Nutrient Soup – Sea Minerals

For thousands of years humans have utilised the minerals and vegetable products of the sea for both food and fertiliser. Now, well documented research has shown that seawater can have profound effects on both plant and animal life as long as sodium chloride is not over applied.

Dr. Maynard was one of the early pioneers of using sea minerals for fertiliser, also known as seawater agriculture. He began his lifelong research in sea energy agriculture in 1936. His goal was to replicate the perfect chemistry of the ocean and return it back into the depleted soils. He felt this was the key to proper nutrition, a stronger immune system and a healthier life. Dr. Murray often wondered why land-based animals suffered from so many forms of chronic disease while sea animals generally enjoyed vigorous health. Murray theorized that the apparent difference in disease resistance and vitality between life on land and in the sea is due to mineral deficiencies in our soil and food. He envisioned a cycle whereby continents rise from the oceans rich with minerals.

The effects of climate (freezing, thawing, rainfall, and erosion) – combined with mankind’s poor treatment of the land and increasing acid rain cause topsoil minerals to go into solution and wash away into streams, rivers then the oceans. Murray concluded that these minerals hold the key to human health. Therefore, it made sense to recapture them and restore them to our soils, a method that would be both organic and sustainable.

His findings were published in his book: Sea Energy Agriculture: Nature’s Ideal Trace Element Blend for Farm, Livestock & Humans – ISBN: 9780911311709. It definitely makes for an interesting read!

Dr. Murray used sea solids or mineral salts remaining after water is evaporated from ocean water as fertiliser on a variety of vegetables, fruits and grains. His extensive experiments demonstrated repeatedly and conclusively that plants fertilised with sea minerals and animals fed fertilised feeds grow stronger and more resistant to disease. The rivers of the world dump millions of tons of minerals into the oceans each year and have done so for eons. Seafloor springs and volcanic eruptions have also added the mix of elements. Seawater contains 89 elements plus many compound minerals and it has been estimated that it contains over 50,000 different organic substances in the form of fulvic acid. It is a literally a nutrient soup!

“Most crops utilize an average of 40 elements from the soil. In no case do fertilizers add more than 12 and most commercial fertilizers add a maximum of six elements.” Sea Energy Agriculture, Dr. Maynard Murray.

Some of the results that he recorded from animal – when growing pasture for cows with sea minerals as a fertiliser it was found that the cows eat much less and give more milk. The neighbouring cows reportedly tried and succeeded in breaking fences to reach this ‘good grass’. Mice where they all had breast cancers are healed 50% in one generation, 100% by the second, being fed food grown with sea mineral fertiliser.

‘The long term solution to the food crisis is development of new productive crop hybrids and the spread of modern agricultural technology throughout the developing world, I shudder. Established experts harp on about things like “pest control,” better management of “fragile soils” and novel ideas for “storing water”, but they turn a deaf ear toward sea solids technology, which provides all of these things naturally.’ Sea Energy Agriculture, Dr. Maynard Murray.

He got bigger yields, tastier and more nutritious food, far fewer pests and just healthier plants in general.
“From the start, my sea solids experiments produced excellent results, and it has now been conclusively proven that the proportions of the trace minerals and elements present in sea water are optimum for the growth and health of both land and sea life.” Sea Energy Agriculture, Dr. Maynard Murray.

Without essential trace elements you may see increased insect and disease problems in your garden. If you suspect that you have a poor nutrient content within your soil you could try adding concentrated sea minerals which can be bought online, use according to the directions. If you can forage, kelp, ocean fish, and sea water are all good sources of minerals and trace elements. Yes, the ocean has salt, but it also has over 80 other minerals that are immediately available to plants upon application. Fill up a container next time you are near a clean stretch of ocean. As for application rate, I would try diluting at close to 10%, so add 1 cup of seawater to 2 litres of water per square metre twice a year. You could also apply it as a foliar spray. Avoid using tap water if you have a water softening system where sodium is used in the system process.

A more recent study published in The Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry 2008, pp 3391–3397, found that watering tomatoes with diluted seawater can boost their antioxidant content that leads to healthier fruit, scientists report. Tomatoes are already known to contain many health benefits, including protection against prostate cancer and heart disease. In the study, scientists grew cherry tomatoes in both freshwater and in a diluted solution of 12 percent seawater. It was found that tomatoes grown in the sea water showed higher levels of vitamin C, vitamin E, dihydrolipoic acid, and chlorogenic acid. All of these substances are antioxidants that appear to fight heart disease, cancer, aging, and other conditions. Using sea minerals to irrigate tomato crops appears to be a promising alternative to freshwater irrigation.

Sea minerals are also great for lawns and regenerating the burnt spots/ circles caused by your dog if you have one. You know where the grass is dry and dead in the centre, but thick and green around it? There are obvious advantages to getting trace elements back into the food supply that we eat, not only will it taste better it will also be healthier for you. The sea minerals need not be limited to just edible plants, they will also benefit your roses, frangipanis, flowers and other plants and trees.

The work of this pioneer Dr. Maynard Murray was largely ignored during his lifetime, and his book became a lost classic – out of print for over 25 years. Now people are widely using sea minerals from commercial farms to the backyard garden. It is beneficial, sustainable and organic!