'bloom'

[firewatch]

its this weed that grows like a thick carpet in the pond, no matter how much of it i pull out it comes back with a vengence. It smells like seaweed which has been out in the sun all day. Is there any way i can get rid of it for good? my landlord chopped down a tree in a effort to get rid out by introducing more light but it does not seem to have worked.Help

[oldernowiser]

Its called blanket weed. The recommended treatment are "straw bales" sunk in the pond - available from Aquatic centres, but not that cheap. Lavender clippings stuffed in a net also have some effect, and I've had some success with bits of old branches, which I read somewhere gave off a similar chemical to the straw as they decompose. But there are no easy answers.

[firewatch]

thank you we have a large lavender bush in the garden i will take some clippings tommoorw and submerge them and see if it helps. It a very frustrating plant to deal with its an ongoing battle that i know i wont win!

[Bromsgrove]

Barley straw is what you are looking for.As it sinks to the floor of your pond it emits a gas which deals with the blanket weed. Each bale of straw lasts about 4 months so that you can anticipate when a new one is needed, gradually you can build up a pond where the weed becomes less of a problem. Unfortunately the barley straw takes a few weeks before it activates, but it is worth the wait. Good luck1

[firewatch]

I'm going to try the lavender as we have a massive 'shrub' of it in the garden. And the suns shining so i best get a move on!

[ORAC60]

Hi if you choose to use lavender stalks make sure that there are no flowers or buds on them
and a cheap way of getting barley straw is to find a farm that grows barley and buy a bail for about �5 and use ladies tights to put it in
if you think that the bail is dear the price at the aqua shop is expensive for what you get and what you dont use you can use for rabbits if you know any one
ORAC60

[ORAC60]

hi ORAC60 again it the sun that causes the weed to grow so if you problem continues and you have the room move the pond into a shady area that does not get any sunlight after about 10 am