Koi and Gardeners Question time...

[Gaina]

An odd mix, I know but stick with me....

I was listening to GQT this afternoon and there was a little tip about lavendar - if you cut it, leave it to sun-dry and then sink a bunch in your pond (in one of those 'tab bags' you get with washing products) it gives off a gas when it rots down which kills the harmful algea in your pond.

Neat eh?

[Jez]

Thanks for the tip!! I suppose you just keep the bag in the pond until all the algae has cleared? Has anyone here tried this method before?

Edit: How much lavender do you need to use for a small pond say 3ft x 4ft? :P

[Phoebe]

That's one I've not heard of. I will remember it for when I get a pond, which will hopefully be this year.

[Dutchess]

Cripes! There is something weird going on here. I have just dug out a load of Med herbs from my herb garden (incl. Lavender) as they are too shaded with all the trees around them growing up - there simply is not enough sun for them. And as I have nowhere else for it to go, one straggly lavender buish is sitting aside looking as though it is destined for the compost heap. However, it will now be chopped up and placed in the new wildlife pond which is taking the place of the sun loving herbs of my former herb garden! Recycling at it's best

[Gaina]

Originally Posted by Jez

Thanks for the tip!! I suppose you just keep the bag in the pond until all the algae has cleared? Has anyone here tried this method before?

Edit: How much lavender do you need to use for a small pond say 3ft x 4ft? :P

I presume so, Jez. A member of the panel had used it and it does work . As to the amount? I'm not sure. Might be a good idea to go onto the Gardener's Question time 'Micro Site' and see if you can find discussions on the topic? I know you can listen to the show again if you click 'archives' .

[Jez]

Originally Posted by Gaina

I presume so, Jez. A member of the panel had used it and it does work . As to the amount? I'm not sure. Might be a good idea to go onto the Gardener's Question time 'Micro Site' and see if you can find discussions on the topic? I know you can listen to the show again if you click 'archives' .

Thanks Gaina I'll give it a listen!

Originally Posted by Dutchess

Cripes! There is something weird going on here. I have just dug out a load of Med herbs from my herb garden (incl. Lavender) as they are too shaded with all the trees around them growing up - there simply is not enough sun for them. And as I have nowhere else for it to go, one straggly lavender buish is sitting aside looking as though it is destined for the compost heap. However, it will now be chopped up and placed in the new wildlife pond which is taking the place of the sun loving herbs of my former herb garden! Recycling at it's best

& Dutchess nice to see your volunteering for WAB's first trial run Good Luck, Hope it all goes swimmingly well!!!

So what do you get if you cross a pond full of toads, frogs and newts with a bag of dried lavender? Herbtiles! Boom Boom

[jeanne]

Originally Posted by Gaina

An odd mix, I know but stick with me....

I was listening to GQT this afternoon and there was a little tip about lavendar - if you cut it, leave it to sun-dry and then sink a bunch in your pond (in one of those 'tab bags' you get with washing products) it gives off a gas when it rots down which kills the harmful algea in your pond.

Neat eh?

hi thats something new i keep koi in a very large pond ive a very good filter box and uv light,trouble is since we have lately sunny days i have gor lots of algea/ blanket weed i went to my local aquatic centre and bought clover leaf which i put in last week it seems to have cleared some of it but normaly my pond is crystil clear but i can only see fish when theyre near the top!i was told also that i could get some sort of wool ball that goes into the filter box which im going to try and ive been reading an article that says put some floating plants like water lettuce they use up mineral salts and provide shade both which inhibit the growth of algae and another plant to use when the risk of frost has gone is water hyacinth tomorrow im going to get some clear pond and maybe water lettuce to try,as i love to be able to see my koi swimming around so relaxing.

[Tursiops2]

Originally Posted by jeanne

plants like water lettuce they use up mineral salts and provide shade both which inhibit the growth of algae and another plant to use when the risk of frost has gone is water hyacinth tomorrow im going to get some clear pond and maybe water lettuce to try,as i love to be able to see my koi swimming around so relaxing.

Hi jeanne

Forgive me, but could I ask you not to put either of those plants into your pond? They're both non-native species which are known to be invasive, and can cause serious ecological problems if they get into natural watercourses. More info here:Pond Conservation | Introduced plants | Avoid introduced invasive plants

There are other ways of treating a cloudy pond.
T2

[Naturenutz]

Hi,water hyacinth or water lettuce cannot survive a british winter . they certainly never in my pond. I would think they are very unlikely to take hold in the wild and although very invasive in the summer will surely die off if they were to escape ?. They need to be kept indoors over winter to survive as they cannot survive frosts. They both are great for creating shade in the pond though.

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Gaina

An odd mix, I know but stick with me....

I was listening to GQT this afternoon and there was a little tip about lavendar - if you cut it, leave it to sun-dry and then sink a bunch in your pond (in one of those 'tab bags' you get with washing products) it gives off a gas when it rots down which kills the harmful algea in your pond.

Neat eh?

I would rather like to know what the gas is, what the harmful algae are and more details of the 'experiment' .....