> I live on the coast of Queensland, Australia and we get heaps of seaweed > washed up on the shore, does anyone know if this is useful on the garden? > does it have to be treated as it most probably contains heaps of salt? can > anyone advise me on this.
This has been used for centuries in Ireland and Scotland, and still
is.I follow tradition and don't bother about the salt because the
rain will wash it off/ dilute it, but I live in a wet climate.Its
good for roses and potatoes and discourages slugs.It's a great soil
conditioner and feed, in fact farmers here use a commercial grassland
spray made of processed seaweed.
You can compost it in the ordinary heap if you like,especially in
winter, but if its the growing season I just put it straight on the
veg garden as a mulch, it rots down very fast.
One word of caution (may not apply to your bit of the coast), don't
collect seaweed from an area contaminated by sewage , nuclear power
stations, industrial effluent etc as it absorbs all those nasties.