Thanks for the comments,
I have placed 4 bales/acre (35 lb bales)packed into 4 mesh bags/bale and weighted down in 3-4 feet of water scattered around the pond. I have been careful when I change out the bales (at 6 months) to leave the "old" barley in the pond to completely decompose so I never go without the protective chemicals being released. It takes about 4-6 weeks for the barley to start releasing the nitrogen, phosphorus, protein and calcium that are thought to be protective to prevent the bloom. I know I sound like I own stock in barley; it's just that I've tried about everything to no avail and now am excited with the possibility of having fish again - and just maybe a solution. The reason we are so sensitive about the golden algae in this part of Texas is because it has really been devastating to virtually every lake in this region on the Brazos River chain (Possum Kingdom, etc.)Howard Garrett's site below tells a little bit about various barley studies and results going on in Texas and why:
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=4 Algae - DirtDoctor.com - Howard Garrett - The Dirt Doctor
Thanks again for the comments...and I'll keep the results posted of my "mini-study". One last comment, the other 2 ponds I talked about last year that did not use barley are still sterile from golden algae.
Jerry
