What Makes Seaweed Plant Food So Potent?

Michael Straumietis
Whenever you drive to the beach and stare into the wide open ocean, it always seems to appear so serene and calming. But what looks soothing on the outside is restless and chaotic on the inside. When you dive beneath the peaceful surface, it becomes a different story entirely. The delicate living organisms on the seabed have to survive in extremely unforgiving environments, where violent currents and vicious predators lurk higher up on the food scale, constantly threatening their perilous existence. These conditions mean only the strongest and hardiest have the chance to survive. Nowhere is this truer than in the case of seaweed, which has to endure conditions that are several times harsher than land based plants. The only way it has any chance of survival is by growing quickly, growing strong and giving itself powerful mechanisms to fight off disease and predators. Some hydroponics products take advantage of kelps' amazing staying power by turning it into concentrated seaweed plant food. Here are a few key elements that kelp contains to help your plants stay strong and grow healthy on land.

Nutrients - The only way to ensure good, strong plant growth is to give it all the nutrients that it needs. While seaweed plant food should not be your plants sole source of nutrients, it can provide that extra boost that will help it grow to its full potential. Kelp has a lot of other qualities that increase nutrient uptake, so these added nutrients will come in handy when your plants metabolism increases and it can process more nutrients than it usual. These nutrients all come from completely organic sources as well.

Vitamins - Seaweed plant food is a fantastic natural source of B Vitamins. Kelp is also a natural source of vitamins E and K, which have also shown to greatly assist in plant development and promote strong growth.

Plant Hormones - Hormones lay out the roadmap for your plants' development. They tell it how to grow and how much to grow. And if the right hormones are present, it can grow much larger and much stronger than is typical. The plant hormones in kelp, known as cytokinins, are designed to accelerate growth, increase flowering size, intensify color and fragrance and promote bigger yields.

Natural Antibiotics - Any experienced grower knows how frustrating it is to suffer a viral, fungal or bacterial attack. Nothing can make a hydroponic growers heart sink quite like stepping into your grow room and discovering that the leaves of your prized plants are covered in mold. This is why many people use their seaweed plant food as a foliar fertilizer. By spraying your leaves with kelp extract, or a product that contains kelp extract, you decrease your odds of suffering such an attack because kelp contains completely organic antibiotics. In addition, using this as a foliar feeder can give your plant even more of vitamins, nutrients and hormones that can be absorbed by the root zone.