Tessa the Duchess Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I heard on Gardeners Question Time that if you put dried lavender in an old sock or tights and float it in a pond it will get rid of blanket weed. Got some lavender from e.bay which arrived this am and was just about to put it in the pond and then I wondered if it would be okay for the pond fish, anybody any idea? Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I've heard that barley straw is used for the same thing, I dont see why lavender would do any harm, but someone will be along shortly that knows more than me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 I've heard that barley straw is used for the same thing, I dont see why lavender would do any harm, but someone will be along shortly that knows more than me Yes, barley straw is the usual thing to get rid of blanket weed. Apparently the barley straw has to rot down before it puts out hydrogen peroxide which kills the weed, whereas lavender just gets rid of it straight away, well according to Bob Flowerdew:) Think I'll wait and see if anybody has an answer, would be mortified if I killed the fish:( Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Did you buy dried lavender or fresh? We've got a lavender bush thung in the garden and wondered if I could use that fresh. If not I'll dry some out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 Did you buy dried lavender or fresh? We've got a lavender bush thung in the garden and wondered if I could use that fresh. If not I'll dry some out I bought dried lavender. I have two lavender bushes but neither are flowering right now, but in the future I would use fresh and dry it out in the sun, if we have any sun Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 I heard that item too, Tessa and thought it was useful as dried lavender is generally easier to come by than barley straw. I wouldn't have thought they'd have given it out as a tip if it was harmful to fish, after all most ponds have fish in. Wonder if there's anything on the BBC Gardeners site? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Watching this with interest as we have a pond with about 17 fish in that is very blanket weedy at the moment. We have a barley straw mat this year that is about 20cm square and has been in there for about a month, they do take a while to get going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Didn't hear the lavender article but will watch this thread with interest. We have always used barley straw in the past. Just as a passing comment, our UV lamp failed a month ago when we did the annual bulb change . The cheapest replacement we could find ended up being 4 times the power recommended for our size pond (which is 11 feet x 7 feet x 4 feet), strangely though, this spring is the first year we haven't had any algal bloom or blanket weed showing up. Perhaps the calculations on the uv lights for pumps aren't correct and we need bigger than we thought for our ponds? Just a thought, or maybe coincidence. I won't be swapping back to a smaller light though just in case . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share Posted June 2, 2009 I have had 4 bags of dried lavender floating in my pond for 3 weeks and it really does work The blanket weed just curled up and died and was easy to scoop out, I now have an almost blanket weed free pond. The pond fish all survived Try it! Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I've got some drying out ready to go in the pond Need an idea like this to get rid of algae now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..lay a little egg for me Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I have had 4 bags of dried lavender floating in my pond for 3 weeks and it really does work The blanket weed just curled up and died and was easy to scoop out, I now have an almost blanket weed free pond. The pond fish all survived Try it! Tessa I have tried some straw in bags which have been in the pond for weeks now, but we still have loads of blanket weed. I'd like to try the lavender idea, but have some questions: Is it just the lavender flowers (like in a lavender bag for your clothes drawer) or stem and leaves too? How much lavender per bag and how much water would a bag treat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I will have to try this then because my pond is terrible this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share Posted June 3, 2009 I have tried some straw in bags which have been in the pond for weeks now, but we still have loads of blanket weed. I'd like to try the lavender idea, but have some questions: Is it just the lavender flowers (like in a lavender bag for your clothes drawer) or stem and leaves too? How much lavender per bag and how much water would a bag treat? I just used the dried flowers not the stems or leaves. My pond is kidney shaped so about 7' x 4' I cut up two old pairs of tights and used the 'feet' to make the bags I used 4 bags which was probably overkill I don't think it really matters , but obviously a huge pond would need more bags. Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy chickens! Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Thanks for that, will give it a go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mostin Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 I'm so glad to hear this works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen Hall Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 I cant wait to try dried lavender for blanket weed! Straw has never worked for me and too messy. fir green water try buying a bag of watercress leaves from the supermarket, add to a glass bowl of water. Leave in a windowsill. In a week the leaves will have grown roots. Toss in the pond. Works best/ quickest if contained in a colander under a water fall or outlet but fine just floating otherwise. Bye bye green water! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
