I live close to an estuary and have good access to creeks and inlets where there is plenty of seaweed. I’ve never really thought of it before, but when someone mentioned that, years ago, they used to gather seaweed locally to use on their vegetable garden, it got me thinking.
It seems very simple – just collect a few buckets of seaweed, bring it home and spread it over raised beds. There is also the option of digging it in, or adding it to compost piles.
But… I did a little research. You’re not allowed to harvest seaweed from public beaches. If you own the land, or if you have the landowner’s permission, then you can harvest the seaweed. The general advice is to contact your local authority to check what permissions are required, so I’d definitely suggest doing your research if you did want to use seaweed in your garden.
If you do harvest it, there are further things to bear in mind, like how much you take. There are several lists that come up if you search the internet. I’m not sure about it all. I think I’m just going to give it a miss and keep using compost and well-rotted manure from local farms as a mulch.