Finally: First Growth Despite Bad Weather

Like us, our seaweeds profit from longer days after an unusually stormy and dark January

Coming to the farm and seeing the first clearly visible seaweed fringes on our lines is always a moment of joy and relief! This year even more so, since there were so many days with bad weather where it was impossible to go and check.

Sugar kelp that was seeded on twine in November has grown to 30-40cm. Feb 15, 2022

After an unusually stormy and dark winter, the days are finally getting longer. This is good news for our seaweeds that are light-limited in their growth at this time of year. The lines that were seeded with twine in early November, i.e. where seedlings were visible with the naked eye already then, are the first ones to show major growth and development. Here, our sugar kelps are 30-40cm in length when we checked this past week.

Twine-seeded sugar kelp is emerging. Feb 15, 2022

In contrast, the seaweeds that were seeded ‘directly’, i.e. as microscopic seedlings, in November, have not been visible with the naked eye until now. We jokingly relate their emerging to Valentine’s Day (Feb 14), but the key factor is that days are getting longer and the seaweeds are benefitting from more sunlight to support their growth. Compared to previous years, they are still small (max. 15cm), which probably is a consequence of the continual bad weather and few sunny days so far this year. We are, however, optimistic that they will catch up gradually and grow into a healthy crop also this year.

Winged kelp seeded as microscopic seedlings are beginning to emerge. Feb 15, 2022

Check out this video to get an impression on the whole cultivation cycle at TANGO Seaweed:

https://youtu.be/eym2h1L5Tl0 (thanks to Wytse Vonk).