This year our small garden pond is totally blanketed with duck weed.
Is there a remedy likely to be harmless to the inhabitants? Netting it
out seems to stimulate further growth!
-
John Lloyd
Black Country, UK

"John Lloyd" wrote...
This year our small garden pond is totally blanketed with duck weed. Is
there a remedy likely to be harmless to the inhabitants? Netting it out
seems to stimulate further growth!

An Oase SwimSkim will remove it eventually but they are not cheap and you
will need to empty it's container constantly at first. Once it's got rid of
most of the floating stuff it will only need cleaning out every few days as
it clears up any new weed, floating leaves, etc. Also provides water
movement and aeration.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
just W. of London

"John Lloyd" wrote in message
...
This year our small garden pond is totally blanketed with duck weed. Is
there a remedy likely to be harmless to the inhabitants? Netting it out
seems to stimulate further growth!

For an environmentally acceptable solution for larger ponds is the Grass
Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella which is a herbivore that feeds on plants and
algae (ordinary carp Cyprinus carpio will eat other pondlife).

On Aug 22, 7:13*am, John Lloyd wrote:
This year our small garden pond is totally blanketed with duck weed.

I hardly dare post this to such a genteel group but:

I said to my little grandson,"Oh dear the pond is full of duck weed."

He replied,"Never mind, Grandad, nobody will notice it in the water."

On 22 Aug, 07:13, John Lloyd wrote:


This year our small garden pond is totally blanketed with duck weed.
Is there a remedy likely to be harmless to the inhabitants? *Netting it
out seems to stimulate further growth!
-
John Lloyd
Black Country, UK

You are not alone John, my small garden pond is exactly the same.

I was told that there is very little that can be done if the pond is
too small for wild fowl which might eat it. The only things suggested
were, buy a pump and some kind of water circulation device to keep the
surface moving, or wait for a sharp winter frost then the weed will
become encased in ice and can be moved away wholesale.

As the latter is likely to be months away, I am considering the
former.

"Martin" wrote in message
...

Cover it with black plastic. Duck weed needs sunlight to survive.
--

Martin


Try to establish some shade giving plants/shrubs/trees. That will alleviate
the problem



--
Mike

The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association
www.rneba.org.uk
Luxury Self Catering on the Isle of Wight?
www.shanklinmanormews.co.uk

On 22 Aug, 07:13, John Lloyd wrote:
This year our small garden pond is totally blanketed with duck weed.
Is there a remedy likely to be harmless to the inhabitants? *Netting it
out seems to stimulate further growth!

If your pond overflows at one point, pumping water into it from other
end can work well as the duck weed washes out with the overflow. If
you use tap water, be careful the extra chlorene doesn't kill off any
fish you have.

Matt

On Aug 24, 11:46*am, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Martin" wrote in message

...



Cover it with black plastic. Duck weed needs sunlight to survive.
--

Martin

Try to establish some shade giving plants/shrubs/trees. That will alleviate
the problem

--
Mike


My pond is mostly in shade, but when the sun is high in the sky the
water gets sun on it. Maybe later this autumn the weed will die off
anyway?

Thanks, I will live in hope.

sutartsorric writes

My pond is mostly in shade, but when the sun is high in the sky the
water gets sun on it. Maybe later this autumn the weed will die off
anyway?

It dies off and sinks to the bottom, adding to the build-up of silt.

Then it regrows next year!

--
Kay

In article b5076a74-bbe9-4837-95e4-
,
says...
On Aug 24, 11:46*am, "'Mike'" wrote:
"Martin" wrote in message

...



Cover it with black plastic. Duck weed needs sunlight to survive.
--

Martin

Try to establish some shade giving plants/shrubs/trees. That will alleviate
the problem

--
Mike


My pond is mostly in shade, but when the sun is high in the sky the
water gets sun on it. Maybe later this autumn the weed will die off
anyway?

Thanks, I will live in hope.

Don't get fooled, remember duck weed sinks down in winter and pops back
up again in spring, it is however quite difficult to grow and I have been
trying for years to establish it without success (helps keep the water
nice and clear) and my pond has high nitrate levels and full sun but it
is windy and I am wondering if Duck weed requires a very sheltered water
surface?
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

On Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:15:40 +0200, Martin wrote:

Some years it completely covers the IJsselmeer, although not so far this year.
Tourists have been known to take short cuts across canals in the semi dark
because they mistook the duckweed for lawns.

I nearly fell for that myself when I was a youngster. Recently I saw a
dog chase a cat across a duck weed covered pond. They both got a bit
wet.

Steve

--
Neural Planner Software Ltd www.NPSL1.com

On 2009-08-24 11:58:54 +0100, Martin said:

On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:39:04 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 2009-08-24 11:29:05 +0100, Martin said:

On Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:15:26 -0700 (PDT), sutartsorric
wrote:

On 22 Aug, 07:13, John Lloyd wrote:


This year our small garden pond is totally blanketed with duck weed.
Is there a remedy likely to be harmless to the inhabitants? *Netting it
out seems to stimulate further growth!
-
John Lloyd
Black Country, UK

You are not alone John, my small garden pond is exactly the same.

I was told that there is very little that can be done if the pond is
too small for wild fowl which might eat it. The only things suggested
were, buy a pump and some kind of water circulation device to keep the
surface moving, or wait for a sharp winter frost then the weed will
become encased in ice and can be moved away wholesale.

As the latter is likely to be months away, I am considering the
former.

Cover it with black plastic. Duck weed needs sunlight to survive.

But that would kill off other plants too, surely?

One has to be willing to make sacrifices. )

Give the pond some shade by planting some shrubs/trees.

Encourage ducks, moorhens, etc as they eat the stuff.

Try a duck weed treatment but there aren't many and this one is expensive:
http://www.aquahydrotech.com/catalog...product_type=1

Keep raking it out.

Remember that it does some good in removing contaminants from the water
(hence it is cultivated in some sewage/waste water treatment plants.

Or try one of these -- you might take baby out with the bathwater but
at least you don't have tokeep emptying it:
http://www.garden4less.co.uk/hozelock-pond-vac.asp

On 2009-08-25 17:37:03 +0100, Stan The Man said:
snipminants from the water (hence it is cultivated in some
sewage/waste water treatment plants.

Or try one of these -- you might take baby out with the bathwater but
at least you don't have tokeep emptying it:
http://www.garden4less.co.uk/hozelock-pond-vac.asp

Thanks very much for this, Stan. It IS expensive but might welll be
worth it as 2 of our ponds have duckweed and the third doesn't. If we
can get rid of it in those 2, it would be a great boon.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon