Make your own compost tea
The benefit of using kelp meal is it's full range of minerals necessary for plant health. Kelp absorbs the minerals into it's branches and leaves easily from the seawater. That's the good thing - it also will absorb pollutants as well. In Japan and China kelp is grown in bays where you find commercial oyster operations. The kelp is there to remove as many pollutants as possible to provide the purest seawater possible to grow these oysters.
DIY Instant Kelp Meal Tea - Coots Hydrated Kelp Meal Trick
Not only is this quick and easy to prepare ahead of time, it's practically instant once you've pre-made the Hydrated Kelp meal.
I could go on and on about how kelp meal is a must have for your garden but I think you already know that. Just in case, I'll hit a few key points.
Kelp contains: NPK along with over 60 micronutrients. Plus Alginic acid, Mannitol, Cytokinins, Indoles, Hormones, Auxins and Gibberellins.
There are MANY "liquid" seaweed nutrient bottles and they aren't nearly as good as this easy DIY solution.
Here are the instructions Per Coot:
Take 1/4 cup of kelp meal and cover that with about 1/2 cup of water and let it completely re-hydrate. Once that is done then pour off any excess water and use that for a kelp meal tea.
Take the hydrated kelp meal and puree it as much as possible to make a kelp meal paste. You'll want to do this in small batches and store in the refrigerator in the coldest place which is usually in a corner.
When you need to apply a kelp meal tea than add about 2 tsp. to 1 gallon of water, shake until it's completely dispersed and this is a safe concentration for spraying the leaves and you would probably want to double that amount to apply to the soil.
A note about salt: Because kelp is harvested directly from the ocean, using it straight from the beach and in the garden may add additional salt, which is unhealthy for plants. Fortunately, you'd have to add a huge amount, much greater than most gardeners will ever add, for the salt to build up.
1. Place 1/4 cup kelp meal in the jar.
4. Drain any exceess water and puree in a blender. Place back in jar with lid and put in the coldest part of the fridge until ready to use.
7. Stir like crazy, then apply.
2. Add water and notice it swell.
5. Now the fun part, using it! Mix up Instant Kelp Meal Tea.
3. Then let sit for about 30 minutes to an hour on the counter. The Kelp Meal will fully re-hydrate and be a solid clump in the jar.
6. Take 1 gallon of water (approx 3.75 L or 15 cups in Australia) and add 1 Tablespoon of hydrated Kelp Meal for direct soil applications. (Use two teaspoons and strain for foliar spraying)
