Acadian Kelp Meal

Acadian Kelp Meal

Acadian Kelp Meal is dried, milled Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed. It is a biostimulant for soil mixes, pots and garden beds, not a fertiliser: a top dress brings only a small share of the nitrogen and potassium a crop uses.

At a glance

• Type: amendment, biostimulant (dried seaweed meal)
• Supplier certificate on file: OMRI listing. See the certificate and its dates.
• Analysis: N 0.80%, P₂O₅ 0.23% (P 0.10%), K₂O 1.81% (K 1.50%), S 2.00%, Na 3.50% (supplier specification)
• Use for: soil mixes, top dressing, garden beds
• Rate: 125 g per square metre as a top dress; up to 190 g per 50 L of mix

What it is

Ascophyllum nodosum is a brown seaweed of the North Atlantic coasts. Acadian Kelp Meal is the whole plant, dried and milled. Like other brown seaweeds it carries alginic acid, the gel forming compound of the cell walls.

What it does

• Kelp is a biostimulant: its compounds act on the plant's own growth hormones and help it ride out stress. Most of the trials behind that used liquid extracts rather than meal.
• Kelp meal is about one percent nitrogen. At 125 g per square metre it brings about 1 g of nitrogen and 1.9 g of potassium. A tomato crop takes up about 19 g of nitrogen and 23 g of potassium per square metre. Feed the crop first, then add kelp.
• Its trace elements arrive in milligrams: at 125 g per square metre, about 11 mg of boron and 2.5 mg of zinc.

Analysis

Typical analysis (supplier specification), % by weight:

• Nitrogen (N): 0.80%
• Phosphorus as P₂O₅: 0.23% (0.10% elemental P)
• Potassium as K₂O: 1.81% (1.50% elemental K)
• Sulphur (S): 2.00%
• Calcium (Ca): 1.20%
• Magnesium (Mg): 0.70%
• Sodium (Na): 3.50%
• Iron (Fe): 0.01%
• Copper (Cu): 2.0 ppm
• Manganese (Mn): 20.0 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 20.0 ppm
• Boron (B): 90.0 ppm
• Cobalt (Co): 0.0 ppm
• Molybdenum (Mo): 0.0 ppm
• Selenium (Se): 1.0 ppm
• Iodine (I): 300.0 ppm

How to use

• Soil mix: up to 190 g (2 cups) per 50 L of mix.
• Beds: up to 560 g (6 cups) per square metre.
• Top dress: 125 g per square metre of soil.
• Measures: 3/4 cup is about 70 g; 4 kg is about 44 cups or 10 L.
• Kelp meal is not a nitrogen source. Do not rely on it to feed a crop.

Learn more in fifteen seconds

• Kelp is not fertiliser
• Every amendment brings passengers

Handling and storage

• Wear a mask to avoid inhaling particles and open in a well ventilated area.
• Wear gloves and eye protection, and wash hands after use.
• Once opened, keep sealed and dry.