Lakes, Rivers, Oceans and What Comes From Them...

[big ballin 88]

I do a lot of kayaking and see lots of vegetable material or soil/mud/clay that makes me wonder. Considering that I live in a sub-tropical environment, we have water literally everywhere. Most of our waters are clean due to a series of checks and balances of the ecosystem and flow/drain.

We all know that sea kelp, sea salt, river silt, fish, shellfish and the like are extremely useful to gardening. As I look at the algae and plants which grow under and on the water, i consider the feasibility of using them for compost, mainly due to the lack of seed and hopefully the additions of growth regulator.

I am about to start growing kangkong(water cabbage) which is supposed to make a diverse FPE. I am also considering utilizing the fish waste from fishing, but it smells way to brutal to be anywhere around my place.

Do any of you harvest water plants(or animals) and use them for composting(thermo or vermi) or fermentation(lactoB or bokashi)? Foraging down here means utilizing the water.

 

[Rusty420]

 

[jaykush]

you know i do, the only thing i stress is the water source, water source determines EVERYTHING as far as water plants go. bad quality water, go find another source.

i have a really good local source of watercress, i can go harvest almost the entire patch, which fills a truck a few times, and in a couple months its back to the same again.

these type of plants make excellent mulch as well, mostly because they are water plants, the conditions on land are not suitable for growth so you wont get re sprouting plants, even if they have seeds. chances are they wont grow unless your garden floods.

another benefit is these plants act as nutrient catchment systems when growing on/in streams. soluble nutrients and minerals are being taken down stream from areas above. these plants slow the water down, trap sediment, and absorb the soluble nutrients. in turn you harvest them, compost or mulch them. and nutrients that would otherwise leave the area are now kept in the local nutrient cycle.

i also like wild bunch grasses because of the cut and come again method you can use on them, giving you tons of quality material for composting or mulch.

 

[dread]

i have these little floating plants on my pond
i use them in the gh ,just mix under the soil
i water my plants with pondwater
i use the residu in the pondfilter also to mix with soil or as topdressing
grtz
D

 

[big ballin 88]

Jay- Thatys what I was thinking about mulchin/compost. Dont have to worry about the water plants going to seed and having to deal with it.

I love how the water holds so many minerals, you can really tell by the mud that surrounds the lake, nice color considering our soil is shitty around here(very sandy for a foot, then straight rock). I completely agree with you on clean water sources since they are vital for what we are going after.
.
I am thinking about starting a water garden in the areas of my yard that flood/stay boggy. This will be for the kangkong as some others.

Another thing to consider is the fish carcasses from these water sources. After the meat is eaten off, you're left with straight bones, which can be heated and pulverized into bone meal. So far we have green compost and free bone meal. Don't forget mussels/clams either for their shells.

 

[mostnonymouse]

I'm lucky enough to have Ascophyllum Nodosum growing on the shores of my state, so I harvest what I can whenever I'm near the water and compost it/feed some to the worms. I also contacted one of the larger crabbing outfits in the area and the president gave me his blessing to grab as many crab shells as I can fit in my truck, but I haven't yet made the trip. I planned on making bokashi from the wild-caught fish scraps of a local fish market in town, but this has been put on hold as well until I have a suitable space for gardening

 

[jaykush]

Another thing to consider is the fish carcasses from these water sources. After the meat is eaten off, you're left with straight bones, which can be heated and pulverized into bone meal

ive made my own fish fertilizer before, lets just say ill never do that again. i prefer to bury my fish scraps if i ever have them, which is rare.

ill stick with the loads and loads of different mineral accumulating plants that grow in/near water.

 

[heady blunts]

what's the best way to process fresh shellfish shells? do you pyrolyze them like char?

 

[mostnonymouse]

I deal in very small quantities; basically what is stuck in the seaweed I gather, but I usually just crush them between a couple smooth bricks into a fine powder.

 

[jaykush]

what's the best way to process fresh shellfish shells? do you pyrolyze them like char?

im going to assume to powderize them, but your idea sounds pretty sweet it they char well.

 

[heady blunts]

are they sun dried or something? I just imagine they need to be dried before they're brittle enough to powder...

 

[supermanlives]

i have a sea kayak. i brink home all kinds of seaweed/kelp. the fish end up in outdoor garden

 

[big ballin 88]

ive made my own fish fertilizer before, lets just say ill never do that again. i prefer to bury my fish scraps if i ever have them, which is rare.

ill stick with the loads and loads of different mineral accumulating plants that grow in/near water.

Thats why I wait until all the fish scrap are gone and use just the fish bones. I rather buy fish hydro if anything. I've got to say, some of these plants do comparably(just not in AACT).

I'd like to start collecting seaweed from the area and just use it as a green manure. I'd imagine it has a better nutrional profile than any of the lae dwelling stuff.

Howeve, there has been one plant that has been of interest to me. It grows only in the area where the water flows into our lake and roots along very internode. It seems to be heavily influenced by growth hormones since it grows back quickly when cut and roots fast.

 

[Guest 150314]

starfish