Dr. Earth Kelp Meal is sold in a 2lb size for $9.99 locally. If you live in CA, you should be able to locate it relatively easily. Also easily found online for $7.99 (same size) but would need to pay shipping costs.

I'd opt for a garden-intended product first, although not sure there would be any issues with the other. Application rate would be the primary concern and I can't answer that. And it doesn't look like garden kelp meal is necessarily any more expensive than food grade :-)

Thanks, gardengal48!
I believe, the kelp powder and kelp meal are different things though, but I might be wrong :(
I'll try to find a garden-intended thing, as you suggested.

What would be the reason for using this product?

The only difference between kelp powder and kelp meal is consistency.

gardengal48,
what do you mean by "consistency" ?

kimmsr,
kelp provides a lot of beneficial minerals to the plants and helps developing the root system, better fruit and foliage. Search for the "kelp powder" or "kelp meal" on this site.

Best,
goldfinchy

Meal is coarser than powder. Meal is typically ground; powder is pulverized

I am aware of what the kelp is supposed to do, but do you need it? Are your plants deficient in something the kelp is supposed to supply? Adding nutrients that are not needed can create more problems then they cure.

The nutrient load of kelp meal is so low it can hardly be considered something that would cause problems. Kelp meal is normally considered to be a soil amendment rather than a fertilizer for that reason, plus the fact that it conditions the soil, adds organic matter, aids in moisture retention and encourages soil biology. And it provides a rather extensive selection of trace elements, minerals, plant growth hormones and amino acids not typically found in most fertilizers or other amendments.

In fact, no good argument can be made for NOT including kelp meal in any sort of organic gardening program.

If then the amounjt of nutrients kelp would add to the soil is so low then why spend money on it and why add it to the soil? The argument should not be abhout NOT adding something that will do little or nothing rather it should be why add any if it will do little to help.
Changes to micro nutrients in small amounts can create major problems.

Have you bothered to research the benefits of kelp meal? Do you know what it does to soil texture, soil biology and moisture holding ability? Are you aware that many garden soils are seriously lacking in minerals and trace elements? And that these items are not often found in most fertilizers, organic or not?

Don't be so fast to condemn practices you are obviously not familiar with. And don't think that your opinion is the only one with any validity.

what is the best particle size for kelp as an amendment? I'm still planning to haul a 100 lbs of kelp home from the beach and dry and crush it. Any drawbacks from me not sieving it all into sand-sized particles and there being quarter-sized kelp remnants in the soil block?

Gardengal, I know what the people that sell these types of products will tell us about them and what they will do, but I have seen enough other research that indicates most of it is hoakum, they are selling magic elixars. Numerous times I have seen soils go from lacking in vital micro nutrients, as well as the macros, simply with the addition of adequate quantities of compost and other forms of organic matter, that I will always question the need to purchase materials that may be unnecessary.
As I have stated, repeatedly, I know what these types of materials are supposed to do. The question is are they really necessary or are those that promote them simply selling something of little value just as the manufacturers of synthetic fertilzers do?

Kimmsr, the kelp products are just one of those "other forms of organic matter ". I'm sure that we can now breathe a big sigh of relief knowing that you approve wholeheartedly. :-)

simply selling something of little value just as the manufacturers of synthetic fertilzers do?

OK kimmsr, we can get into a HUGE discussion here. How you can possibly come to the conclusion that synthetic fertilizers are of "little value"? They have been helping to feed an ever expanding global population for the last 70 years or so and doing a dang good job of it! I realize this is an organic gardening forum and I realize that you swear by the doctrine that compost should be the only source of plant nutrients one's garden will even need but that is simply not the way the world works. Plants do not care from what source their nutrients are derived - from compost, a packaged organic fertilizer, out of a MiracleGro sprayer or a bag of Scotts - it's all the same to them.

YOU may deem kelp meal unnecessary but not everyone is exposed to the same sort of materials or has the same sort of gardening situation and many must obtain desired organic matter from whatever source is at their disposal. And whether YOU consider it 'hokum' or a 'magic elixar' or not is your choice (and I challenge you to present any reputable source that confirms that belief). There is certainly enough scientific evidence to support the nutritive value of kelp and it is a valuable organic soil amendment for those that choose to use it. No one is necessarily advocating it has any 'magic' properties - just that it is a rich, organic nutrient source and a great organic soil amendment.

You both seem unable to grasp a simple concept, why spend money on products you may not need simply because someone that sells those products tells you they might help do something? You both seem to be locked into the "conventional" gardeners need to buy nutrients because you cannot believe that nature can, and will, provide what plants need.
There is no need to spend money on esoteric materials on the off chance that maybe my soil might possibly need some of that. If you are going to promote scientific gardening then you should be telling people to have a good, reliable soil test done before they add any such materials.

kelp = growth hormones

Kelp powders, extracts, meals, etc. contain a plant hormone (Gibberellic Acid) which does boost performance of many plants -- provided they have also been given suitable nutrients. Kelp products by themselves (with no additives) should never be considered a nutrient (the difference between drug and food). When purchasing a kelp product, shop like you would for paper towels: check the concentration of extract vs. the price. I've seen many concentrations on the market, from 4% to 26% in liquids. Also check the species of kelp being used: Ascophyllum nodosum has the highest concentrations of gibberellic acid, and most other species have markedly less. Note that the concentration on the bottle refers to essential oils and not gibberellic acid. Consequently a 20% concentrate of generic seaweed can contain far less gibberellic acid than 11% of Ascophyllum nodosum. An alternative is to purchase products labeled gibberellic acid on the internet.

Hi Kimmsr I am quite unfamiliar with soil tests to be perfectly honest with you. How many nutrients are included in a good soil test? Does a good test include iodine levels for example? Kelp is a good source of that trace element.

The test I get for pumpkin patch includes NPK sulfur calcium magnesium sodium zinc copper manganese iron boron

greenleaf, the only nutrient compounds actually contained in a product in levels significant to plants are listed in the Guaranteed Analysis. Iodine is NOT listed on goldfinchy's product. Please don't argue about efficacy. I'm a member of the CDFA oversight board.

This post was edited by Hermitian on Wed, Dec 3, 14 at 19:56

Plants do not have any means of uptaking the iodine contained in kelp. Further, I am in private industry but qualify to serve voluntarily on the oversight board. If I seem strident it is because I'm tired of manufacturers listing ingredients on the front of a fertilizer label that no plant or soil process will ever make viable for plant use. Seaweed powders and extracts are in the most extreme category of this abuse. It is a hormone product, plain and simple. The vast amount of other ingredients are in covalent compounds (not suspended as chelates) that no soil organism or plant cell is ever going to break down. Seaweed products can improve plant performance but is always from hormone action, not other constituents.