[gja1000]

Originally Posted by Marilyn

Liquid seaweed? Okay, where do I get this?

Yep, at the organic gardening store - and you can order it online if the store is out of business. Here's some information about liquid seaweed.

Seaweed

"Gatorade for the Garden." Seaweed has been used by farmers and gardeners for hundreds of years. Here at The Natural Gardener, we recommend it for helping transplants survive and prosper through transplant shock, for encouraging more blooms, for encouraging fruit set on tomatoes and other fruits, and for helping plants to resist diseases and pests. Research has proven that regular application of seaweed can help thwart powdery mildew fungus and the spider mite pest.

Nowadays, we don't have to risk life and limb going out into the frigid ocean waters to collect our own seaweed: we can purchase it in a liquid or powdered concentrate from Maxicrop brand. From their website, www.maxicrop.co.uk, we learn the five principle effects of seaweed:

The complex range of compounds found within our seaweed extracts can help reduce nematode damage.
Specific carbohydrates in our seaweed extracts serve as a source of food for beneficial and benign soil bacteria.
Soil and foliar application of our seaweed extract will result in greater maintenance of chlorophyll, leading to greener plants.
Applied to plants that can cold acclimatize, seaweed extract initiates or speeds up the acclimatization process.
Regular applications to the foliage of plants induce Localized Acquired Resistance. (This means they can resist diseases and other stresses).
In addition, we find the following guides to using Maxicrop seaweed:

Research has shown that to get the best results, Maxicrop needs to be applied in low doses but at regular intervals throughout the periods of active plant growth. Research has shown that plants that are regularly exposed to low levels of our seaweed extracts establish bigger and deeper roots and are faster growing.

To us, this means that ideally, we should foliar feed our plants with seaweed — in the early morning or late evening — one to four times a month. Especially during the stresses of summer and winter, see how seaweed can make your garden glow! While this will not help a tomato plant survive a freeze, it will help cold weather plants, perennials, shrubs, etc. go through cold snaps with less damage and faster recovery time. We absolutely love our seaweed.



Here is a great link about different organic products and what they do and how they can help your yard/garden/flowers/shrubs. http://www.naturalgardeneraustin.com...cts/index.html