re: Irish Boy's - 480W & 720w Grow LED Hydro - Land Of Clovers
Heres some good reading on Seaweed for out plants.
Seaweed extracts have been proven to accelerate the health and growth of plants. The actions of it are many. We will attempt to explain some of them here for you.
Seaweed stimulates beneficial soil microbial activity, particularly in the pockets of soil around the feeder roots resulting in a substantially larger root mass. where the beneficial fungi and bacteria known as "mycorrhizae" make their home. This area of the soil is known as the "rhizosphere." The rhizosphere activity improves the plants ability to form healthier, stronger roots. Having many actions it also enhances the plants own natural ability to ward off disease and pests. A good example has been observed that aphids and other types of sap feeding insects generally avoid plants treated with seaweed. At the same time it works within the soil to make more nutrients available to the plant. The rhizosphere forms a nutrient food bank for the plant it can draw on in times of stress.
Another action seaweed has on the roots in the rhizosphere is due again to the increased mass and depth of the roots the plant is able to draw more moisture from the soil increasing the drought tolerance level. The root mass also allows the plant to more effectively absorb and use fertilizers that are applied to the plant and soil. The overall stronger root structure may help plants physically resist certain types of root diseases.
Seaweed enhances photosynthesis via increasing a plants chlorophyll levels. Chlorophyll is what gives plants their green color. By upping the level of chlorophyll the plant is able to efficiently harness the suns energy. Along with this seaweed contains a complex range of biological stimulants, nutrients, and carbohydrates. To date more than 60 different types of nutrients in seaweed have been confirmed. However seaweed in itself is not a plant food, rather it is classified as a "bio-stimulant."
Seaweed extracts contain natural plant growth regulators (PGR) which control the growth and structural development of plants. The major plant growth regulator are auxins, cytokinins, indoles and hormones. These PGRs seaweed are in very small quantities generally measured in parts per million. It only takes a very small amount of these to do the job.
Indole compounds help the development of plant roots and buds.
Cytokinins are hormones that promote growth via rapidly speeding up the process of cell division making seaweed extract of value in treating tissue cultures. When they are applied to foliage the leaves rejuvenate stimulating photosynthesis. Thus they stay green longer. The cytokinins in seaweed extract are a major factor when applied to apple and peach trees in promoting the growth of fruiting spurs and reduce premature dropping of fruit.
Auxins, also hormones, occur in the roots and stems during cell division. They move to areas of cell elongation where they allow the walls of cells to stretch. Auxins actually give fruits and vegetables a naturally longer shelf life. This is known as delaying senescense: the deterioration of cells and tissues that results in rotting.
Improved cold tolerance: We have had results with seaweed treated tomato plants that were able to take temperatures as low as 29 degrees and survive quite well. Many more cold tolerant annual flowering plants such as petunia, alyssum, and verbena were able to withstand many hard freezes and stay green and flowering. Plants that have broken dormancy too early due to unseasonable fluctuating temperatures are able to make it with the help of just one foliar application as have seedlings that were put out and left uncovered.
How can this be?
The effect of the growth regulators in seaweed fill plant tissues with hormones and minerals displacing a lot of water in the tissues. In turn this helps plants to tolerate the pressure from frost that would normally cause significant tissue damage. Polyamino compounds in seaweed also play a role in cold resistance as do abscissic acid. Seaweed as a plant supplement treatment has consistently proved to be the best treatment for preventing the threat of frost damage. For us seeing it was believing it!
Seaweed extract and insects: Once again the plant growth regulators in seaweed come into play concerning insect control. We have observed reductions in populations of aphids and flea beetles on seaweed treated plants to the point that these bugs were hardly noticed. Infestations of spider mites have been reduced by 40 to 50 percent. It is thought that the spray may have an effect in disrupting the mites reproductive capabilities.
The presence of hormones in seaweed may act to keep insects from advancing sexually rendering them incapable of reproducing. Some female insects are prevented from producing sexual scents that are needed to attract a mate.
These are some of the reasons that Golden Harvest Natural Fertilizer has seaweed extract as one of its' main ingredients. The amounts it contains are perfectly measured in the formula so there is no guess work for you in combining seaweed extract with another fertilizer product! All the ingredients in Golden Harvest work together to give your plants the absolute best! We also sell seaweed powder that works beautifully as a plant tonic on its' own in between your regular fertilizer applications.
Heres more info
SEAWEED COMES ASHORE
Reprint from Nov/Dec 1991 Fine Gardening Magazine
By Delilah Smittle
Seaweed is good for the garden. Mixed in the soil, it slowly releases nutrients that plants need, while improving soil texture. Since it is particularly rich in micronutrients such as iron, copper, zinc, boron and manganese, seaweed offers a natural remedy for soil with a micro-nutrient deficiency. Seaweed also contains large quantities of hormones that stimulate plant growth. Plants in seaweed amended soil grow faster and larger than plants in soil with a comparable amount of conventional fertilizer.A traditional soil amendment in coastal gardens, seaweed is now formulated in extracts and granular products that you can find on garden center shelves and in catalogs of garden suppliers (see sources on p. 32). Fresh seaweed and dried granular seaweed must break down in the soil to release their nutrients and hormones. A foliar spray of seaweed extract and water makes the nutrients and hormones available to plants faster. Research has shown that plant health can improve within days after the spray is applied. Foliar seaweed sprays rapidly correct nutrient deficiencies, improve fruit set and help a plant endure environmental stress, including drought and frost.
Where it started
Coastal gardeners have long collected seaweed and composted or used it fresh as mulch in their gardens. In the British Isles, 19th century gardeners grew potatoes of superior flavor in layers of sand and seaweed on bedrock. Traditionally, seaweed is raked from the sea by hand, piled into skiffs and brought to shore. It is time-consuming, heavy work. A small boatload of fresh seaweed weighs 4,000 lb. to 5,000 lb. Not surprisingly, the discovery of synthetic fertilizer sin this century eclipsed labor-intensive and slow-acting organic amendments, seaweed among them. Seaweed's emergence as a tonic for plants began with British experiments with seaweed as a replacement for hemp during World War II. Scientist learned that as a rope substitute, seaweed was hopeless because it dissolved in water. This discovery, however, led to a process for liquidating and concentrating seaweed, making it possible to bottle and to transport economically it's minerals and hormones. Drying seaweed over low heat led to the production of seaweed meal, a source of minerals and vitamins for livestock feed, and a concentrate soil amendment. Today, gardeners can readily find seaweed extract and seaweed meal.
The primal supermarket
Seaweed is a rootless plant in the Fucus family that floats freely or clings to rocks by holdfasts (root-like or disc-shaped plant parts that attach seaweed to rocks but don't absorb nutrients). Seaweed photosynthesizes the sunlight that reaches it through shallow water and it absorbs nutrients from seawater through its leaves. Since the ocean receives runoff from the entire earth, it contains all known minerals, trace elements and vitamins. This primal supermarket supplies a more complete diet for sea plants that any plot of rich soil or fertilizer provides for land plants. Seaweed contains 60 or more minerals and several plant hormones. It is not, however, a complete fertilizer. It has a fair amount of nitrogen and potash, but very little phosphorus, a major plant nutrient. Only a few seaweeds are harvested commercially. Norwegian kelp (Ascophyllum nodosum) a brown algae, is the seaweed most used in gardening. Norwegian kelp is gathered off the coast of England, Ireland and Norway and both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America where it is called rockweed. Gulfweed (Sargassum) a floating sea plant, is harvested off the coast of North Carolina. Giant kelp (Macrocystis) is collected in the Pacific Northwest.
How seaweed enhances plant growth
Seaweed is constantly worn down by tides and eaten by fish, so it must grow rapidly to survive. Studies at the University of California showed that a frond of seaweed can grow a foot a day, given optimal conditions. The same growth hormones that prompt such rapid growth in seaweed, when applied to plants as a foliar spray, can increase the speed of cell division and elongation in those plants. The hormones also increase root growth when applied to the soil as meal, or when a seaweed extract is used as a root dip.In recent turf test at Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg, plots sprayed with seaweed extract had 67% to 175% more roots that untreated plots. Plots treated in fall showed a 38% increase in spring growth over untreated plots and showed 52% more roots.In test at South Carolina's Clemson University, seeds soaked in liquid sea weed extract showed rapid germination and the resulting seedlings and increased root mass and stronger plant growth that seedlings from untreated seeds. They also had a higher survival rate. Soaking plant roots in seaweed extract reduces transplant shock and speeds root growth. Seaweed foliar sprays promote faster, stronger stem and leaf growth and earlier blossoming and fruit set when sprayed on leaves and flowerbeds.
Seaweed as fertilizer
Seaweed improves soil fertility in several ways. Seaweed's nutrients and hormones are directly available to plants. Mannitol, a compound found in seaweed, enables plants to better absorb nutrients from the soil. The rapid breakdown of carbohydrates in seaweed stimulates beneficial soil bacteria that fix nitrogen and make it available to plant roots. These activities reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, and when seaweed is used with them, enhance their effects.Robert Kourik, an organic gardening specialist, suggest using 1 lb. of seaweed meal per 100-sq. ft. of soil or 1/4 tablespoon of liquid concentrate to 1 gal. of water for a foliar spray in intensive vegetable gardens. No matter what formulation is used -- fresh, dried or liquid - don't exceed the recommended quantities because excessive amounts of seaweed can stunt plant growth rather than encourage it.
Seaweed as pest control
Some scientists believe that seaweed has developed antitoxins to fend off bacteria and viruses in the ocean. In the gardens, these antitoxins interrupt the reproductive cycles of some insects and appear to repel others. Seaweed also reduces fungi when applied to plants or soil. In test at the University of Maryland, seaweed meal reduced soil nematodes in turf grass plots. Clemson University studies showed fewer aphids and flea beetles on foliar threatened plants, and other studies showed resistance to spider mites and scab. In Clemson studies, fruits and vegetables treated with seaweed didn't grow mold and thus had a longer shelf life.
Using seaweed
You can apply seaweed as mulch or as a soil additive, or incorporate it in a compost pile (its ability to activate soil bacteria makes seaweed an excellent compost starter). But the preferred method of application is as a foliar feed. For a head start on the growing season, you might want to presoak seeds in diluted seaweed extract for 20 minutes before planting. Then water the seedlings regularly with the same solution until strong growth appears. Apply seaweed meal to the soil as soon as the ground can be worked in spring because the meal needs time to break down. Work the meal in to perennial beds when the plants break dormancy.Apply foliar sprays once or twice a month during the growing season. Spraying in late fall supplies phosphorus and zinc to plant roots and increases the frost tolerance of grass, vegetables, and perennials. A late season foliar treatment can yield a longer harvest of vegetables.A balanced organic fertilizer can be created by mixing fresh seaweed or seaweed meal with manure or fishmeal, both of which supply sufficient phosphorus. Seaweed is also a good soil conditioner and can add as much humus to the soil as manure can.
SEEMS IT CAN HELP US WITH EVEN PEST AND MOLD PROBLEMS. LOTS OF BENEFITS TO USING IT.
rather lose them now then later. 
just reading the options above it dose sound like the more logical way to go would be to have the feed at the root from the get go, some intresting reading about Rh as ive never taught much about it but then i never had a meter to show the levels, one for the future me thinks,
