Seaweed powder
Posted: July 8th, 2013, 10:42 pm
Howdy guys,
I have been researching some different seaweed products lately. And after a bit of searching found the Eco-Seaweed powder product.
I wanted to know a bit more about it so i Emailed them, and after asking if i could post the information they gave me, i thought i would put i here for everyone to read.
-------------
Thanks for your email and interest in our seaweed powder.
There is a huge variance in the quality of seaweed products on the
market and it can be quite confusing to work out what's the best way to
go. Let me give you some information to hopefully make it easier for you
to decide what to use.
Seaweeds contain a mixture of chemicals/compounds/molecules which we
call plant growth regulators (PGRs) as well vitamins, minerals and
antioxidants. The benefits from using seaweed products (eg stimulating
growth and reducing stresses on the plant) come from the presence of
these PGRs. The more PGRs in the seaweed product you buy then the more
it's going to help your plants thrive. The level of PRGs are determined
by several factors:
1. The natural PRG levels in the seaweed as it grows and how fresh it is
when it gets harvested and processed
2. The type of processing done to release the PGRs
3. The concentration of the finished product
Let's me explain each in more detail.
1. PGRs are the seaweeds natural defense mechanism for handling
stressful growing conditions. The more stressful the growing
environment then the higher the levels in the plant. When most seaweed
is harvested and exposed to the air the plant starts to decay and so do
the levels of PGRs. Most Australian seaweed products are made from
Tasmanian bull kelp. They harvest the seaweed which has been washed up
on to the beaches and is sitting there exposed to air and UV light
damage.
2. There are several different ways the PGRs are extracted from seaweed
but all require bursting the cells open to release the PGRs inside.
Many involve using high temperatures and/or chemical solvents. These
destroy much of the PGRs in the process and/or often leave nasty
chemical residues. Cold temperature treatments are the best but aren't
technically cold. They do involve heat but at lower levels than the
'hot' treatments so there is less damage to the PGRs. I also not aware
of any products which are solely cold temperature produced as they still
rely on solvents as well.
3. The liquid seaweed products sold in Australia are incredibly diluted
products but are sold as concentrates and you go home and dilute them
further. The most ocmmon of the concentrates have less than 20% seaweed in them, the
rest is water and other mystery ingredients. I was told by an industry
person just recently that it is currently running at only 8% seaweed but
I have not tested that myself yet. Either way it's a very small amount
of seaweed sitting in the bottle. It is quite common for seaweed
products to contain other ingredients which are cheaper and make it look
dark (like cheap humic acid) as well as various preservatives. And the
final issue is how much of the seaweed extract is actually PGRs (and the
vitamins, nutrients etc) versus bits of plant fibre/cell walls.
There's nothing wrong with these bits but they just don't have the power
of the PGRs and must be broken down before the plant can get any benefit
from them. It's a bit like when you juice an orange you ditch all the
pith and fibre because you want a concentration of Vitamin C.
Now for what makes our powdered seaweed different to the liquids.
Firstly it contains a Northern hemisphere seaweed species (Ascophyllum
nodosum) which grows in conditions more challenging than the bull kelp.
It's an intertidal zone species so for half the day it's under water
then the tide goes out and it's exposed to the air for the other half.
In winter during the time it's exposed the temperatures are so cold it
freezes. So the seaweed produces very high levels of PGRs to thrive in
these conditions. Also because the seaweed is used to being exposed to
air the PGRs are not degraded when it is harvested.
The processing method employed is the "cold" temperature method and it
does involve solvents to assist with the release of PGRs. Our product
is independently Certified Organic confirming that no nasty toxic
solvents are used however.
And finally when it comes to concentration you can't go better than our
powdered seaweed. The jars contain 100% seaweed extract. There is no
water, preservatives or dilutants. Just seaweed extract. All in all it
is a fantastic superior seaweed product.
seaweed meal versus seaweed extracts
Meal is literally just the seaweed dried out then crushed/rolled to
create smaller pieces. The meal we sell has had nothing removed from it
before processing so it is again a very natural product and is certified
organic. I honestly don't know much about any other company's meal
products. Seaweed meal is an excellent soil improver as it contains
various nutrients (and PGRs at less concentrated levels) and has
fantastic water holding/nutrient holding capacity. It is another way of
adding organic material to your soils to improve them so it's a good
thing to add but it just doesn't provide the stimulating effects that a
seaweed extract does because the PGRs aren't concentrated.
My apologies for such a long response but hopefully you have found it
useful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks
Steve
Steve Falcioni
General Manager, eco-organic garden
Organic Crop Protectants (OCP)
T 02 9599 8767
M 0416 136 474
ORGANIC CROP PROTECTANTS PTY LTD
61 Turrella St, Turrella NSW 2205
T (Toll Free) 1800 634 204 F 02 9599 8010
http://www.ocp.com.au OCPAustralia @OCP_AUS
http://www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au ecoorganicgarden @eco_organic_gdn
So i thought i would compare the liquid product to the dried powder in regards to concentration.
At the concentration level of 20%, if used at 100mls per 9 litres, then this equates to 2.2ppt (2.2mls per litre)
The powder, when used at the recommended dose (or 4.5gms per 9 litres), it comes out at a concentration 0.5ppt. so to get it around the same concentration to compare apples to apples, we need to use 5 times this dose, or 22 gms per 9 litres.
now for the price comparrison:
The cheapest i have found regular liquid seaweed is around the $13 mark for 1 liter.
the powdered seaweed product is around $24 from the Big B green shed for 400 gms.
so, for $13, you can make 90 litres of seaweed product.
for $24 dollars, using seaweed powder, you can make 163 liters of seaweed product at the same concentration.
This is of course assuming that the liquid product is running at 20%, if it is indeed running at 8%, then you can double the volume of product made by the powdered product.
then we have to take into account the amount of usable PGR's in it, the quality of the product due to harvesting and manufacturing processes, and the purity.
Then there is also the impact on the environment, 400gms in a container using roughly the same amount of plastic as a 1 liter bottle, making 1.81 times the amount product at the concentration specified is much better for the environment in regards to plastics production.
bear in mind, i used this for the first time today, at the normal dose rate (5gms per 9 liters) and it was darker than the liquid product when diluted. at this dose rate, it would make 800 litres of seaweed product. at the increased dose rate above, the price was close enough to being the same for both products, at this dose rate, well, it blows liquid seaweed products out of the water on price.
the next test im going to do is run the products at their recommend dose rates, 100mls per 9 liters for the liquid, (at lest this is what i use) and 5gms per 9 liters for the powder, and test their specific gravity on a refractometer, this will show the specific gravity of the product and the density of material in the solution. Although it is not a hard and fast comparison on the "good stuff" in the product that we want to know about, it will at least be interesting.
What dose rates is everyone else using their liquid seaweed product at?
I have been researching some different seaweed products lately. And after a bit of searching found the Eco-Seaweed powder product.
I wanted to know a bit more about it so i Emailed them, and after asking if i could post the information they gave me, i thought i would put i here for everyone to read.
-------------
Thanks for your email and interest in our seaweed powder.
There is a huge variance in the quality of seaweed products on the
market and it can be quite confusing to work out what's the best way to
go. Let me give you some information to hopefully make it easier for you
to decide what to use.
Seaweeds contain a mixture of chemicals/compounds/molecules which we
call plant growth regulators (PGRs) as well vitamins, minerals and
antioxidants. The benefits from using seaweed products (eg stimulating
growth and reducing stresses on the plant) come from the presence of
these PGRs. The more PGRs in the seaweed product you buy then the more
it's going to help your plants thrive. The level of PRGs are determined
by several factors:
1. The natural PRG levels in the seaweed as it grows and how fresh it is
when it gets harvested and processed
2. The type of processing done to release the PGRs
3. The concentration of the finished product
Let's me explain each in more detail.
1. PGRs are the seaweeds natural defense mechanism for handling
stressful growing conditions. The more stressful the growing
environment then the higher the levels in the plant. When most seaweed
is harvested and exposed to the air the plant starts to decay and so do
the levels of PGRs. Most Australian seaweed products are made from
Tasmanian bull kelp. They harvest the seaweed which has been washed up
on to the beaches and is sitting there exposed to air and UV light
damage.
2. There are several different ways the PGRs are extracted from seaweed
but all require bursting the cells open to release the PGRs inside.
Many involve using high temperatures and/or chemical solvents. These
destroy much of the PGRs in the process and/or often leave nasty
chemical residues. Cold temperature treatments are the best but aren't
technically cold. They do involve heat but at lower levels than the
'hot' treatments so there is less damage to the PGRs. I also not aware
of any products which are solely cold temperature produced as they still
rely on solvents as well.
3. The liquid seaweed products sold in Australia are incredibly diluted
products but are sold as concentrates and you go home and dilute them
further. The most ocmmon of the concentrates have less than 20% seaweed in them, the
rest is water and other mystery ingredients. I was told by an industry
person just recently that it is currently running at only 8% seaweed but
I have not tested that myself yet. Either way it's a very small amount
of seaweed sitting in the bottle. It is quite common for seaweed
products to contain other ingredients which are cheaper and make it look
dark (like cheap humic acid) as well as various preservatives. And the
final issue is how much of the seaweed extract is actually PGRs (and the
vitamins, nutrients etc) versus bits of plant fibre/cell walls.
There's nothing wrong with these bits but they just don't have the power
of the PGRs and must be broken down before the plant can get any benefit
from them. It's a bit like when you juice an orange you ditch all the
pith and fibre because you want a concentration of Vitamin C.
Now for what makes our powdered seaweed different to the liquids.
Firstly it contains a Northern hemisphere seaweed species (Ascophyllum
nodosum) which grows in conditions more challenging than the bull kelp.
It's an intertidal zone species so for half the day it's under water
then the tide goes out and it's exposed to the air for the other half.
In winter during the time it's exposed the temperatures are so cold it
freezes. So the seaweed produces very high levels of PGRs to thrive in
these conditions. Also because the seaweed is used to being exposed to
air the PGRs are not degraded when it is harvested.
The processing method employed is the "cold" temperature method and it
does involve solvents to assist with the release of PGRs. Our product
is independently Certified Organic confirming that no nasty toxic
solvents are used however.
And finally when it comes to concentration you can't go better than our
powdered seaweed. The jars contain 100% seaweed extract. There is no
water, preservatives or dilutants. Just seaweed extract. All in all it
is a fantastic superior seaweed product.
seaweed meal versus seaweed extracts
Meal is literally just the seaweed dried out then crushed/rolled to
create smaller pieces. The meal we sell has had nothing removed from it
before processing so it is again a very natural product and is certified
organic. I honestly don't know much about any other company's meal
products. Seaweed meal is an excellent soil improver as it contains
various nutrients (and PGRs at less concentrated levels) and has
fantastic water holding/nutrient holding capacity. It is another way of
adding organic material to your soils to improve them so it's a good
thing to add but it just doesn't provide the stimulating effects that a
seaweed extract does because the PGRs aren't concentrated.
My apologies for such a long response but hopefully you have found it
useful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks
Steve
Steve Falcioni
General Manager, eco-organic garden
Organic Crop Protectants (OCP)
T 02 9599 8767
M 0416 136 474
ORGANIC CROP PROTECTANTS PTY LTD
61 Turrella St, Turrella NSW 2205
T (Toll Free) 1800 634 204 F 02 9599 8010
http://www.ocp.com.au OCPAustralia @OCP_AUS
http://www.ecoorganicgarden.com.au ecoorganicgarden @eco_organic_gdn
So i thought i would compare the liquid product to the dried powder in regards to concentration.
At the concentration level of 20%, if used at 100mls per 9 litres, then this equates to 2.2ppt (2.2mls per litre)
The powder, when used at the recommended dose (or 4.5gms per 9 litres), it comes out at a concentration 0.5ppt. so to get it around the same concentration to compare apples to apples, we need to use 5 times this dose, or 22 gms per 9 litres.
now for the price comparrison:
The cheapest i have found regular liquid seaweed is around the $13 mark for 1 liter.
the powdered seaweed product is around $24 from the Big B green shed for 400 gms.
so, for $13, you can make 90 litres of seaweed product.
for $24 dollars, using seaweed powder, you can make 163 liters of seaweed product at the same concentration.
This is of course assuming that the liquid product is running at 20%, if it is indeed running at 8%, then you can double the volume of product made by the powdered product.
then we have to take into account the amount of usable PGR's in it, the quality of the product due to harvesting and manufacturing processes, and the purity.
Then there is also the impact on the environment, 400gms in a container using roughly the same amount of plastic as a 1 liter bottle, making 1.81 times the amount product at the concentration specified is much better for the environment in regards to plastics production.
bear in mind, i used this for the first time today, at the normal dose rate (5gms per 9 liters) and it was darker than the liquid product when diluted. at this dose rate, it would make 800 litres of seaweed product. at the increased dose rate above, the price was close enough to being the same for both products, at this dose rate, well, it blows liquid seaweed products out of the water on price.
the next test im going to do is run the products at their recommend dose rates, 100mls per 9 liters for the liquid, (at lest this is what i use) and 5gms per 9 liters for the powder, and test their specific gravity on a refractometer, this will show the specific gravity of the product and the density of material in the solution. Although it is not a hard and fast comparison on the "good stuff" in the product that we want to know about, it will at least be interesting.
What dose rates is everyone else using their liquid seaweed product at?
