Fresh water weed (500gm)

Description

Freshwater Seaweed is Your Friend
Are you familiar with the term “freshwater?” It refers to any body of water that isn’t salty. Basically, this includes ponds, lakes, rivers, creeks, streams, and wetlands. These are the tributaries that carry groundwater into larger bodies such as seas and oceans.

It is, however, a good idea to remember that there’s one massive benefit to freshwater varieties. Unlike oceanic seaweed, freshwater species don’t contain any salt.

This is important because salt can (and often does) damage soil irreparably. You’ve heard the phrase “to salt the earth” as a punishment?

In simplest terms, adding salt to the soil will render it sterile. We don’t want that. No, we want lush, healthy, compost-rich soil that will nurture our plants gorgeously.

How River Plants Can Help Your Garden
Although many people are creeped out by river plants’ slimy texture, they might think more fondly of them if they knew how beneficial they are to gardeners.

Aquatic plants such as algae, pond scum, and freshwater seaweed are packed with vital nutrients. They primarily contain nitrogen, which serves so many purposes in the garden environment.

Not only is nitrogen a primary nutrient for foliar growth (hello delicious leafy greens!), but it helps to break down compost as well

Aerobic bacteria feed on that nitrogen, at which point they can also reproduce. More beneficial bacteria = healthier compost, which breaks down beautifully to nourish your plants.

In addition to nitrogen, many of these pond, lake, and river plants deposit phosphorous and potassium. They’ve sucked nutrients out of the water and river mud, and now happily release it into your compost heap.

As an additional benefit, aquatic species don’t seem to carry any diseases that can transfer to land plants.

Compost it, Layer it, or Mulch It
The three main ways to use these river plants and other freshwater seaweeds are via compost, direct layering, or as mulch

Compost Method

Composting is one of the easiest and most beneficial methods. We touched upon it above, but let’s get into it a bit more. One of the main reasons that composting is an ideal option is because of its wide-spectrum uses.

When you add river plants and seaweed into your compost pile, chances are you’ll be breaking it up and shifting it around a whole lot. Every time you turn the pile, adding new material, etc., you’ll disperse it throughout
Then, when you take a scoop of compost out to use in the garden, it will have some seaweed in it. In contrast, the layering method will only benefit the actual bed(s) in which the river plants have been added.

To compost freshwater seaweed, make sure you have a lot of carbon-rich stuff in there first. This includes shredded paper, dead (crunchy brown) leaves, straw, or cardboard.

Then toss in your river plants, along with other nitrogen-rich bits like grass cuttings, coffee grounds, and veggie trimmings. The ratio of carbon to nitrogen should be 2:1.

Layering

This option is great if you’re doing hugelkultur mounds or raised beds.
Just make alternating layers of soil and seaweed, as though putting together a lasagna.

If you’re starting a raised bed from scratch, put down a layer of weed suppressant. Some people use gardening cloth, but you can also use a double-layer of untreated cardboard. Then put down a layer of pebbles or gravel for drainage.

Use soil made for container gardens in your raised beds, or else make your own. Add aged compost to your soil, along with an aerator like perlite or volcanic rock, vermiculite, or peat moss.

Put down a three- to four-inch layer of this, followed by a two-inch layer of seaweed. Then repeat as desired.

As the seaweed breaks down over time, it’ll continue to deliver nutrients into the bed.

In addition to nitrogen, many ponds and river plants also contain a fair bit of calcium. These make them ideal to use in beds that will nourish tomatoes, squashes, pumpkins, and other fruit-bearing plants susceptible to blossom-end rot.

Mulch

The last option happens to be one of the easiest. After harvesting your seaweed, just slop it around the base of your plants.

Apply it thickly, at least four inches deep, within 48 hours of harvesting. This stuff is going to shrink a LOT, and it breaks down very quickly. As it shrinks, pull it away from the base of your plants.
It’s best to keep your mulch from touching your plants’ stems, so just let them do their thing nearby.

Not only will this seaweed deposit oodles of nutrients as it breaks down, but it’ll also keep vital moisture in the soil as it does so.