Spirulina as plant food?

curious_squirrel

Somebody told me you could just sprinkle spirulina powder around plants as a plant food. Is this true? I tried it once and mould just grew on the surface of the soil after a few days!

Anyone had any success doing this? And if so, is it good for veg or just houseplants?

punkdoc

I think a general fertiliser would be better and much cheaper, so why?

curious_squirrel

punkdoc said:

I think a general fertiliser would be better and much cheaper, so why?

Because I have lots of Spirulina in my cupboard and I like to keep things organic and natural where I can. But not if it's no good!

curious_squirrel

Treeface said:

Maybe try mixing it in with the soil instead of leaving it on the top? Not sure how the roots of the plant would access it otherwise.

I have lots of chia seeds in my cupboard that are years old, should I sprinkle them on top of my soil? Lots of vitamins and minerals.

Yes, mixing it in does seem to make more sense. Thankfully though it was very easy to remove when it was on the top! If it did something peculiar when mixed through the soil I worry it could contribute to the roots rotting, especially after the mouldy surface fiasco.
Might be worth doing a test case and just putting some in with one plant.

I was just told to sprinkle, and indeed when I google "spirulina as plant food" the first thing that comes up tells you to sprinkle in the earth around houseplants. Definitely didn't work for me though, so I was just wondering if it was something else I did wrong before I write it off completely.

I'm not set on using it, just would like to know if it is useful because I'm not going to do anything else with it and seems a shame to waste such an expensive product! (I was given it)

B3

Id try the chia seeds on the birds first