Want a fuller garden? Cartwright gardener says reach for some seaweed

David Elson has been gardening for decades and has had great success with seaweed. Find out how common kelp can elevate your garden with his tips and tricks.

David Elson says seaweed has a 'bigger punch than anything in the world'

Heidi Atter CBC News Posted: Jul 04, 2022 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 4, 2022

David Elson holds up a glob of dark seaweed, dripping from a bucket of brown water where it's breaking down. — David Elson says the seaweed tea he creates through soaking seaweed over the summer helps his garden grow strong. Potatoes, he said, have fewer blemishes. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

A family in the coastal Labrador community of Cartwright takes pride in their garden and shares the fruits of their labour with their neighbours.

Now they're hoping to inspire others to start something no matter how small and they're using seaweed to do it.

David Elson's garden is his therapeutic place. He has about a dozen small plots surrounding his home in Cartwright, about 392 kilometres east of Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

"It's a great stress reliever after a long day. I work in the health-care system and I come home from a long day, and I just de-stress," Elson said.

"I just spent an hour in the garden and I'm set for the next day."

Jenna and David Elson stand holding a chicken in front of their garden boxes. They have nets surrounding their boxes because they found rabbits and bears don't like the nets and will stay away. — Jenna and David Elson grow plants and raise children and chickens on the land in Cartwright, N.L. They have nets around their garden in the early summer to keep rabbits and bears at bay. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

He and his wife, JennaElson, have been gardening for decades and are teaching their two children to do the same.

The secret tolarge garden growth in a northern community?

Elson said it's seaweed.

"Seaweed [has]more minerals [and a] bigger punch than anything in the world," hesaid.

"It smells a little funky at first.You get a lot of creepy insects and you wonder if it's a good thing, but then they leave their entrails behind and that feeds the soil. And so in turn, the soil feeds my plants."

David and Jenna Elson stand looking at their garden boxes outside of their home in Cartwright, NL. — David and Jenna Elson grow onions, potatoes, spinach, tomatoes, strawberries and more in their garden outside their Cartwright home. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

There aretwo ways to use it, he said.

The first is to use it as a soil base, following these steps:

Go to the beach and collect a lot of seaweed.
Spread it throughout the garden box or toteand layer it to be quite a few inches thick.
Put a thin layer of soil on top, just enough for the seeds to germinate.
Plant your seeds in the soil.
Top off the soil with a bit more seaweed.
Water and let it grow.

"The seaweed will feed the plant," he said.

"It will decay and next year, that seaweed is your soil. So then you got two inches of soil and all the microorganisms and everything that goes on in that soil, next year is going to be a bigger, better plant."

Seaweed is shown layers in a garden with a plant sticking out. — David Elson puts layers of seaweed in his garden boxes, tops it with some soil for seeds to germinate in, then puts more seaweed on top. He says this helps his garden grow and produce large amounts of produce in a small area. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

He said it's best to continue to add another layer of seaweed each spring as it helps feed the soil and plants. However, he said people shouldn't till their gardens if they're using this method.

"Do not disturb the microorganisms that are in thatsoil. You kill it,you break it up, you destroyed it, then you got to start over."

Another no-till benefit: with a heavy seaweed mulch, "you don't need to water it when it's hot. Very simple."

Seaweed soaks in brown water in buckets as it's slowly breaking down over the summer into a slurry soup for plants. — Elson soaks seaweed in buckets until the seaweed breaks down into a slurry soup that then provides nutrients to his plants. He says he learned how to do this through trial and error and he's going to do it every summer from now on. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

How to make yourself some seaweed tea

The second way he uses seaweed is by creating what's called seaweed tea,he said. It's a simple process, he said:

Go to the beach and collect a lot of seaweed.
If it's fresh and not aged,wash if to remove some of the salt from the saltwater.
Soak the seaweed in large buckets.
Wait over the summer for it toturn into a slurry soup.
Feed the slurry soup to the plants.

David Elson holds up a glob of seaweed from a bucket with brown water. The seaweed is partially broken down but has a long way to go before it's turned into a slurry soup for his plants. — Elson holds up the partially broken down seaweed in his 'seaweed tea' buckets. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

"It looks gross because it is, right?" he said.

"This seaweed, this water is loaded with the nutrients that my plants need," Elsonsaid. "Once it soaks, itbreaks down all the nutrients, removes nutrients and you need the plants and I'll never not do seaweed tea on anything I grow ever again. This works."

For anyone starting up a garden, Elsonsaid it's important people remember it's not too late. They can start in July and still have crops to harvest in the fall.

Jenna Elson said she recommends starting small with a tote or box.

"Once you can see that it actually works for you, you're going to be like, 'Oh, I can do this, so I should do more,'" she said. "We're here, we're remote and like, if we could do it and we could do it here, I think anybody can do it."

David Elson lifts a layer of seaweed off his onion plants. The layer lifts off like a lid, showing the plants and brown soil underneath. — Elson lifts the layer of seaweed that is on top of his garden's soil. The layer decomposes over time and helps feed the soil, he says. (Heidi Atter/CBC)

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News

Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|

Want a fuller garden? Cartwright gardener says reach for some seaweed

David Elson says seaweed has a 'bigger punch than anything in the world'

How to make yourself some seaweed tea

Related Stories