HPBudlong wrote:

I was checking into using "water crystals" in my organic garden because being
in Zone 9, we need to retain as much moisture as possible in the soil.

A British company suggested that I use "Seaweed meal", i.e. ground up seaweed,
as this would help retain water in the soil. I see this is being used a lot on
England, but can only find liquid seaweed or kelp here.

Does anyone here have any experience with this stuff? Where can I get some in
the US, prefereably Los Angeles area.
Helen

In many areas of southern California, the water and soils already
contain excessive salts. I would be very concerned about the salt
content of seaweed.

A good mulch of leaves will help your soil to remain cool and moist
in the summer. Eventually, they break down and make a good
compost.

Another way to ensure proper moisture retention is to amend the
soil with a 50-50 mix of peat moss and washed plaster sand, both of
which should be suitable for an organic garden. If your soil is
already sandy, reduce the plaster sand and increase the peat. See
my http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html. For my
recipe, you can likely find organic substitutes for the nutrients
that you do not consider organic. Note that there are indeed
natural sources of sulfur, gypsum, and Epsom salts, which (although
inorganic) are used by organic gardeners.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/