Quote:
Originally Posted by Another John
Yes - a popular topic. :-( I realise that this is a FAQ, but technology
changes year by year, and I'm wondering what the latest views are.
I'm currently cleaning out our pond, for various reasons, but one of
them is that I want to have a real go at the damned blanket weed that
invaded several years ago, and finally got the better of us a year or
two ago.
I have drained the pond, and I'm scrubbing at the liner with a hard
floor brush, in an attempt to remove as much of the weed as possible.
It's almost *im*possible: traces of the weed remain no matter how hard
I scrub.
I'm aware that many "treatments" exist (I tried one a couple of years
ago), but do any of them actually work? I'm always afraid that it might
do for other things as well as the blanket weed. The one that I did try
(Tetrapond Algofin) had little discernible effect.
I suspect that the consensus will be: "put up with it, and try to
remove it regularly" :-(
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I suppose the first thing to do is to work out why your pond has a high level of fertility which gives rise to blanket weed year after year. We have had blanket weed in some years in one of our ponds, but with good plant cover and conscious attempts to reduce nutrient levels, it hasn't been too much of a problem. Last year, for example, we had a small amount a few weeks into the season, which I removed, and once the water lily leaves had developed we had no more problem.
The three ponds round the north side of the house don't get it at all.
What is your pond like? In sun or shade? fish or wildlife? What sort of plants?
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