Ok, I know this is exactly the opposite of what most people want to do.
There is a pond on a ranch I duck hunt on that is fairly large - it's
a dammed up creek creating a "teardrop shaped" pond that is about 180
yards x 50 yards (widest) x 25' deep.

Ducks occasionally visit the pond, but if it had something there for
them to eat (like duckweed), I suspect it would draw them in droves.

Q1: how hard is it to transplant duck weed and get it to "take hold" in
a pond this size? Would I need a 55 gal barrel of the stuff, or just a
5 gal bucket?


Q2: if duckweed were introduced to this pond, would it completely take
over this pond the way it does small "cow tanks"? This is NOT
something we would want. Basically, we would want enough that it would
provide a reliable food source - but not so much that it would choke out
everything else - there are lily pads & quite a few fish (catfish, bass,
& bream) stocked in the pond.

--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."

Q1: how hard is it to transplant duck weed and get it to "take hold" in a
pond this size? Would I need a 55 gal barrel of the stuff, or just a 5
gal bucket?


Q2: if duckweed were introduced to this pond, would it completely take
over this pond the way it does small "cow tanks"? This is NOT something
we would want. Basically, we would want enough that it would provide a
reliable food source - but not so much that it would choke out everything
else - there are lily pads & quite a few fish (catfish, bass, & bream)
stocked in the pond.

Hi Chris - my experience with duckweed is that I can't keep it - my GF &
Koi eat it like candy - no problem with it "taking over", but maybe that's
because I'm in SW Ont and it may be different in your area - I can put in
half a 5 gal bucket and it will be gone within 2 - 3 days ( ~ 45 fish) -
Also it might be dependent on what else your ducks (or fish) have to feed
on as to how well it will thrive in your climate
Maybe someone else in your area can answer your question better

Gale :~)

"Chris Barnes" wrote in message
...
Q2: if duckweed were introduced to this pond, would it completely take
over this pond the way it does small "cow tanks"? This is NOT something
we would want. Basically, we would want enough that it would provide a
reliable food source - but not so much that it would choke out everything
else - there are lily pads & quite a few fish (catfish, bass, & bream)
stocked in the pond.
=========================
This stuff can completely choke a pond. I see it happen to farm ponds here
in TN. Every inch of surface was duckweed.
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:22:36 CST, "G Pearce"
wrote:

Q1: how hard is it to transplant duck weed and get it to "take hold" in a
pond this size? Would I need a 55 gal barrel of the stuff, or just a 5
gal bucket?


Q2: if duckweed were introduced to this pond, would it completely take
over this pond the way it does small "cow tanks"? This is NOT something
we would want. Basically, we would want enough that it would provide a
reliable food source - but not so much that it would choke out everything
else - there are lily pads & quite a few fish (catfish, bass, & bream)
stocked in the pond.

Hi Chris - my experience with duckweed is that I can't keep it - my GF &
Koi eat it like candy - no problem with it "taking over", but maybe that's
because I'm in SW Ont and it may be different in your area - I can put in
half a 5 gal bucket and it will be gone within 2 - 3 days ( ~ 45 fish) -
Also it might be dependent on what else your ducks (or fish) have to feed
on as to how well it will thrive in your climate

Just as a data point, I'm up in northern Florida and my experience has
been that duckweed can entirely take over a pond. I have three ponds,
two of which get a lot of business from ducks. The front pond always
had a fair amount of duckweed in it, but the back pond was free of it
up until two years ago, when it moved in and entirely covered the pond
inside of a month. (This all happened about the time I found the
alligator in the back pond who I suspect ate whatever was keeping the
duckweed in control, but that is another story.) I think the
difference between people who love it or hate it largely depends on
how cold it gets in the winter where they live. The ducks seem to be
pretty fond of it no matter where they hail from.

Maybe someone else in your area can answer your question better

Gale :~)

G Pearce wrote:

Hi Chris - my experience with duckweed is that I can't keep it - my GF &
Koi eat it like candy -

I can't believe I've been reading this newsgroup since 1996 and I read that
as "my Girlfriend & Koi eat it...". Very sad...

What can I say? The pond's frozen until March or April.
--
derek

On Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:22:01 CST, Derek Broughton
wrote:

Hi Chris - my experience with duckweed is that I can't keep it - my GF &
Koi eat it like candy -

I can't believe I've been reading this newsgroup since 1996 and I read that
as "my Girlfriend & Koi eat it...". Very sad...

What can I say? The pond's frozen until March or April.

Sounds like you are having a long winter this year. Hope breakup
comes early for you.
--
Hal Middle Georgia, Zone 8
http://tinyurl.com/2fxzcb

I would like to know for those that put it in your pond.....doesn't it
clog or cause havoc with your pumps and filters ???

Hi Chris - my experience with duckweed is that I can't keep it - my GF &
Koi eat it like candy -

I can't believe I've been reading this newsgroup since 1996 and I read
that
as "my Girlfriend & Koi eat it...". Very sad...

Hey Derek - it was from this group I got the "GF" shortcut for goldfish
about '96 - maybe it's a Derek-ism? :~)))))))))))))))))))))))). So how
do you like the eastern "boondocks" as compared to Ontario? I can't imagine
living "off the grid" as you've mentioned you are. I like a little more
civilization than that, although there are times I envy you
Gale :~)


What can I say? The pond's frozen until March or April.
--
derek

I would like to know for those that put it in your pond.....doesn't it
clog or cause havoc with your pumps and filters ???

It floats on the surface and has no length to it's roots (maybe 1/4") - in
my case it doesn't last for more than a couple of days and rarely bother
with it anymore because of that. I used to put some in my Lotus pots to let
it multiply before throwing it in the pond by the handfull - that was the
only way I could keep it around - maybe it doesn't grow or multiply as fast
in our northern climate as compared to the southern US
Gale :~)

Galen Hekhuis wrote:
Just as a data point, I'm up in northern Florida and my experience has
been that duckweed can entirely take over a pond.

I know it can completely take over a small pond. But since I have never
seen it take over, say a lake (I have seen it in lakes, but it's always
confined to small coves or along the edges).

Therefore, I presume that there is some limit to how big of an area it
can take over. Maybe it's fish eating it (most fish aren't veggies)?
Maybe it's the wind blowing it to one end or the other?

*IF* there is a limit, then where is that limit? Ie. is the pond I
described big enough?

--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."

©anadian Ponder wrote:
I would like to know for those that put it in your pond.....doesn't it
clog or cause havoc with your pumps and filters ???


Ponds of the size I'm talking about don't usually have pumps or
filters....

180 YARDS x 50 YARDS x 25' deep.


--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes
"Usenet really is all about standing around and hitting the ground
with clubs, on a spot where many years earlier a dead horse lay."

G Pearce wrote:


I can't believe I've been reading this newsgroup since 1996 and I read
that as "my Girlfriend & Koi eat it...". Very sad...

Hey Derek - it was from this group I got the "GF" shortcut for goldfish
about '96 - maybe it's a Derek-ism? :~)))))))))))))))))))))))).

Not likely :-)

So
how do you like the eastern "boondocks" as compared to Ontario? I can't
imagine living "off the grid" as you've mentioned you are. I like a little
more civilization than that, although there are times I envy you

I've wanted to live here ever since I spent the winter of '79 here. I can't
quite figure out why - most winters aren't so much snowy as slushy. It's
more like 5 months of early spring than winter, and that winter was
spectactularly slushy. Personally, I think that's the worst part of the
year. And I was working for the federal government. I swore I'd never do
that again. So here I am, another slushy winter, and doing most of my work
contracting for the federal government (but at least I'm not on their
payroll). Eagles, otters, beavers, coyotes, foxes, ospreys and herons make
it all worthwhile (though all I can see right now is squirrels, crows and
chickadees). The herons have bigger fish to fry than my little pond
provides. :-)
--
derek

On Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:49:07 CST, Chris Barnes
wrote:

Galen Hekhuis wrote:
Just as a data point, I'm up in northern Florida and my experience has
been that duckweed can entirely take over a pond.

I know it can completely take over a small pond. But since I have never
seen it take over, say a lake (I have seen it in lakes, but it's always
confined to small coves or along the edges).

Therefore, I presume that there is some limit to how big of an area it
can take over. Maybe it's fish eating it (most fish aren't veggies)?
Maybe it's the wind blowing it to one end or the other?

*IF* there is a limit, then where is that limit? Ie. is the pond I
described big enough?

I don't really know, my back pond is about the size you describe, but
only about 5 1/2 feet deep. When I first moved here it was pretty
clear, then in the space of about a month it became completely
covered. Personally, I think the alligator ate the critters that
were keeping it clear, but I don't know for sure and I can't even say
for sure that there were critters keeping it clear. My middle pond
is some 50 -60 thousand gallons when it has water in it, which the
current drought has made rather difficult. Even though it is visited
by waterfowl, and has been visibly "seeded" with live duckweed plants,
none of it has ever taken hold and the pond remains duckweed free. The
front pond is about 40 feet by 120 feet, and has always been covered
with duckweed, as far as I know.

I stuck an aerator in the middle pond which may deter the duckweed. I
can get power to the middle pond, the others are over 1/8 mile from
power, and I don't have an extension cord long enough to try in the
others. I did try a little solar power aerator in the back pond
with mixed results. It was far, far too small for the pond, but it
managed to keep a little area (about silver dollar sized) open.
Unfortunately, they want more bucks for a large sized aerator than I
am willing to spend on an experiment.

Hi..

Chris Barnes wrote:

[...pond: 180 x 50 (widest) x 25' deep - and holy duckweed...]

Q1: how hard is it to transplant duck weed and get it to "take hold" in
a pond this size?

Hmm.., it might depend on swell, stocking - and the availability of plant
crowded shallow water zones..

Would I need a 55 gal barrel of the stuff, or just a
5 gal bucket?

Well just a single one duckweed plant should be able to conquer such a
pond..

Q2: if duckweed were introduced to this pond, would it completely take
over this pond the way it does small "cow tanks"?

Will depend on several different factors..

This is NOT something we would want.

Well duckweed is known to be an epidemical weed..

Basically, we would want enough that it would provide a
reliable food source

Of course - for duckweed eaters..

- but not so much that it would choke out everything else
- there are lily pads & quite a few fish (catfish, bass,
& bream) stocked in the pond.

Bream == Abramis brama..?

--
cu
Marco

"©anadian Ponder" " wrote in message
. com...
I would like to know for those that put it in your pond.....doesn't it clog
or cause havoc with your pumps and filters ???
=======================
Not unless your pump intake is on the surface.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }((((* ~~~ }{{{{(ö