# pond weed for mulch



## silosounds (Nov 13, 2004)

we have alot of pond weed this year in our farm pond has anyone used this in the compost pile or to mulch garden? not sure what species it is or if it matters but it grows in long strands and almost looks like feathers growing on a stem and you could pull a huge clump out by pulling on one strand. we need to get more weed carp or get some aeration .


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## majik (Feb 23, 2005)

I want to know this too! Anyone? I have a major duckweed issue and (watch for read drift here) have researched that we have to manually clear it, eliminate the sources of nitrogen and phosphorous (cutting down trees and brush around the pond), and aerate. I can do that, but I was hoping and wondering that we could use the manually removed stuff for mulch and/or fertilizer.


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## ronbre (Apr 26, 2009)

it is great mulch but can be kinda weedy..so make sure you have it on really thick where you put it so it doesn't sprout the weeds..you can flip it over if the weeds sprout..it tends to really get lightweight when it dries..


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## silosounds (Nov 13, 2004)

I found the name, milfoil is this duck weed? Ive cleared a 6 foot area and had 2 wheel barrels full Im going to try it in the compost bin first. and let it dry down a little. I don't need any more weeds though. why is it so weedy?


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

ronbre said:


> it is great mulch but can be kinda weedy


There would be a zero weed seed problem in pondweed! None of their seeds would germinate out of the water!

Eurasian milfoil is a good mulch but is possibly allelopathic to many plants. For certain, nothing will grow in it during the 2 years or so it takes to break down when dumped in 4' high piles. (They will condense to 4" during that time.) Since it's known to seriously affect lakes by raising the pH, it's possibly quite alkaline. It also tends to remain waterproof for a long time. Despite all that, I managed to incorporate a thousand gallons or more of the condensed form into my gardens from 2005 to 2008. Once it's into the soil, it's very much like peat except for more snail shells! 

Martin


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

If you have a farm pond, probably you could rake eurasian milfoil out and leave lying for awhile to semi-dry--no sense handling all that waterlogged material--then use it for compost with other materials. In order to use the greens as compost, though, some form of wringing out the moisture is necessary--otherwise the milfoil will stay waterlogged and simply lose most of its fertility and be useful only as mulch. Duckweed, the small foating green stuff, would require skimming and filtering to get it out Since both are invasive and aggressive, your efforts at raking and straining probably will continue for a long time, so might as well make use of them. These plants thrive on the nitrogen and phosphorus in your water, so anything you can do to eliminate that will certainly help. Mostly from fertilizer, sewage, and ag runoff. Chemical controls may be necessary, and you should check it out with local governmental bodies if permits, licenses are needed. Even grass carp and koi are no-nos in many states, because they will eat all the vegetation, good and bad, remove all cover and upset the natural habitat, and since they are vegetarians, will not be attracted to other baits, leaving a pond or lake full of non catchable fish.

geo


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

geo in mi said:


> If you have a farm pond, probably you could rake eurasian milfoil out and leave lying for awhile to semi-dry--no sense handling all that waterlogged material--then use it for compost with other materials. In order to use the greens as compost, though, some form of wringing out the moisture is necessary--otherwise the milfoil will stay waterlogged and simply lose most of its fertility and be useful only as mulch. Duckweed, the small foating green stuff, would require skimming and filtering to get it out Since both are invasive and aggressive, your efforts at raking and straining probably will continue for a long time, so might as well make use of them. These plants thrive on the nitrogen and phosphorus in your water, so anything you can do to eliminate that will certainly help. Mostly from fertilizer, sewage, and ag runoff. Chemical controls may be necessary, and you should check it out with local governmental bodies if permits, licenses are needed. Even grass carp and koi are no-nos in many states, because they will eat all the vegetation, good and bad, remove all cover and upset the natural habitat, and since they are vegetarians, will not be attracted to other baits, leaving a pond or lake full of non catchable fish.
> 
> geo


Eurasian milfoil DOES NOT lose any fertility while drying. Eurasian milfoil DOES NOT come out of the pond waterlogged. It is waterproof and quickly sheds any water. If a 4' stack is dumped on dry ground, the ground will still be dry under it several months later. Rainwater will not leach through it but rather run off of it. When 4' is condensed down to 1', it looks very much like compacted cow manure. 

I worked on building a prototype cutter 40 years ago. When cutting operations were to be commenced in a given area of a local lake, there would be announcements about which landing would be used for dumping. That got to be too popular and caused lots of traffic jams with everyone trying to be at the head of the line. Later, people just had to follow the sound of that big AC motor.

Martin


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## silosounds (Nov 13, 2004)

I would buy that milfoil is alkaline it turns white as it drys like alkali on the ground. I know just because its white doesnt mean it alkaline but it a good chance. and the pond water is alkaline when we checked it so....


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

You'll find that it's high in phosphorus and calcium as that's what it best thrives on in lakes. Virtually all of it would remain available after drying and incorporating into the soil.

Martin


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## Use Less (Nov 8, 2007)

Use it !! We were a drop-off point for the town's lakeweed cutter for a few years. That has turned into the nicest soil you could imagine. Like bagged potting soil. Our place was described as "depleted", there is a lot of clay, and areas had been bulldozed flat to make some horse rings before we got here. We had assorted varieties of water weed. In a year or two, a dumptruck full is like a pile of peat. It'll go to a foot or less. Spread out, it gets fluffy. I use some all-purpose plantfood since I have had tomato leaves turn yellow in the stuff. Sue


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## geo in mi (Nov 14, 2008)

silosounds said:


> I found the name, milfoil is this duck weed? Ive cleared a 6 foot area and had 2 wheel barrels full Im going to try it in the compost bin first. and let it dry down a little. I don't need any more weeds though. why is it so weedy?


Cottonwood, dandelions, any wind born land seeds, and any that wash into your pond and survive. The vegetation I rake off my beach each year, including any water weeds is usually laden with weeds that germinate. If you are raking your pond bottom(and especially if it is muddy), then you'll probably experience lots of very wet stuff, including the milfoil that's mixed in with any other soggy pond weeds. Once in awhile I find a pretty good fishing lure, too.

geo


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

geo in mi said:


> Cottonwood, dandelions, any wind born land seeds, and any that wash into your pond and survive. The vegetation I rake off my beach each year, including any water weeds is usually laden with weeds that germinate. If you are raking your pond bottom(and especially if it is muddy), then you'll probably experience lots of very wet stuff, including the milfoil that's mixed in with any other soggy pond weeds. Once in awhile I find a pretty good fishing lure, too.
> 
> geo


One doesn't have to rake the bottom to harvest milfoil. It's only anchored by a thin strand of a stem. It extracts all of its nutrients from the water. There also should never be any soggy pond weeds in a milfoil harvest. Since they all float when disconnected from the bottom, they are lighter than the water and contain virtually none in the stems and leaves. (No need to store any water when it's surrounded by it!) Cabomba would be close to water density at certain periods of growth but it too is normally lighter than water. (Again, no need to store water.) Certain bottom-dwelling alga would be heavier than water but I can't think of anything higher up that would be. For certain, the last thing that milfoil could be called is soggy.

Martin


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## silosounds (Nov 13, 2004)

Eurasian milfoil is a good mulch but is possibly allelopathic to many plants.

paquebot - is their allelochemicals a benefit or does it matter what species you mulch around. I dont need allelopathy effects if their negitive. I would be mulching around , bell peppers, tomatoes, beans,carrots, callards for awhile. jerusalem artichoke. and the vineyard. how could one now what would be affected just do it and take note? and dont do it again if you get a neg. I thought you might know off hand. Ive read and it does affect phytoplanktins. like blue green algea.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

I would not worry about it around any plant. What's more periled is what it is over. That's why it is prized so much as mulch. In addition to eventually breaking down and slowly releasing its nutrients, it prevents anything from germinating under it. Even after sitting for 2 years, the only thing that I've ever seen growing in it is quack grass which grew up through it rather than in it. Once it finally comes apart, and bacteria can work on it, I've seen lambs quarters over 6' tall. 

Remember also that I've mostly dealt with milfoil which has settled down to less than a quarter of its original bulk and thus almost like a concentrate. I seriously doubt if you would be mulching 4' thick with it! Three or four inches is what most gardeners use around here and it's very effective at suppressing weeds. 

Martin


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## silosounds (Nov 13, 2004)

sounds like a winner Ill give it a try.


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