GS Plant Foods Liquid Kelp Fertilizer – Item of the Day
Every day I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.
Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is GS Plant Foods Liquid Kelp Fertilizer. I have tried a variety of liquid kelp fertilizers and this one has become my go to for quality and value. First this stuff is highly concentrated, for instance a 32 ounce bottle will make between 32-64 gallons depending on how you dilute. I generally go with 1 ounce per gallon myself for a soil drench and 1/2 ounce per gallon as a foliar feed.
Since I use a lot of it I buy it by the gallon, that comes to 35 dollars with free shipping on prime so it really beats the price of 17 bucks for 32 ounces. Yet again a little goes a long way and many of you might prefer the smaller size.
So what is the big deal with liquid kelp, at first the NPK ratio may seem like well, not so big of a deal. As it is Nitrogen 2% Phosphorus .23% and Potassium 5%. The key is all of that is 100% bio-available to your plants at application. Again a little goes a long way.
The real key though is the minerals, Liquid Kelp gives your plants access to over 70 different minerals and they are all easily absorbed. Here are some of the well established benefits of liquid kelp.
- Improves seed germination and increases root development.
- Increases bloom set and size of flowers and fruit.
- Increases and stabilizes chlorophyll in plants, which results in darker green leaves and increased sugar content in plants.
- Relieves stress in plants caused by extreme weather conditions.
Increases plant vigor, and thus imparts a greater resistance to disease, insect attack, drought, and frost. - Increases microorganisms in the soil that can fix nitrogen from the air.
- Increases mineral uptake from the soil and into the plant.
- Increases the storage life of fruits and vegetables by retarding the loss of protein, chlorophyll, and RNA.
- Retards the aging process in plants (senescence), thereby lengthening the production season.
The key with this stuff is how you use it. In general about three times a season, early, middle and late I apply a soil drench of this stuff at 2 ounces to the gallon to my plants. And about once every two weeks, I use it in a foliar spray directly on the plants at 1/2 ounce per gallon, I also use Garrett Juice at the recommend rate in this spray. I combine this spray with Howard Garrett’s “Garlic Pepper Tea” every other application to control pests. You just mix that up yourself, here are the instructions for that.
Let me tell you if you take two plants and do this with one and not the other for a single season you will be a big time believer really fast! In fact I bet you won’t make it though the season without starting to use it on your control plant as in a month you will have all the evidence you need.
So check out GS Plant Foods Liquid Kelp Fertilizer today, along with Garrett Juice Plus and Dr. Earth 4-4-4 All Purpose Fertilizer it forms the core of my go to for plant fertility. You can always find my entire Fertility Program here https://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/tag/fertility
Remember you can always find all of our reviews at TspAz.com
P.S. – If you need a sprayer for your garden and trees, this one by Chapin is likely the best bang for your buck on the market. If you need a large Back Pack Sprayer I own and love the Solo 475-B. Since I bought mine Solo has released the Solo 475-B Deluxe Model. It has more comfortable straps, a pressure regulator and brass nozzles. It is likely worth the 50 dollar premium but the standard model at 90 bucks has served me well for a number of years.
Great product. It’s nice if you need it now and “ready-made”.
An alternative is I soak 1/2 cup kelp meal in 1 cup water (to rehydrate), let sit for a few hours, pour off the excess water, and blend.
Then I put the hydrated meal in a mason jar, put a lid on it, and store in the fridge. I use a TBSP per gallon of water once a week. Works great.
By doing this, I avoid paying for another bottled nutrient, and use a dry product instead, therefore not paying for the water in the bottle 🙂
This stuff does work well. I use fish emulsion as my “go to” fertilizer. I was having issues with veggie rot, and I found this advertised as more of a foliar spray. I used it the first evening I received it and I was impressed the next day. I’m not a believer in miracle products, but my plants were visibly greener, and the fruit on my squash had almost doubled in size. I also had more blooms on my eggplants. Coincidence or not, I will continue to use this as a foliar spray.
Aaron – soaking kelp meal is a good idea, but I have found that the best is buying Seaweed Extract Powder, as it is water soluable and a bag of it lasts forever (it’s very concentrated and only use 1/2 teaspoon of the dry powder at a time). I buy it from KIS Organics, who are near to me, but they will ship too.
Jack – this is the same stuff you are recommending here, but in a dry form that you add water too – saving lots of money.
Bought a gallon yesterday for $29.95. Free shipping with prime.
What are some good alternatives to this product? I live in Canada and this isn’t available here (unless you want to pay 3-5 time the price because of shipping)
Honestly I just selected this because it is the best value in the US on Amazon. Kelp is pretty much kelp so just look up the best option price wise for you, if you respond to this comment with a link or two I am happy to let you know if I see any issues with your choice.
I think this would probably be the best option
https://www.gardenerspantry.ca/product/liquid-kelp-fertilizer/
I also looked at
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/kelpman-sea-spray-organic-kelp-fertilizer/1000694325
And this last one says indoor but not sure if that matters (would use outdoors)
https://www.amazon.ca/Fertilizer-Organic-Seaweed-Extract-Vegetable/dp/B08M5GZZFP/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=YGGSFSSQ38TW&dchild=1&keywords=liquid%2Bkelp%2Bfertilizer&qid=1614912598&sprefix=liquid%2Bkelp%2Caps%2C268&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExMkI2STFLTE41NjVaJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTgxNTA2M09YOUI5SE00SU1ZOCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDEwMTg0MkhWRDVKS05QNVgwNSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1
I was also wondering how long you can store it for I’ve read that it last over a year (not specific at all) is there anything I can do to prolong the shelf life of this product so I can buy in bulk?
Nothing wrong with the first one, go for it.
What about in a kratky system? Any one ever using it for that? For the micro nutrients. Would probably have to adjust down master blend?
It works fine for kratky.