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  • #1

    Duck weed hell

    I did a very silly thing 4 years ago when I made my pond. I decided to get a little bit of duck weed from the wild along with other native plants. I can say it's the biggest regret of my pond life because it covers the whole pond and I just can't get the better of it. I fish it out using a baking sieve which is great but I have to painstakingly make sure that tadpoles and those small shrimpy creatures don't get pulled out with it. The pond is only small but I can say after an hour's session of filtering the stuff out I had hardly made a dent only to find next day the whole pond was covered over again.

    The only plus side of this is it makes great green manure/compost fodder
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  • #2
    You live & learn Marb.....................
    sigpic“Gorillas are very intelligent, but they don't have to be as delicate as chimps -- they can just smash open the termite nest,”
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    Official Member Of The Nutters Club - Rwanda Branch.
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    Sent from my ZX Spectrum with no predictive text..........
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    KOYS - King Of Yellow Stickers..............

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    • #3
      Never tried it- but have a look at this- it claims to be natural.

      Hydra DW-400 by Pond Water Treatment Supples-Hydra Aqua UK
      "Nicos, Queen of Gooooogle" and... GYO's own Miss Marple

      Location....Normandy France

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      • #4
        Wait until you have a good thick layer it's easier as it all clings together. Strain it out and leave it in a heap on the side of the pond over night. All the little creepy crawlies will find their way back into the pond by themselves.

        I am afraid you will never get rid of it just keep it under control and it will provide shade to the pond and possibly help to prevent algae.
        Gardening requires a lot of water - most of it in the form of perspiration. Lou Erickson, critic and poet

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        • #5
          I actually was daft enough to BUY some from a garden centre about 20 years ago!

          And yup- you just sieve it out and leave it in the shade at the side of the pond for easy access of the wild life back into the pond.
          Yup- some pondlife will die and some will be eaten by the birds, but apart from starting afresh ( had you thought of doing that if it's small??) it's the only other alternative.

          Or maybe try that link I just posted????
          "Nicos, Queen of Gooooogle" and... GYO's own Miss Marple

          Location....Normandy France

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          • #6
            We made a wildlife pond on our site last year. It's big and at the bottom of the field's French drain. I think all the fertilisers we use also wash down and the pond has been covered in weed all year. Every other week it is fished out and left on the side. It is annoying, but like you say, it makes good compost.
            http://mudandgluts.com - growing fruit and veg in suburbia

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            • #7
              There are chemical treatments available. Depends how you feel about it.

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              • #8
                I planted a very young mulberry tree near where my pond is now, it was obviously very unhappy- not growing and with shrivelled curled leaves. I fished out the duck weed and started putting it around tree after I had left it by the pond to give any wriggly a chance to return. To my surprise the tree grew a foot and now has lovely glossy leaves. It may be a coincidence but the transformation has been so incredible that I am experimenting with putting it around other plants.
                No matter:the allotment is lovely, the tadpoles have legs, my sea kale has germinated and I am glad to be home.

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                • #9
                  Hello Marb, I have just read an artical in the Gar. News which says that duckweed is the new supperfood, as it contains 60-70% protein, so if you have a pond full of it, you have a head start on the rest of us, and sure as anything once you start trying to grow it for food, it will die off.
                  Keep removing it from your pond and place it on a piece of poly. to allow the insects etc. to get back into the water.
                  it may be a struggle to reach the top, but once your over the hill your problems start.

                  Member of the Nutters Club but I think I am just there to make up the numbers

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                  • #10
                    I have so much algae, i dream of having duck weed! Yes, I know, I'd regret if I did have it
                    Le Sarramea https://jgsgardening.blogspot.com/

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                    • #11
                      I have so much duckweed it gives me nightmares...it didn't occur to me I should be eating it!

                      ....duckweed stir fry??
                      The best things in life are not things.

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                      • #12
                        You must be quackers.
                        Life should be more like Bonsai...

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                        • #13
                          Shade and Barley straw or Barley straw extract should help.

                          The more sun the Duck weed gets the faster it spreads.

                          Maybe try and get some plant life that offers shade and covers the surface more to help control the duckweed and is nicer to look at?
                          Life should be more like Bonsai...

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