GREAT Watercress supplier (Nasturtium officinale), ideal for preventing algae blooms

[JohanJ]

Hello,

A lot of people suffer from unsightly algae blooms in their ponds during the summer especially if they have fish. The reason for this algae bloom is fairly simple: too many nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) in your pond's system, caused by fish waste, broken down by the nitrogen cycle. One solution that the fishy crowd adopt, of which I'm one, is enlisting the aid of fast growing plants to remove these nutrients. And the plant to have doing that job for you is watercress. Not the tiny shoots you see in the supermarket but nice big plants of the stuff.

Although you can find watercress in your local supermarket, if you're having difficulty sourcing enough to make a big difference to your pond in one fell swoop, I just wanted to give a little plug for a proper watercress farm a couple of miles down the road from me who sold me a huge bag of the stuff with roots when I asked.

This is one of the last family-run watercress farms left in England (they've been growing it since 1850 and know a thing or two about the stuff) they're lovely people and know exactly why pond owners want it. They grow Nasturtium officinale which is an attractive large-leaved variety, it grows like crazy, tastes great and removes excess nutrients like nobody's business. It's quite nice and peppery - I've only had it in a few days but I still havn't seen any goldfish or orfe grazing on it (I don't do koi). It's doing a great job of hiding the edge of the pond as well.

Anyhow, they said best to give them a call on 01306 730703 and give them a couple of days notice (to go gather a bagfull from their fields). The people in question are Kingfisher Farm Shop based in Abinger Hammer on the A25, Surrey. Basically it's the road between Dorking and Guildford, you'll see a sign for the farm shop turnoff on the left sign of the road as you approach Abinger Hammer if you're going towards Guildford. They're open 7 days a week.

Ps I don't usually wax lyrical about suppliers but sometimes the good guys deserve a plug.

Moderators - I'm not a spammer or affiliated with these guys in any way. Just trying to help people find something useful to help clear their pond. Please can you drop me a note if this should be posted somewhere else? Many thanks

[N0z]

Nice, and thanks for the info i actually might give them a ring

[Kayleigh]

Supermarket watercress has always been fine in my pond it gets a little invasive so needs pulling up sometimes it does not clear the duckweed and the blanket weed is not a problem any more in my pond.
I only use 1 bag of the supermarket bought and this is enough as it grows quick and spreads quick.

[Red Robin]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

Supermarket watercress has always been fine in my pond it gets a little invasive so needs pulling up sometimes it does not clear the duckweed and the blanket weed is not a problem any more in my pond.
I only use 1 bag of the supermarket bought and this is enough as it grows quick and spreads quick.

.... x 2

In its second year of existence my small wildlife pond (no fish) has no blanket weed any longer and all the duckweed has disappeared. Not as a result of watercress though, as my fruit-n-veg-shop watercress has now seeded and died. I await to witness what emerges next Spring.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Red Robin

.... x 2

In its second year of existence my small wildlife pond (no fish) has no blanket weed any longer and all the duckweed has disappeared. Not as a result of watercress though, as my fruit-n-veg-shop watercress has now seeded and died. I await to witness what emerges next Spring.

It shouldn't have died mine is still going strong its evergreen and the frost don't affect it..

[Red Robin]

Originally Posted by Kayleigh

It shouldn't have died mine is still going strong its evergreen and the frost don't affect it..

....Well, all of mine died after flowering and seeding. At least it looked rather dead so I removed it. Most of the seeds dropped into the water so we'll see what happens. Plenty Water-forget-me-not growing though.