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Seaweed
- no weed seeds
If your garden
display is lacking in oomph, think seaweed. The ocean’s
slimy harvest will help put the bloom back into your
borders, writes David Riebold.
When
I used to commute from Haria to Puerto Del Carmen,
I generally took the
quiet route past San Bartolome. However, if the weather
was particularly windy or stormy I’d go via Tahiche
and the PDC sea front (you could drive the length of
the strip in those days). This wasn’t in order
to sulk at those lucky enough to have free time while
I had to work, but rather to look out for any seaweed
that had been washed ashore.
You have to get up fairly early to find a haul of this
precious compost material – the beach cleaners
have it all shifted away by 10am. What they do with
it I never found out. As far as I know there is still
no municipal composting scheme on the island, so I
guess it all ends up in the soon-to-overflow dump at
Zonzamas. What a waste! Seaweed is the perfect organic
fertilizer. It will put heart into your garden whether
added directly to the soil or as an ingredient in your
compost heap. And unlike other plant-based compost
it cannot add any weed seeds!
Salt warning
In the north of the island the prevailing winds blow
inland. Not only does this mean that kids don’t
lose their beach balls as often as on southern beaches,
but it can also result in clumps of seaweed washing
up at high tides. Beware of these: unless freshly
deposited it is likely to be encrusted with salt.
Even fresh stuff needs a rinse with the hosepipe
to remove salt and odours. NEVER remove seaweed attached
to shoreline rocks. Doing so will doom the countless
tiny organisms depending on it for food and shelter.
Seaweed seems to have a special quality that many
other soil additives lack. Various experts suggest
this may
be due to rare trace elements, plant hormones or even
that its effect is indirect; feeding beneficial soil
bacteria which keep plants healthy. Whatever the explanation,
it seems to increase a plant’s resistance to
pests, especially aphids and red spider mite. Sick
roses and grapevines will be particularly appreciative.
Super bugs
In terms of nutrient content, seaweed is as rich as
farmyard manure, but without the stink or the danger
of any harmful germs. This reminds me of something
I’ve recently read about those deadly antibiotic-resistant
bugs (e.g. MRSA) now plaguing UK hospitals. It seems
likely that these arose because of non-organic farmers
who boost their profit margins by routinely adding
antibiotics (only available on prescription to humans!)
to the feed of healthy animals. This mad practice
inevitably creates new, antibiotic-resistant, strains
of bacteria – a textbook example of evolution
in action and very powerful evidence in favour of
organic farming practices.
Excuse that digression – to return to the subject
of seaweed, if you can cram enough into the boot of
your car you might try making a ‘lazy bed’.
Pile it up and mix with layers of sand or soil - perfect
for growing potatoes. Exactly how you use it depends
on how dry it is likely to get. It retains water very
well and I have found it effective for stabilising
embankments, but unless used in a very shady spot it
is probably best to dig it in to prevent it blowing
about as it dries.
Given that most of us live in parts of the island where
the soil is very poor it seems sensible to look further
afield than our own kitchen and garden waste for compost
material. Seaweed doesn’t get washed up all the
time, but your local bar probably chucks out buckets
of coffee grounds every week – a very rich composting
material that mixes well with waste cardboard.
Keep on composting! |
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