uses for duckweed - 06/12/08 01:33 PM
I've got too much and have been setting barrels of this stuff out for the yard waste truck in my neighborhood.
I've tried composting it in a large compost tumbler with leaves chipped up from the previous fall and wood chips from branches I've dragged out of the pond (which, after they go through a 9 hp chipper shredder, they are in wonderful condition to compost)
The duckweed clumps together in the composter and they form "balls" of black decaying duckweed. I'm thinking a mini tiller might be able to bust them up while still in the tumbler. In any event after about three weeks I have some pretty inert compost.
Lasagna gardening is another approach. Spread a layer out over the ground or garden and then cover it with shreaded leaves or chips--alternate layers like lasagna and eventually you have some pretty good fertile compost.
I've also found duckweed really keeps weeds down in my flower beds--since there are no seeds that will germinate on land, it's better than grass clippings and it stays put since it's so stringy. Hopefully it doesn't smell too bad when it gets old like grass clippings.
Any other ideas on what to do with this stuff? has anyone ever dried out duckweed and spread it on the lawn or gotten it in a powdery form for easy broadcasting? I would assume the trick is to break it up enough to get it completely dry.
I've tried composting it in a large compost tumbler with leaves chipped up from the previous fall and wood chips from branches I've dragged out of the pond (which, after they go through a 9 hp chipper shredder, they are in wonderful condition to compost)
The duckweed clumps together in the composter and they form "balls" of black decaying duckweed. I'm thinking a mini tiller might be able to bust them up while still in the tumbler. In any event after about three weeks I have some pretty inert compost.
Lasagna gardening is another approach. Spread a layer out over the ground or garden and then cover it with shreaded leaves or chips--alternate layers like lasagna and eventually you have some pretty good fertile compost.
I've also found duckweed really keeps weeds down in my flower beds--since there are no seeds that will germinate on land, it's better than grass clippings and it stays put since it's so stringy. Hopefully it doesn't smell too bad when it gets old like grass clippings.
Any other ideas on what to do with this stuff? has anyone ever dried out duckweed and spread it on the lawn or gotten it in a powdery form for easy broadcasting? I would assume the trick is to break it up enough to get it completely dry.