But the nonsense that surrounds it casts serious doubts on its validity. Get your fluff paragraphs right so that people can trust your content paragraphs. I guess you missed the subtleness of it. So you think barley straw has some special properties that make it more suitable for this application than other straw — but you failed to mention even one of those!
So maybe it is not different than using other types of straw? Most garden ponds if they are well managed and plants have naturalised eventually become clear. I suspect that many of the success stories are just a consequence of time.
I have to confess that my own pond when i have to top up with tap water which always here contains unfortunately some nitrogen impurity that I do get some blanket weed. I occasionally scrape some out with my lawn scarifier. Around the blanket weed the water is crystal clear! I had a problem with algae. Have long hours of harsh sunlight and heat in summer The Karoo, western cape in South Africa. The water is used and the pond refilled topped up twice a week.
The income water is infested with Algae and string algae and is rich in minerals. The water was often green and discoloured. There are about 50 koi fish, tilapia and gold fish that live in the pond. After reading about the barley straw, I put in one bale, wrapped in chicken wire to hold it together and weights to keep it at the bottom it floats like a cork.
After about a month , as it started to decompose the water started to clear. I have to replace the barley straw annually. So definitely works for me. I have used barley straw in the UK, by the way its is strqw not hay and therefore contains no grains, it is a bi product of harvesting the grains to make beer.
We used to stuff old stockings with it, float that in our pond and it kept the green algi in check, it did not help hugely with what we called blanket weed though. The UK environment agency used barley straw bales in stream to control algea and also if there was a spill of any description it was the prefered clean up agent acting as huge filter mediums.
Over 15 years the results we got in our 10 x 5 x3 foot pond did strongly suggest there is something in it. As to if it would work down here in Australia, I need to test it. I have a non scientific gut feeling that both water and air temps come into play, hence whynthe UK get such good results. So with our temps here, it may possibly create an issue with dissolved O2 content, exasperating the situation. The problem with testing by home owners is that they rarely have two equal ponds to use — one with straw and one without.
Press here to subscribe. Garden Myths - Learn the truth about gardening. By on Algae is probably the pond owners biggest problem and people try everything to get rid of it, even barley straw. Even if it does work, it seems a shame to use it in a pond rather than make beer out of it!
If you like this post, please share This entry is filed under Ponds , Uncategorized and tagged algae , Barley straw , ponds. April 30, at pm. Robert Pavlis says:.
Mike says:. When using our professional strength liquid barley extract you have a couple of different options. On smaller ornamental ponds with good circulation, say 10, gallons and smaller you can pour the recommended dosage of liquid barley into the waterfalls, skimmers or streams and get fantastic results.
On larger ponds and lakes we would advise putting our concentrated liquid barley into a small sprayer filled with water. Then walk the perimeter of the pond while broadcast spraying the product all around the edges of the pond. On larger bodies of water it is recommended to apply more of the product where the prevailing winds push blown debris. Once the perimeter has been sprayed pour the remaining product into the waterfalls, streams or an area of circulation.
For optimum results when using straw, have it floating in the waterscape exposed to the sun in an area of circulation. The straw bale will float for several weeks with no additional flotation device. If and when the straw sinks, add a small piece of foam or closed plastic bottle inside the mesh bag to help the straw continue to float. We have still seen effectiveness in water quality on ponds that hide their barley bales, out of the sun, in filter boxes and such.
If there is room, place the straw bale in your filter box as close to the out flow side as possible as you will want clear, clean water to pass over the barley bale. Do not place the straw bale on the input side of you filter box, because sediment will only clog up the pores of the straw and reduce its usefulness also potentially clogging the filtration system.
Be careful not let the barley bale block your water flow from your filer box as that may very well damn up your waterfall spillway and start a leak. That is the million dollar question! One, you have already spent money on some barley bales and you may as well use them before you make the switch to The Pond Digger Brand Barley Straw Extract! Two, you own a barley farm! Three, you like to do things the hard way and the most serious reason, Four. During the fermentation process of barley straw in a pond environment, microbial activity goes into over drive and tiny beneficial organisms like infusorian are teaming with life next to the barley in your pond.
Fish fry baby fish do very well in ponds that have that kind of fish food availability. Barley Straw Home Barley Straw. Liquid Barley Extract 8 oz. Liquid Barley Extract 16 oz. Liquid Barley Extract 32 oz.
Traditional mechanical and chemical control methods are not always efficient or economical. In recent years, the use of barley straw has become more common as an alternative method for controlling excessive algae growth. This method has been extensively studied by Dr. This page summarizes the use of barley straw based on Dr.
Newman's work and our experiences in Pennsylvania. When applied at the proper time and rate, barley straw has been a very successful algae control technique in Pennsylvania ponds. Barley straw does not kill existing algae, but it inhibits the new growth of algae. The exact mechanism is poorly understood, but it seems that barley straw, when exposed to sunlight and in the presence of oxygen, produces a chemical that inhibits algae growth.
Barley straw does not reduce the growth of other aquatic plants. In fact, in some cases aquatic plant growth has increased after barley straw applications because algae are no longer present to compete with the aquatic plants.
Barley straw is most effective when applied early in the year prior to the appearance of algae fall through early spring. In any case, barley straw remains effective for approximately six months after application.
The most common application is about two to three bales per surface acre of pond or about 10 to 25 grams of straw per square meter of pond area. The depth of water in the pond is not important. In ponds that are frequently muddy or those that have a history of heavy algae growth, two or three times this recommended dose may be required for the initial treatment. However, overdosing the pond with barley straw may cause fish kills because the straw deoxygenates the water as it decays.
This is especially a problem if the pond is overdosed with straw during a prolonged warm spell.
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