Shrub Doctor mentions he uses North Atlantic sea kelp in his organic treatments. What benefits does sea kelp have towards improving the health of my plants?
Prior to the days of man-made fertilizers, sea kelp played a huge role in plant nutrition and soil amendment. John Adams, our second president, harvested sea kelp and spread it throughout the fields of his farm. I doubt he had any idea what it contained. He just knew that Man had been using kelp as a fertilizer for thousands of years. Sea kelp is a large underwater plant that accumulates tremendous amounts of nutrients as it grows in the ocean. Sea kelp is a good source of potassium, and contains many micronutrients that plants need for optimal health. Sea kelp is loaded with auxins, growth stimulants, cytokinins, and amino acids. All these help promote root growth, and build cell wall strenth in the plant. Strong cell walls resist diseases, ward off insects, and retain water more effectively. This keeps your plants in a vigorous state of health, and helps them “cruise” through the hot/ dry summers, and the cold/ dry winters. Shrub Doctor only uses the kelp species Ascophyllum nodosum, which is found only in the North Atlantic ocean. This species of kelp is known to contain the highest concentrations of macro and micronutrients, and is the most desirable kelp used in the organic plant health industry.
