use Kelp Meal As a Fertilizer
Plants, just like people, need balanced diets. When talking about fertilization much attention is paid to the macro nutrients--nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous--but plants also need micro nutrients, and that's where kelp meal can help. Micro nutrients include copper, iron, manganese, calcium, boron and magnesium, to name just a few. These, and other micro nutrients vary in quantity depending upon the soil. Besides being essential to plant health, micro nutrients affect how efficiently the plant takes up macro nutrients. The best, long-term approach to providing micro nutrients to plants is doing it through their root systems, according to the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. Dry kelp meal is a natural source of micro nutrients and a good way to increase micro nutrient levels in soils.
Instructions
Gardens
1. Measure the length of the area to be fertilized.
2. Measure the width of the area to be fertilized.
3. Multiply the length of the area by the width of the area. This is the total square footage of the area to be fertilized.
4. Weigh the bucket.
5. Fill the bucket with kelp meal.
6. Weigh the bucket again.
7. Deduct the weight noted in Step 6, from the weight noted in Step 4. This is the average weight of kelp meal per bucket.
8. Scatter the kelp meal evenly over the area to be fertilized by reaching into the bucket, pulling out handfuls and casting them over the area. Refill the bucket as necessary, keeping track of the total pounds you have spread on the area.
9. Stop when you have scattered approximately 1 to 3 pounds per 100 square feet, or the exact number of pounds as recommended by the manufacturer on the product label.
Established Trees
10. Measure the diameter of the tree by holding the tape measure against the tree at eye level. Note the numbers showing at each side of the tree.
11. Count the inches, or feet, between the numbers. This is the approximate tree diameter.
12. Sprinkle the kelp meal all around the tree at the tree drip line, the area just below the outer tips of the branches. Apply the kelp meal at the rate of 1 pound per inch of tree diameter, or at the rate recommended by the product manufacturer on the product label.
13. Sprinkle water around the drip line to water-in the application.
Tags: micro nutrients, area fertilized, kelp meal, drip line, kelp meal, Kelp Meal Fertilizer