Collecting and spreading seaweed

Posted: Tuesday, November 20, 2018

'Vraicing' is a tradition that dates back over many years. Once all done by hand and using horses and carts to bring it up from the beaches, this is now all done using machinery.

Seaweed is a natural fertiliser and excellent soil improver.

During the autumn storms large amounts of seaweed gets washed up onto a number of beaches around the island.

Tonnes of seaweed are taken off using machinery and is then spread on selected fields.

Seaweed is particularly helpful on lighter, sandy soils as it is a good source of organic matter, and helps with moisture retention.