Gardener's Question Time


@Joey66

Remember a few pages back, I was asking about putting barley straw into a new pond to try and clear the blanket weed ?

The pond is about half and acre in size, roughly the size of a half a footy pitch.

I put eight little bales in, each one about the size of a loaf of bread.

Two months on, they don`t seem have touched the sides of the blanket weed, as it`s still as bad as ever.

Do I need bigger amounts of barley straw or should I consider chemicals ( about £100 for a tub big enough for the pond ) ?
 
COYBL25 said:
@Joey66

Remember a few pages back, I was asking about putting barley straw into a new pond to try and clear the blanket weed ?

The pond is about half and acre in size, roughly the size of a half a footy pitch.

I put eight little bales in, each one about the size of a loaf of bread.

Two months on, they don`t seem have touched the sides of the blanket weed, as it`s still as bad as ever.

Do I need bigger amounts of barley straw or should I consider chemicals ( about £100 for a tub big enough for the pond ) ?
Click to expand...
You had the right idea but 1, its a slow process 2, The bales may need to be bigger or repeat the process 3- calculate the volume of the pond water correctly using google -

You can also purchase eco solutions of barley straw in liquid form i.e, already broken down ready to work or you can us the harsh chemical route called Cloverleaf however I would not use these as they only work well if you has a eco filter & a good pump which would be expensive -

I would go for the eco solution in liquid form which is harmless to fish & wildlife for about £10 -15 one bottle will do over a £1000 gallons - mix it well in a large bucket with water stir well & distribute evenly on different places in your pond - this will add Oxygen etc, but again this a slow process even still -

I know for a fact Cloverleaf if applied correctly will see off blanket weed quickly - I have used it in my 850 gallon pond & in one week the water was crystal clear & blanket weed disappeared in days if you wait for rain to come as forecast & apply correctly as per instructions it did not harm my fish - the hot humid weather will make the blanket weed & algae thrive that's the problem - let the weather go cooler & perhaps consider your options cost wise ;)
 
Right, my lawn is looking a bit tired after a couple of years of basically just cutting it and no treatment.

I'm trying to decide if I should aerate, scarify and overseed in the next 3/4 weeks or just leave it until March.

However, the lawn is quite bumpy and I eventually want to buy a cylinder mower. At some stage I'm gonna have to put down a couple of tonnes of top soil and level.

Is there any point in me doing a load of maintenance to have a nice lawn early next year or will I wait until I've done the hard-scaping bit?
 
Joey66 said:
You had the right idea but 1, its a slow process 2, The bales may need to be bigger or repeat the process 3- calculate the volume of the pond water correctly using google -

You can also purchase eco solutions of barley straw in liquid form i.e, already broken down ready to work or you can us the harsh chemical route called Cloverleaf however I would not use these as they only work well if you has a eco filter & a good pump which would be expensive -

I would go for the eco solution in liquid form which is harmless to fish & wildlife for about £10 -15 one bottle will do over a £1000 gallons - mix it well in a large bucket with water stir well & distribute evenly on different places in your pond - this will add Oxygen etc, but again this a slow process even still -

I know for a fact Cloverleaf if applied correctly will see off blanket weed quickly - I have used it in my 850 gallon pond & in one week the water was crystal clear & blanket weed disappeared in days if you wait for rain to come as forecast & apply correctly as per instructions it did not harm my fish - the hot humid weather will make the blanket weed & algae thrive that's the problem - let the weather go cooler & perhaps consider your options cost wise ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Joey, the only problem is how do you calculate how much Eco do you need for a pond that’s roughly half an acre in size ?
 

COYBL25 said:
@Joey66

Remember a few pages back, I was asking about putting barley straw into a new pond to try and clear the blanket weed ?

The pond is about half and acre in size, roughly the size of a half a footy pitch.

I put eight little bales in, each one about the size of a loaf of bread.

Two months on, they don`t seem have touched the sides of the blanket weed, as it`s still as bad as ever.

Do I need bigger amounts of barley straw or should I consider chemicals ( about £100 for a tub big enough for the pond ) ?
Click to expand...
Barley straw (or barley straw extract) won't clear the existing weed. It works by nullifying the growth of new weed. You would need to manually clear as much of the existing weed as possible for the barley straw to be effective.
 
COYBL25 said:
Thanks for that Joey, the only problem is how do you calculate how much Eco do you need for a pond that’s roughly half an acre in size ?
Click to expand...
Length X Width X Average depth - very difficult - you could get wader boots & move the blanket weed by hand if there are enough volunteers- or just use the cloverleaf in the areas that are infested with blanket weed - the cloverleaf is very good works instantly on blanket weed you can purchase it in big tubs on eBay a 25 kg tub is around £269 or a offer on Amazon for £12 99 today

1756293204835.webp
 
kev said:
Barley straw (or barley straw extract) won't clear the existing weed. It works by nullifying the growth of new weed. You would need to manually clear as much of the existing weed as possible for the barley straw to be effective.
Click to expand...

I tried clearing it with a rake head on an end of rope.

I did two x two hours stints and barely made a dent in it and when I went back the week after, the parts I`d cleared had grown over again !

It would take a solid week of eight hour days to clear it and seeing as it`s not even my pond, it`s just not possible, as I`ve been doing it on the sly during the evening when it`s dark.

My aim is to stock it with fish, which I`ve been doing and then start night fishing it next year.

I`ve read that the barely straw should be added early Spring, after the weed has gone in the Winter ?
 

Joey66 said:
Length X Width X Average depth - very difficult - you could get wader boots & move the blanket weed by hand if there are enough volunteers- or just use the cloverleaf in the areas that are infested with blanket weed - the cloverleaf is very good works instantly on blanket weed you can purchase it in big tubs on eBay a 25 kg tub is around £269 or a offer on Amazon for £12 99 today

View attachment 323009
Click to expand...

I`d say the pond is roughly 50 ft wide x 250 ft length, with an average depth of 4 ft
 
COYBL25 said:
I`ve read that the barely straw should be added early Spring, after the weed has gone in the Winter ?
Click to expand...
Yes that's the ideal time. Barley straw is a good preventative measure as it is effective at inhibiting the growth of new weed.
Unfortunately when the pond is full of weed the barley straw alone won't clear it.
 

Welcome

Join Grand Old Team to get involved in the Everton discussion. Signing up is quick, easy, and completely free.

Register

Shop

Back
Top