Stella Maris Organic Liquid Kelp

Kelp is one of the first tools you should reach for in the toolbox of plant care. There is hardly a comparable option that has the range of benefits that kelp can provide. Kelp improves seed germination, enhances crop defence mechanisms and growth, promotes stronger roots, resists drought and other environmental stresses- all the while boosting yields and improving soil health. How can a plant not like this stuff?

Because of its immersion in sea water, kelp is widely known for its content of beneficial trace elements such as copper, calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium, sulphur and more. Often people solely focus on the NPK ratios when it comes to their plants, thinking that this is all the plant needs. But the micro minerals are equally important, as very minute amounts of these can be critical to impacting optimum plant health and growth.

However the area where liquid kelp really excels can be found in the added benefit of its containing a range of plant hormones such as cytokinins, gibberellins and auxins as well as phytosanitary agents. It is these hormones that regulate, trigger and direct plant growth, both in the root zone, as well as in the leaflets and growth tips. As plant growth moves through root expansion, to building frame, it then changes over to its reproductive phase, where it begins to flower and set fruit. The plants requirements for the various hormones that trigger and impact these stages varies throughout these cycles.

Auxins are quite important early on in plant growth, as it regulates the expansion of the roots, along with the building of the structure and frame of the plant. Cytokinins are particularly crucial for much of the plant vegetation growth phase, as they initiate rapid cell division and new cell wall production.

Although cytokinins are important throughout all plant growth phases, as it comes into the important flowering stage, the hormone balance shifts more dominantly towards cytokinins. These promote cytokinesis, the process of stimulating cell division. They help improve leaf growth, but more importantly during the transition to reproductive growth, or flowering, they can shorten node length and directly assist in the production of more lateral bud development. This has been shown to increase flower yield and quality levels considerably.

Liquid kelp is also very effective in helping the plant resist plant stress, due to excessive heat conditions and drought.

Liquid quid kelp is best applied directly as a drench to the soil in the early stages of plant growth, so that it can help with root development. But when the plant is transitioning to the flower stage, it is preferable to use as a foliar.

When applying as a foliar, it is always best to spray your plants before 7:00 in the morning- or earlier, as it is in the coolness of the morning before the heat of the sun closes the stomata on the underside of the leaves when the plant is most able to absorb the valuable nutrients that liquid kelp provides. Adding a small amount of liquid yucca as a surfactant helps greatly in the plant absorption process, as this keeps the liquid from 'balling up' and forming droplets on the leaf surface. Instead, the surfactant breaks this water tension down and establishes a much greater liquid coverage of the leaf surface, making the whole process much more efficient.

Application rates are 5-10 ml per litre of water minimum, repeated every 7-30 days. This product is approved for organic use.