The Garden And The Sea, The Mermaid Gardening Method.

Recently I noticed the growing trend of using seaweed as mulch in gardens. This intrigued me. In the fall a lot of seaweed washes up on the beach and rots. It feeds thousands of tiny flies that swarm in little tornados and get stuck in your hair.

Seaweed keeps slugs away because of its salt content and the sharp edges it gets when it dries and hardens. It also helps with out of control weeds and keeps the soil moist. I recently created two beds and the grass is out of control. I weed it, but it won't stop pumping out lawn. I told it that it's not a lawn anymore, but it refuses to give up its wild nature for my garden plans. And I have to say I understand that.

Seaweed is an amazing fertilizer. It is rich in beneficial trace minerals and hormones that stimulate plant growth. It is high in carbohydrates which are an essential building block in growing plants. It is also low in cellulose so it breaks down fast. Because of all its great micronutrients, it will boost your lethargic plants.

One thing that excited me about seaweed, it helps break up dense soil. We are starting to build up our soil at our homestead. It is very dense and full of clay and low on nutrients. I can't wait to see the seaweed do its magic in my garden.

And last but not least.... ITS FREE!!!!

So off to my favorite beach to gather some ocean produce for my homestead.

When I arrive I see a ton of seaweed above the shoreline. You want it freshly washed up, dry and light.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, there was no wind. This beach usually has an offshore breeze and is always colder than the surrounding area. But today was warm and calm, the ocean lazy and napping as far as the eye could see.

The next morning I rinsed the seaweed, to remove some of the salt. The blogs I have read online say the salt is not a problem, but I wanted to be extra careful with my plants.

I took a bunch of the seaweed and with my loppers, I cut it into smaller more manageable pieces.

Make sure to rinse and oil your tools after cutting seaweed, the salt will rust them.

First August Garden needed some love. It has been taking care of me and it was time to return the favor. I added some wood mulch to it and topped it with colorful seaweed.

The smell of the sea filled my early morning garden, making me feel like a sleepy gardening mermaid.

Next up was my strawberry bed. I had neglected these poor strawberries before planting them and the bed was full of grass. The strawberries also had slug problems at times. I am hoping the seaweed will remedy that.

I still had some seaweed left to do September garden.

I took some long pieces and lined my bed for further slug protection.

I can't wait to see how my plants like this superfood punch of life. Making soil is a very important part of gardening and homesteading. Soil improvement is the first thing that can uplift your garden like good food can uplift us.

Big Love.
Ren