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Blanket weed: |
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Mike Senior Member Joined: 15 Feb 2003 No. of posts: 74  View other posts by Mike |
Posted: 08 Aug 2003 Hi, Has anybody got any tips on keeping down (or eradicating) blanket weed in a small garden pond, this year has been particularly bad for the stuff. Mike.
Brickfields Park FREE 25th Anniversary Funday, 4th July 2010. Wildlife, Farm Animals, games, quizzes, refreshments and more. Fun for all. See - http://www.brickfieldspark.org/dates.htm |
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Alan Hyde Senior Member Joined: 17 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 1416  View other posts by Alan Hyde |
Posted: 08 Aug 2003 Hi Mike , How's things? Right , First off ,in my opinion Barley Straw bales hung in the pond doesn't work if you ask me. I have a small garden pond and it's absolutely Blanket weed free .The way I do it is with a filter box that has UV lighting combined with Bio Claire Pond conditioner. Bio Claire is supposedly organic , and if you stick with it , it really does work. For the first couple of weeks keep pulling the weed out by hand and after a while it just stops growing. Hope this helps, Al O-> O+> |
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Mike Senior Member Joined: 15 Feb 2003 No. of posts: 74 View other posts by Mike |
Posted: 08 Aug 2003 Hi Alan, Not bad, although I'm getting a bit p...ed Barley straw seems to work in much larger ponds (acres of) for bloom, but for Blanket weed, don't know. The pond is very small, about 6x4ft, it's just on 2 years old and has had breeding this year frogs, common newts, 1 dragonfly and 2 damselfly species, also seen many other bugs and things. The blanket weed grows at alarming rates in the sunnier parts (clearing it almost daily by "rolling" onto a cane), where there is a mat of Duckweed / Parrots Feather there is no weed. Your filter box must be part of a pump system then?, would it help initally just to use the Bio Claire?, i'm worried a pumped filter system would / could remove some of the invertebrate life. Mike.
Brickfields Park FREE 25th Anniversary Funday, 4th July 2010. Wildlife, Farm Animals, games, quizzes, refreshments and more. Fun for all. See - http://www.brickfieldspark.org/dates.htm |
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Alan Hyde Senior Member Joined: 17 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 1416 View other posts by Alan Hyde |
Posted: 08 Aug 2003 Hi Again Mike, Sorry to hear that Volunteer numbers have dropped  ,but aside from that , we can't really complain can we , we're actually having a summer for once! .
Your pond is roughly the same size as mine . Ours is about 8ft x 2ft . We do have a pump as this pond is mainly for fish . When frogs breed we transfer the spawn and any other life (Dragonfly larvae etc ) to a smaller natural pond. But, to answer your question , yes, I'm pretty sure it does work in ponds without pumps and filters . Infact , it'll probably work better as the bio claire isn't being passed through UV lighting. It looks like grey gravel and comes in either a big white tub , or a pink box . The white tub is being replaced by the new box , so it depends on what your supplier has in stock . Costs around ú10 for a tub , and there's enough for about a year for ponds the size of ours, but if you do try it you have to be patient . It will work if you stick at it. Cheers, Al O-> O+> |
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David Bird Forum Specialist Joined: 17 Feb 2003 No. of posts: 515 View other posts by David Bird |
Posted: 08 Aug 2003 Barley straw does work but the effect is very local with filamentous algae, a pond I used to survey had full sized bales placed in it on the blanket weed. A clear space of about 10 ins developed around the bale but no further, whether lots of the small packets one buys in shops would work I do not know. A cane is the best method I know and an increase in the amount of higher plants to reduce the nutrient levels available to the algae. British Herpetological Society Librarian and member of B.H.S Conservation Committee. Self employed Herpetological Consultant and Field Worker. |
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Alan Hyde Senior Member Joined: 17 Apr 2003 No. of posts: 1416 View other posts by Alan Hyde |
Posted: 08 Aug 2003 Hi David , You're quite right , It does work . Perhaps I should've said it differently , it works, but not very well LOL!
I used 4 small bales in my tiny pond , and as you have said blanket weed was on absent about 10 ins around the bales. Cheers, Alan O-> O+> |
- Blanket weed |
off with this heat. Volunteer levels in the park are almost non-existant.