If you live in a coastal city, you can take full advantage of the benefits of seaweed in your garden. Consider mulching your beds with it as it is full of nutrients for your garden.

You can also get some family time out from the gathering experience. Get the kids to join in and enjoy a fun day at the beach.

mulching with seaweed

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Here are some of the benefits of mulching with seaweed:

Free resource

Seaweed is a free resource available to anyone who dares to visit the beach this winter. It is a great money saver and the act of gathering can be a fun-filled activity for the whole family.

Protects against pests

Pests do not like salt and seaweed has this component by the boatload. Using seaweed as mulch will not only drive away pests with its salt content. As it dries, the seaweed becomes brittle and slugs are not a fan of sharp things. You’ll have this great resource to thank for a pest-free garden.

Useful for saving water

Mulching, generally, is to help the soil retain its water content, especially in high heat and dry environments. Seaweed does the job of reducing water consumption, acting as the perfect method to mulch your beds all year round.

Acts as fertiliser

Seaweed has immense nutritional properties for the soil. It enriches the soil with essential nutrients for plant growth and food productivity. It is a great source of nutrients for the whole garden as it contains carbohydrates.  As it breaks down, it feeds the soil which makes this an added plus when used as a mulch.

Pick seaweed sustainably

When you are collecting this free resource, look for broken up and lighter pieces which will be easiest to gather, carry, and apply to beds when the time comes. Take care to look for materials that are mid-beach that have already started drying out as these are optimal as mulch. 

Furthermore, be sure to pick seaweed from different areas. As we are sustainable gardeners, we must remember that seaweed serves the purpose of providing shelter and food for marine life. So, do pick responsibly – as a way to preserve ocean life.

Also see: How to make instant compost using your weed 

Featured image: Unsplash