Micronutrient sources?

[chalstonsc]

I think I recall that fish and/or seaweed emulsions can be used for supplying micronutrients to tomatoes. Can an expert(s) confirm and give recommendation(s)
of economical brands. Economical alternatives would also be helpful. Thanks.

Tom

[habitat_gardener]

Someone in another thread recommended getting packages of dried seaweed (not roasted or seasoned) from an Asian-foods store, adding one sheet to a gallon of water, and using it after a week (instead of buying the expensive liquid seaweed product).

[Sun City Linda]

Wow habitat, thanks. Neat idea, I will have to look into it.

[RayR]

I don't know what dried seaweed costs in an Asian food store or what species it is, but I would think you would need a ton of it to compare to the micronutrient content of a bottle of cold pressed Ascophyllum nodosum. I think I'll stay with my Seacom PGR, besides brewing dried seaweed tea sounds like too much work for the likes of me.

Blackstrap Molasses is also a good source of micronutrients—and cheap too!

[Tracydr]

What about just side dressing with alfalfa pellets? They are supposed to have lots of micronutrients, too. Plus, alfalfa and seaweed both work as a sort of "growth hormone" which is why I like either at transplant.

[habitat_gardener]

I get alfalfa at a local pet store. It's much cheaper than at the garden store. Just be sure to check the ingredients, since additives are used for some pet feed.

[chalstonsc]

Thanks for the responses. How much do you alfalfa folks use during a season?

[dustyrivergarden]

You might want to think about rock dust. http://remineralize.org/

[mdvpc]

Look at Azomite also.

[tuk50]

chalstonsc, I have a garden that is about 2000sq ft and I use about 15lbs of alfalfa pellets with planting in the spring and my climate is mild enough that I plant greens, leeks and garlic in the fall and use about another 5 lbs... It is sold here in Tucson at the feed stores in 50lb bags for about 17 dollars. I also use it in sprays by soaking a cup of pellets in 5gal of water along with a couple cups of compost and a few tablespoons of black strap molasses and I use the pellets around my fruit trees in the spring, so a 50lb sack lasts about 2 years. At least when my granddaughter doesn't use it all up for her horses... LOL.

[willyb]

I use Diatomaceous Earth for micronutrients. Contains:

Cobalt, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, selenium, zinc, calcium, chlorine, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulfur

50 cents a lb buying in a 50 lb bag

Not good for worms, if you have them in a container. Good control for other pests. Great water retention.

[bower]

This is how I make soluble seaweed from a bag of kelp. Collect a garbage bag full of seaweed and tie it shut. Leave it in the garden over winter. In the spring, open the bag and you will find a much smaller amount of odourless black powder or finely composted material that dissolves easily in water. Great for the plants, and free for the taking.

Last year I also found a specific seaweed that was easy to crumble when dry. The 'leaf' of seaweed looked like a cheese grater - full of holes. I don't know the name of this seaweed but I think it's a Laminaria. I collected a fair bit of it and crushed it up, and dug it into my container soil. I was turning the soil today, and couldn't find a shred of it, so I guess it was consumed. Most seaweed takes a full year to break down enough to be available to the plants.

[MarinaRussian]

Do you use the seaweed liquid to water or to spray the seedlings? and when can you first treat the seedlings?

[dice]

You can treat the seedlings anytime. I have mixed seaweed meal and
seaweed powder into the seedling grow media that I was potting up
sprouted seedlings into. I have also watered them with some diluted
liquid seaweed extract. No ill effects.

I have sprayed larger plants with it without problems. I expect it would be
ok to spray seedlings, too. (You can always test with a few test seedlings
if you have doubts.)

[stonysoilseeds]

i use maxi crop seaweed as a foliar spray and sidedress my plants with alfalfa meal that i buy at a feed mill seems to work well