Community › Community › General Gardening › Vegetables › Yellowing leaves of peas, lettuce, spinach › seaweed extract
Hi compostpope, yes I did wonder whether seaweed extract would not be faster acting. Having checked the Garden Organic catalogue, this is how they differentiate between the two products:
“The beneficial effects of SM3 Seaweed Extract are most noticable when the plant is under stress, for example from frost, drought, pests and disease. Seaweed Meal serves as a soil improver by building up the humus structure and water holding capacity. It can be applied at any time of the year, and it is particularly beneficial if applied 3 months prior to planting, so ordering in the autumn is a good idea.”
So yes, it would appear that seaweed extract is more of a quick, short-term fix while seaweed meal is more of a long-term soil conditioner that is admittedly more useful when applied in advance of planting.
I’m also wondering about a new product on offer: Worm Wee. Has anyone tried this as a general fertiliser?
I did consider a soil analysis when I first took on my plot but decided it was probably more worthwhile to invest the money in improving general soil fertility. According to the RHS, chalky soils are often poor in nutrients as both manganese and iron can be “locked up†in the soil and therefore become unavailable to plants. Not sure there’s much I can do about this other than enrich the soil with large quantities of organic matter.