What Kelp/Seaweed extract are you using in Canada?

[Orchid grower]

Hello everyone! I live in canada and am getting a bit overwhelmed with all the options, whatever is available in the US doesn't seem to be available in canada.

I can't find kelpmax/kelpak in canada without having to pay a high cost in shipping/duties.
I have a bottle of superthrive from 2020 but from my research I don't think it's usable anymore.

I'm looking something available in canada - I found something called sea-k but it's in a powder form and I read that powder isn't as effective?

Please tell me what the Canadian growers are using! Thank you

My main use of this is for reporting my neglected orchids. Whenever I used superthrive while reporting I noticed none of my orchids died. These orchids have been severely neglected and i want to make sure I won't lose them during repot.

[Ray]

I'll agree that Canadian shipping is ridiculous, but shipping into Canada is even worse.

I don't know your situation, but back in the days when I did a lot of shipping to Canadian folks, the preferred and cheapest way - IF the individual was close enough to the US border - was for me to ship to one of those "package services" in the US. Then the individual would travel into the US, pay them a nominal handling fee and just take stuff home after a day of shopping.

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by Orchid grower

Hello everyone! I live in canada and am getting a bit overwhelmed with all the options, whatever is available in the US doesn't seem to be available in canada.

I can't find kelpmax/kelpak in canada without having to pay a high cost in shipping/duties.
I have a bottle of superthrive from 2020 but from my research I don't think it's usable anymore.

I'm looking something available in canada - I found something called sea-k but it's in a powder form and I read that powder isn't as effective?

Please tell me what the Canadian growers are using! Thank you

My main use of this is for reporting my neglected orchids. Whenever I used superthrive while reporting I noticed none of my orchids died. These orchids have been severely neglected and i want to make sure I won't lose them during repot.

If you live near the coasts I would find a place where you can collect fresh, living coldwater brown seaweed (there is no substitutes) in the early summer and do an osmotic extraction using brown sugar. Simply mix finely chopped kelp with equal parts by weight brown sugar. Fill your container 2/3s full with mixture. Cover but do not make airtight. Allow to extract for 5-7 days and then separate the liquid from the kelp. Supersaturate the solution with brown sugar by adding more until it no longer goes into solution and you have a small amount of undissolved sugar on the bottom. In korean natural farming tradition this would AT least be applied with rice vinegar or raw natural vinegar, both at 8mL per gallon.

I have tried this with sugar kelp, and bull kelp. The active constituents in brown kelp which promote plant growth are phlorotannins (what makes them brown), plant growth hormones (varies depending on the species and when you harvest the kelp), micronutrients, unique sugars, betaines and amino acids. This will not create something that is necessarily better than kelpak but it is a plant sap extract that can be made easily and cheaply by coastal folks that has a lot of the same benefits of a commercial kelp product.

Some may think that this is crazy but there is a lot of horticultural methods we are not exposed to in our "western bubble".

[Canadienne]

Hai, I use marinis seaweed concentrate from rubicon. Available at Canadian tire and Home Depot.
It seems to work fine, have been using it for years. Use Wilson’s liquid ( gel) for root stimulation, now that works great! However I don’t use it regularly, only on root challenged orchids. Available at home hardwares and likely at some other big box stores.

[Orchid grower]

Originally Posted by Canadienne

Hai, I use marinis seaweed concentrate from rubicon. Available at Canadian tire and Home Depot.
It seems to work fine, have been using it for years. Use Wilson’s liquid ( gel) for root stimulation, now that works great! However I don’t use it regularly, only on root challenged orchids. Available at home hardwares and likely at some other big box stores.

Thank you! I'd never heard of this - I got another brand off Amazon before I saw your post but this is a much better price for 1L. I will try this next time. Thanks again

---------- Post added at 01:23 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:21 AM ----------

Originally Posted by thefish1337

If you live near the coasts I would find a place where you can collect fresh, living coldwater brown seaweed (there is no substitutes) in the early summer and do an osmotic extraction using brown sugar. Simply mix finely chopped kelp with equal parts by weight brown sugar. Fill your container 2/3s full with mixture. Cover but do not make airtight. Allow to extract for 5-7 days and then separate the liquid from the kelp. Supersaturate the solution with brown sugar by adding more until it no longer goes into solution and you have a small amount of undissolved sugar on the bottom. In korean natural farming tradition this would AT least be applied with rice vinegar or raw natural vinegar, both at 8mL per gallon.

I have tried this with sugar kelp, and bull kelp. The active constituents in brown kelp which promote plant growth are phlorotannins (what makes them brown), plant growth hormones (varies depending on the species and when you harvest the kelp), micronutrients, unique sugars, betaines and amino acids. This will not create something that is necessarily better than kelpak but it is a plant sap extract that can be made easily and cheaply by coastal folks that has a lot of the same benefits of a commercial kelp product.

Some may think that this is crazy but there is a lot of horticultural methods we are not exposed to in our "western bubble".

Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I may give this a go next time I'm by the water!