Technaflora seaweed extract

[chancethegardener]

I have been using this amazing product for more than 1 year now. Its N-P-K ratio is 1-1-16, and according to its manufacturer it is made from 100% Norwegian kelp. I add approximately 1 tsp into 2 pounds of water. The extract immediately dissolves in water and turns its color into a beautiful purple. I apply it as a soil drench starting from early stages. It makes a noticeable difference with vegetables, especially with tomatoes (e.g. deep green leaves, thick stems, and multi-directional plant growth), in couple of days.

[John3]

Do you know if the kelp is cold pressed or hot pressed

[chancethegardener]

I couldn't find that information but Oregon Dept. of Agriculture provides most parameters regarding the product: http://oda.state.or.us/dbs/heavy_met...oduct_id=17382

[John3]

I noticed you said 1 tsp to 2 pounds of water. What is the pounds to gal ratio?

[Keiththibodeaux]

Water weigh's just over 8 pounds a gallon.

[chancethegardener]

Sorry for the confusion, I meant gallon not pound. One box goes a long way for my small backyard garden (~150 ft^2). It has been almost 1.5 years and I still have the 1/3 of it left. Also, I a little overdo it. Instructions recommend to use 1/3 tsp per 4 lt for seed & bulb treatment.

[John3]

ok 1 tsp to 2 gals of water.
Trying to read the label to see how many ozs in the jar - looks like 8ozs
Or do you know how many gals the jar makes

[chancethegardener]

It should be 8 oz. 1 gal is approximately 4 lt so that I add 1/2 more into 2 gal of water than the recommended amount. I say 2 gallon because that's my lovely water can's size. Also it is kind of difficult to measure the smaller sizes. After one point I started picking it with my fingers and sprinkle in the can. It's organic after all and I have never experienced a problem with overdoing it.

[John3]

Thanks I like the ideal that it is so portable - did some research storage - says it will last if water doesn't get to it.
My only question would be the cold or hot pressing of the kelp for the extract (even though the results you are saying seems be to saying it's cold pressed I don't know) - I have seen the difference in growing plants with cold pressed kelp over hot pressed.

[chancethegardener]

I wish I took some after/before pics. Even with sick-looking plants I observed a big difference 2-3 days after the application. This is more of a case for the tomatoes because I regularly apply it on tomatoes. There are lots of liquid seaweed products out there but they are generally low in K so I prefer to use this one. Besides its N and P ratios also make me happy. And yes, I also read that shelf life is infinite since it is powdered. I have tried lots of products throughout my gardening experience and I can easily say that this is one thing that made a drastic visual difference in such a short time interval (the other one is Greencure fungicide).

[JamesL]

John,
What is the difference between hot and cold pressed? And why does it matter?
Tried to search it but didn't come up with much of an explanation...

[John3]

Originally Posted by JamesL

John,
What is the difference between hot and cold pressed? And why does it matter?
Tried to search it but didn't come up with much of an explanation...

JamesL I am no expert on the subject but here is a quote about fish fert - seaweed (kelp) is a lot more mineral rich plus other miconutrients than fish. Some producers of fish/seaweed fert create the mixture of fish and add the seaweed to the processing while hot pressing the fish thereby destroying minerals and miconutrients. Over the years more and more are cold pressing their products to retain as much of the natural minerals and miconutrients.
Hope the quote helps you understand what I mean.

HYDROLYZED FISH VS. LIQUID FERTILIZER

I'm sure all of us have our favorite types of fertilizers. When I went to school, the Horticulture Department constantly used chemial based fertilizers, and, in fact, organics were always looked down upon as inferior. As soon as you mention "organic," people think of buying smelly manure in a bag, trying to rake it over their lawn, making a mess, and having their yard look terrible for weeks, etc. That was then, this in now.

I have learned over the years that every fertilizer has its day, and organics have come a long way.

Organic fertilizers now are just good, if not better, than the chemical fertilizers out there, and many of them are combined with certain minerals and products to improve the soil, so you get a real bang for your buck.

A few years ago, I was introduced to Hydrolized fish and was very impressed. It is NOT, I repeat NOT fish emulsion. It is processed completely differently, has little to no odor, is a liquid that won't clog drip irrigation, won't build up salts in the soil, and is readily available to be used by the plants.


ORGANIC METHOD: Hydrolyzed Fish Fertilizer. This product is an excellent source of N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorous, pottasium) and contains trace minerals. Hydrolized means that it has been cold processed, which is very important.

Fish emulsion is heat processed, meaning that a lot of the nutrients and amino acids are totally destroyed during processing, leaving you with a product that has little nutritional value and a smell that is memorable.

Quote from http://www.weekendgardener.net/organ...izer-60602.htm

another quote

Most fish fertilizers are made by using heat to extract fish oils and sell the leftovers as fish fertilizer. The heat process can disrupt the amino acid and protein chains thereby making a less bio-active product.

I just read something I didn't know about fish fert at the Neptune site

Emulsions...
One type of fish (trash fish)Emulsions are made from so-called "Trash Fish" (fish that Americans won't eat), usually Menhaden is used. Menhaden is caught in harbors and rivers on the coast and are exposed to coastal pollutants. Also, lake fish used could contain Mercury and PCB's.

and about their product

Neptune's Harvest...
Uses several species of fishNeptune's Harvest is made from several species of edible North Atlantic Fish remains (the part that is left after the fillet is removed for human consumption). Several species are better, because each species has a different nutrients analysis profile, so you get a full range of nutrients, vitamins, amino acids, enzymes and growth hormones. We mix all the Hydrolyzed Fish in a 10,000-gallon mixing tank before it is pumped into holding tanks. This process ensures a very consistent product from day to day and year to year. The fish we use are caught a minimum of three miles from shore and usually much further, in the icy, clean waters of the North Atlantic.

Neptune's Harvest...
Cold processedNeptune's Harvest is cold processed all the way from start to finish. The fish is converted through the grinding process and by the naturally occurring enzymes that continually break down the fish into a liquid. These enzymes are still alive in our final product as well, so they are there to keep your soil alive. We then screen it to take out any remaining bone particles. Nothing else is removed from the product, and the only thing added is phosphoric acid to stabilize. It is more expensive than sulfuric or formic acid, but it is safer to use for our employees and yours and is something the plant needs anyway. This is why our phosphorus is higher than fish emulsions, on the analysis.

http://www.neptunesharvest.com/emulsions.html

[JamesL]

Thank you! And thanks for the link. You find more info on cold pressing olive oil if your search cold pressing, and I assumed that it was similar with respect to the destructive properties of heat.

Chance, thanks for posting the Technoflora. Eyeballing it for carrots primarily because of the low N and high K.
Also took a look at Greencure fungicide, it gets real good reviews for powdery mildew.


I should have mentioned, I am test driving this seaweed product currently on tomato seedlings if you are interested. SeaStart-PGR (0-4-4)
https://www.saltwaterseaweed.com/sto...&product_id=52

It has received some good reviews by TV members and per Mischka in one of these threads, the owner is a member.
(doesn't have that super high K content though!)


http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...light=seastart
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...light=seastart

[chancethegardener]

I am really fascinated with Greencure's ability to treat mildew. However, what I have observed is that one needs to start using it immediately when the mildew first appears. I used it on cucumbers a few weeks ago and so far mildew didn't come back. I had a Paul Robeson plant which was heavily infested with mildew (this was before I purchased Greencure). I applied Greencure and mildew was gone temporarily and when it came back I applied the product on the foliage again and so forth so on.

I currently have a pot with three tomatillo plants in it. Two weeks ago, I observed blight on the leaves of each plant and I applied Greencure as a soil drench. I am an engineer but I don't have any education/formal training in agricultural sciences so I don't know how much potassium bicarbonate (Greencure's main ingredient) is effective against blight; however, I know one thing and it is that the blight on tomatillo leaves is gone

[John3]

JamesL the company that you are getting the product from is mainly a seaweed processing company so I buy my seaweed products there. Neptune's Harvest is mainly a fish processing company - so their fish fert should be good as they are cold pressing it.