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Hi All,
When thinking of seaweed I am reminded that on Shetland it is the main fertiliser that they use. The other is sheep manure, the cows are to few in number to make a realistic difference to the outcome.

They don't wash the seaweed, it just goes onto the soil and the rain does the rest and come spring it gets dug into the soil. So why should we be washing our seaweed, it makes no sense to do so!!!

Their crops are much sought after by wealthy and high class restaurants as are their sheep whose sole diet is seaweed / grass.

We need to re-think as to how we cultivate our soils, leaving a good amount of seaweed spread over our soils during the Autumn and winter will I believe have a devastating effect on the slug population. It will not I believe have an ill effect our soils, however the salt content will seep down to those slugs who reside there during the winter months.

Interestingly there are slugs and snails on Shetland, and they not killed off by salt water. They have over the centuries become immune to salt water. However our mainland slug and snail population have no such defence against sea water

Shetland is battered by sea spray all during the winter and yet they grow good crops, so sea salt is not a problem to growing good crops.

I don't know who came up with the idea of washing seaweed, but it would seem to be less than well thought out scenario. Sea salt contains every known trace element which our crops need to stay healthy.

Not only that, but these trace elements released from the salt into our soils will have a beneficial effect on the crops which we cultivate.


These are just my thoughts, others will disagree.