhout
October 26, 2020
How did you derive the recipe and concentration of kelp material to water? We put 2 cups of kelp meal in a stocking and put it into 25 gallons of water…. ran a pump for 48 hours that stirred the water and hopefully hydrated the water. the color and smell are amazing… like being at the ocean.
Then, we used 12.5 gallons of this kelp tea and added another 37.5 gallons to make a 50 gallon batch. I guess you would say that this equated to 1 cup of kelp meal per 50 gallons of tea. We then pumped this liquid into the plant beds and sprayed the foliage.
Now the question is… Is the concentration right? What is “right”? What to do with the remaining hydrated kelp? Apply in the garden soil? Use your suggestion and puree and then add back to water?
I am looking for more information so any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
vty,
Dean Ousterhout