A place to learn, share and inspire others to create a haven for you and for wildlife.
Sign In or Register to join the conversation
Somewhere in the back of my memory is the idea that you stuff an pair of old tights with barley straw and put that in the pond, as it sinks and decomposes it slowly alters the chemistry of the pond and inhibits the growth of blanket weed but it is not an instant cure, the other thing you can do is the stick twiddle, lifting the weed and placing it at the edge of the pond so any small things can get back into the water.
Caroline in Jersey
Cin J
Thanks for tip Caroline. Will try the stick twiddle this pm.
I know getting hold of barley straw can be a bit difficult, esp. if you want organically grown.
These guys do it www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/barley-straw-single-bale.html
I am trying a product called Cloverleaf Blanket Answer on both my fish and wildlife pond this year.Not cheap but if it works it will be cheaper in the long run than trying all the other stuff.
I don't think it is organic as such but does not contain nasty chemicals but a blend of minerals and enzymes.
The water does turn milky for a while.
I have tadpoles in my treated wildlife pond.
I have never had any luck with barley straw,the blanket weed just grows on it!!
So far this year I have had no blanket weed at all and have only used one dose,it is also very difficult to overdose so pretty safe.
I am keeping a diary of the ponds this year on this thread http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/homesforwildlife/f/904/t/97954.aspx
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
Does Cloverleaf Blanket Answer work on duck weed?
No it does not work on duck weed.
I have some in my fish pond and the fish eat most of it so not a real problem.
Do you have fish in your pond?
No we haven't any fish at the moment, just frogs and maybe a newt (but haven't seen the newt yet this year).
Was watching Monty Don on Gardner's World & he was advocating the use of barley straw stuffed into tights in his large pond at Long meadow but he did say that it could be up to six months before any improvement!
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
Germain was spot on. The barley straw inhibits the algal growth, it works but you have to remove the blanket weed first, well as much as you can and the barley straw should then stop it from taking over again. I put the barley straw bundles in my pond when I first set it up and never had any problems with blanket weed even though the pond gets full sun.
If you can wind it around a stick carefully then you should be able to remove it without harming the tadpoles.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
I have used the Cloverleaf Blanket Answer and still have no sign of any blanket weed on my fish or wildlife ponds.It seems expensive but I have only used one dose this year so have enough left for the next 5 years or so!
The wildlife pond is doing exeptionally well and the water is crystal clear and i have many fat and healthy tadpoles in it.
Barley straw was never a success for me with the blanket weed growing on the bundles!