Seaweed collecting expedition

The weather fronts in November have brought us a lot of rain but they have also washed up lots of seaweed on the beaches. Around 500 species of seaweed occur in Irish seas and all are good for adding minerals, nutrients and organic matter to the vegetable plot. Seaweed is rich in trace elements not found in manure or compost and helps build up resistance to disease in the soil. Plus, it seems that worms love it.

Here in East Clare, the nearest convenient beach to collect seaweed is Quilty. It's possible to park practically on the beach. A few years ago, pre-COVID, a group of community gardeners took a trip there and loaded up a trailer. Needless to say the trip involved a picnic as well. And it's a great place to let your dog run as long as you don't mind sand in your car.

We've revisited Quilty several times since that community trip to collect seaweed for our plot. We've found that filling buckets and bringing them to the car where we empty the seaweed into strong plastic sacks is easiest on our backs.

Back in the community garden we transfer the sacks to the wheelbarrow to take them down to the garden.

There's no need to wash salt or sand off the seaweed before adding it to your vegetable plot as it's not present in sufficient amounts to have a negative effect on plants or soil and as salt is super soluble it soon dissolves and leaches away. The long flat strands of kelp can also be used to make kelp tea. When sprayed on plants it deters insects. Worth a try.

And, lastly, although the time for planting potatoes is a few months away yet, when that time does come, seaweed is a fantastic fertiliser.