I’ve never gardened any other way than organically. When we first moved to this farm, our garden was nothing more than a sun-baked brick of clay. I worked hard and things got better, though there were still problems: blossom end rot on the tomatoes and flea beetles on everything else.
In 2008, I planted my tomatoes by first dusting the tomato planting hole with 1 tablespoon of kelp fertilizer and sprinkling the kelp fertilizer on the ground around the plants. It was the first year I didn’t have blossom end rot and the weather was no different than previous seasons. In 2009, I used kelp even more aggressively as a garden fertilizer with equally remarkable results.
Kelp is a type of seaweed containing about 70 minerals that can easily be used by plants and animals. If kelp is not available at your local nursery, you can buy it from a health food store, or do as I do and buy it in 50-pound bags from the local farm and feed store.
Donna Brown
Alton, Missouri