Discovery

Ecklonia kelp.

Historically, the use of seaweed as a plant growth supplement stems from Roman times.  The Irish also documented the use of algae on their crops to improve crop growth and yields. The earliest method of using this natural material was to collect cast kelp from the ocean shores and transport it to nearby fields. It would then be spread and dug into the soil where natural composting processes would break the material down and convert the organic compounds it contained into forms available for plant nutrition. This practice was limited to areas close to shorelines thus restricting the general knowledge of the use and beneficial effect of kelp on plant growth to certain coastal zones.

Presently, three manufacturing processes exist to produce concentrated liquid kelp/seaweed products for use in the agricultural and horticultural markets.  The first and oldest of the three methods is the Alkaline Digestion or Hydrolysis Method.  The second is the Liquid Nitrogen Process, and the third the Mechanical Cell Shearing Method.

The first commercial attempt using the alkaline digestion or hydrolysis method to produce a foliar applied seaweed extract was developed by the Norwegians in the late 1950’s using Ascophyllum seaweed. Their process concentrated the nutrient components of kelp and improved its shelf life, allowing the product to be marketed and transported to agricultural areas far removed from the source of the kelp deposits.  The Norwegians collected Ascophyllum off the beaches, placed it in digesting tanks, and then added water and an alkaline chemical in order to digest the kelp into a sludge form. Sometimes they applied heat to reduce the digestion time.  On completion of the digestion or hydrolysis, they dehydrated the sludge using more heat.  This process yielded a dark brown powder often labeled as “Algifert” in the export market.  Various trade names such as Maxicrop, SM3, Panasea, Marinure, Seagreen are associated with a liquid form of this seaweed powder.

Cambrian founder Stephen Pheiffer harvesting Ecklonia kelp.

Kelp-based, plant growth products derived from alkaline digestion, i.e., the hydrolysis method, are of lower quality and variable effectiveness due to the loss of certain kelp compounds during processing.  As a result, this process is considered the most damaging to the sensitive natural biostimulants found within the cytoplasm of fresh, growing kelp as this process subjects these compounds to heat, dehydration and extreme alkaline pH levels.

The French developed the second commercial process for kelp, marketed under the trade name Goe-mar.  They used liquid nitrogen to freeze kelp to a rock hard, brittle state allowing the kelp to be stored at extremely low temperatures for extended periods.  They then further processed the kelp with high pressure mechanical rollers.  The crushing action caused the frozen water within the cell to rupture the cell walls, releasing the cytoplasm from the cells.  The extremely low temperatures used are destructive to the growth stimulants present in fresh kelp.

Stephen Pheiffer, Cambrian’s founder, was involved in developing the third commercial kelp process.  In 1980, he and a partner patented a technology called the Mechanical Cell-Shear Process.  For this process, scuba divers harvested fresh, crisp Ecklonia maxima kelp off the west coast of Africa.  The kelp was thoroughly washed to remove sand grains, sodium salt and other impurities and then mechanically reduced to progressively smaller particle sizes.  It was finally subjected to mechanical cell shearing allowing the cytoplasm to be released, retained and concentrated.

This process avoids heat, dehydration, chemical digestion, and freezing of the raw material.  The resulting product contains and retains all the compounds found in fresh, natural kelp in a viable, biologically active form.