Liquid seaweed (kelp) and nothing else?

[dilvish]

Has anyone tried growing with just one nutrient?

I have read a number of articles online indicating that Liquid Sea Kelp is really all you need if growing in soil.

I'm thinking of doing an outdoor grow this summer. Directly in the soil, no pots and just watering with diluted Liquid Sea Kelp.

I'm in BC, Canada and the soil in my yard grows pretty much anything and everything.

I wanted some input first because it may lead to indoor grows with just soil and sea kelp. I've used GH Trio for almost every grow but I am starting to think that they have passed their shelf life...I have the one litre bottles and have been using them since 2018 (I typically only grow 6 plants per year). They got exposed to some pretty warm temps in the house last year (25C in a dark room for at least 3 days) so I think they may be toast.

I have been using Liquid Sea Kelp to grow wheat and oat grass for my cat (we both love "grass") and it seems to make the grass grow faster and better than just plain water (in soil). It is also recommended for better growth considering these types of cereal grasses don't need or use a lot of sunlight to grow.

Anyway I guess I'd like to know if anyone has at least tried to grow with just Liquid sea kelp (like the "Bud Juice" base).

[Tone3000]

25C isn't that warm. I think I'd like a 25C room because I'm always cold and trying to turn up the thermostat. If it was 30C+, you might have some worries about heat degradation but 3 days at 25C won't have any impact. Given that they are four years old, however, it might be a different story, but probbly not because they are not organic nutrients.

I have no idea about sea kelp, sorry, I just thought I'd put your nutrient worries to rest.

[crucialbunny]

I have been using powdered Norwegian brown kelp in my soil and use it to make a tea for my plants. Much more cost effective to make it yourself I think. I've never tried using it as my only nutrient. I usually mix worm castings and molasses with it.

[Gingerbeard]

On my stretch of beach, we call seaweed and seagrass 'turd catchers'. Sometimes 'medical waste catchers'. Depends on the weather and Tijuana's medical waste disposal corruption supervisor.

[Cali]

From what I’ve gathered over my very little to none research on kelp I believe all kelp products are not equal, is the only plant to accumulate all the elements on the chart, I think all of them if not for sure what a plant needs to grow oh actually not the sodium so not all the elements. If you buy kelp made with what Gingerbeard is talking about then no good but there is “cleaner” kelp I use Thorvin kelp meal. I believe you can grow a plant with just kelp but remember diversity is key. This only applies to the products out of Acadian Seaplants, Ltd. (ASL) in Nova Scotia. They produce the overwhelming majority of kelp meal used in North America for agriculture and livestock.
Kelp meals are made by solar-drying the kelp which takes several weeks. At this point the kelp is cut in machinery using a series of long blades which results in a dark product with some flashes of lighter color (the inside of the kelp) - much like coarse ground pepper....
...There are a couple of liquid products that you might run across. One product is manufactured in South Africa called KELPAK. This product is extracted from the kelp plant using a mechanical method, i.e. the juice of the kelp is pressed out. This product is completely clear and completely free of any plant material.
There are 2 products manufactured on the West Coast. Eco-Nutrients in Northern California has a liquid product that uses a fermentation process. Another product out of British Columbia, KelpGrow, is also a semi-fermented process. I can't recommend either of these products. I used the Eco-Nutrients' product for about 9 months. I went to replace it and the store was out and waiting for a new shipment and I bought a few lbs. of the ASL Seaweed Extract product and within a couple of weeks it was clear that there was a major difference in the effect on the plants using the powdered extract vs. the liquid products.
I played with KELPAK a couple of years ago and never re-ordered.
One caution about harvesting kelp along the shore and that is both Maxicrop and Acadian Seaplants harvest in the deep cold waters in the North Atlantic - an area that has less pollutants than say Long Beach, California.
The benefit of using kelp meal is it's full range of minerals necessary for plant health. Kelp absorbs the minerals into it's branches and leaves easily from the seawater. That's the good thing - it also will absorb pollutants as well. In Japan and China kelp is grown in bays where you find commercial oyster operations. The kelp is there to remove as many pollutants as possible to provide the purest seawater possible to grow these oysters.
HTH
CC
EDIT: The only element that kelp does NOT absorb from seawater is Sodium. There will be salt on the external skin but that is removed by washing prior to the drying process.
And MORE:
Different varieties of marine algae have very different nutrient levels which are charted here for easy comparison.

The main 2 compounds in kelp that have received the most study and research as far as plants are concerned is Alginic acid and Mannitol and as you can see not all marine algae contain this.

That doesn't imply that they wouldn't be beneficial - they can. In different ways. Look at that different levels of Potassium for example. Even Mannitol levels show a wide diversity.

A couple of books you might find helpful...........

Seaweed & Plant Growth - Dr. T.L. Senn

Dr. Senn spent over 55 years researching kelp meal and extracts in horticulture and agriculture. This book is self-published and the layout and overall design absolutely sucks. But if you can get past the layout the information is deep and wide. A lot of his research is available at various web sites. You might want to start looking at Clemson University in South Carolina which is where Dr. Senn was based and worked.

Seaweed in Agriculture and Horticulture - W. A. Stephenson

Bill Stephenson is the founder of Maxicrop in Great Britain. This book was written in 1968 and is available new or used. In this book, Stephenson looks at the initial modern research into these algae beginning at the end of WWI at Oxford University. Here's a chapter from the book if you're interested.

[dilvish]

Wow...that was a lot, Thank You, but didn't really answer the question which was can it be used as the ONLY nutrient and has anybody ever tried it as a solo product with any success. I understand the benefits of using it but I was considering using only it for a grow.

[Gingerbeard]

This still doesn't answer your question.
Around here, some of the old Asian and Mexican women who have gardens will use dried kelp from the beaches to help amend the natural dirt. They wash, clean, and dry their own.

[Tone3000]

dilvish can you link some of the articles you saw on using only sea kelp?

[Cali]

Yes, meaning if you have read papers that say you can then there is your answer. If you understand the benefits of kelp mea vs kelp extract you should be looking for the highest quality kelp meal. What you read tells you clearly it has NPK and also all the trace minerals that cannabis or any plant needs to grow. To answer your question directly, No I have not grown a plant with just kelp but after I mix my soil all I do is water with plain H2O or hydrated kelp meal tea. So I guess you can say I was using just kelp? Besides what is already in my soil. For example you say your soil will grow anything where you are I’m 💯 sure you can grow you plants with just adding water with kelp extract/meal tea. The kelp will just be like food for microbes and will be available for your roots instantly.

[Cali]

Yes, meaning if you have read papers that say you can then there is your answer. If you understand the benefits of kelp mea vs kelp extract you should be looking for the highest quality kelp meal. What you read tells you clearly it has NPK and also all the trace minerals that cannabis or any plant needs to grow. To answer your question directly, No I have not grown a plant with just kelp but after I mix my soil all I do is water with plain H2O or hydrated kelp meal tea. So I guess you can say I was using just kelp? Besides what is already in my soil. For example you say your soil will grow anything where you are I’m 💯 sure you can grow you plants with just adding water with kelp extract/meal tea. The kelp will just be like food for microbes and will be available for your roots instantly.

[TenTonBrick]

dilvish I'm planning to just use a kelp based Liquid Nutrient. I haven't Started using it yet...I'm kinda nervous cuz everything seems to be going ok and I don't want to mess it up lol. I've got your basic miracle grow potting soil (I know it's not recommended , but it's what I got) I don't know how to link my post, but I am keeping track of my current grow on this site if you want to see how it goes for me

[dilvish]

derived from and actually is sea kelp are 2 different things IMHO. That brand appears to have helper nutrients in different bottles so although it may work, I'd reconsider just based on that item alone. The amount to use seems too low. The sea kelp I currently use for my cat grass is 5ml per litre where yours is 5ml per gallon so id say you are going to need something more. Honestly thugh I was looking to see if other seasoned growers had tried liquid kelp and nothing else so essentially you are in the same "boat" as me.

[click]

I used Miracle grow on my first grow which had four different strains. Two seemed to like it just fine (GelatoPie and Watermelon OG) but the other two definitely did not like it (Thai Haze and Chem Dawg). It was very difficult to keep the pH down (kept creeping up).

[TenTonBrick]

Well shoot, lol. I'll be reading up on that more I guess 🤓 it does say to use with a base fertilizer regimen and I don't have one really...I did have a small amount of organic compost mixed in the soil but that's about it.

[Cali]

Like I’ve already posted, kelp meal sun dried has everything you need. Best way is try it with one plant and tell us how it went? I’m betting it works. Unless anyone here has done exactly what what asked no point in replying it looks like. Fuck it. It is what it is.