Home & Garden

Supercharge Plants with Seafood

Sherry Wilson, Certified Texas Master Gardener with AgriLife Extension

Heat is getting more intense and we are certainly feeling it. Well, have you given much thought to how our plants react to this hot Texas Sun?

We make certain our landscape plants are fed and watered properly, but there is a little extra boost we can give our plant friends to help them deal with the stress of summer here. Seaweed and fish emulsion sprays. Not a cure all, but proven definitely to give a boost of energy to plants anytime, especially when under stressful conditions.

There have been some really in-depth studies done by Dr. ‘Tee’ Senn, a graduate professor of horticulture at Clemson University, South Carolina, who also studied at the Norwegian Institute for Seaweed Research. He is considered the seaweed guru.

Seaweed foliar spray solution is made of kelp, a form of seaweed harvested directly out of the ocean. Kelp grows rapidly, up to a foot a day, and the same hormones that cause this rapid growth in kelp can have a similar effect, although more subtle, on our garden plants when sprayed directly onto the leaves and stems. When kelp is applied to the soil, at the root area, increased growth of roots has been noted.

In the 1950’s radioactive isotope “tracers” were used by scientist to prove that plants could absorb nutrients by foliar feeding the stems and leaves. Dr. Senn stresses not to replace soil feeding with foliar feeding, but that foliar feeding is “like getting an injection from a doctor instead of taking pills for a week. The effect is much more immediate”.

In is book Seaweed and Plant Growth, Dr. Senn reports at least 70 trace elements in seaweed required by plants, though only needed in small amounts, these micronutrients are just as essential as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, and in some growing regions even more so.

Research also shows plants foliar fed with seaweed sprays are less prone to disease and pests, and the shelf life of many crops is increased.

The Cadillac of seaweeds comes from the cool waters off the New England coast and the cold waters of Norway. Seaweed or Seaweed/fish emulsion combination are available at garden centers or nurseries. Follow label directions and remember more is not better.

Foliar feed in the morning when the cells of plant leaves are open. Dr. Arden B Andersen reports foliar feeding is best done during the quarter before full moon, least effective if done during the quarter before new moon.