Duckweed again

We've had some pretty cold nights here, down in the low 20s. Anyone
know how cold it has to get to kill duckweed? The pond out front is
only about one foot deep now, but the duckweed seems to have
vanished, and it used to be infested. Not so the pond in back, which
still has a healthy covering of duckweed. I have noticed turtles in
the front pond, and the back pond used to be clear, and I used to see
turtles. Now I don't. Could the turtles be eating the duckweed (I
know some are vegetarian) or is it that the turtles just prefer
duckweed-free ponds? The ducks don't seem to care, I find them at
either pond. I also seem to have an otter (or more, I only saw one),
should I be worried?

Our koi love the duckweed. Freezing weather does not seem to bother
the duckweed at all!

Phyllis

I can't keep duckweed. Koi eat it as fast as I introduce it.



"Phyllis and Jim" <jimandphyllisrp@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3961be3a-1d69-4430-b71f-a86cedcc44bc@w34g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
>
> Our koi love the duckweed. Freezing weather does not seem to bother
> the duckweed at all!
>
> Phyllis
>

On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:14:49 EST, Phyllis and Jim
<jimandphyllisrp@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>Our koi love the duckweed. Freezing weather does not seem to bother
>the duckweed at all!

Unfortunately, this pond has a spring in it and is the headwater for a
little tributary for the Suwannee River (or so the topo maps say) so
there are no koi, or any other type of "foreign" fish. I'm also
incredibly reluctant to use any type of chemical. I know alligators
love to eat turtles. There was no (or not much) duckweed before I was
visited by the alligator, but there sure was after. I used to see
turtles before the alligator came, but I don't anymore, and, of
course, the pond is now covered with duckweed. What makes this a bit
more of a mystery to me is that the pond in front used to have a lot
of duckweed, but I never saw any turtles. Now it has much less
duckweed and I see some turtles, something I didn't notice before. So,
do turtles eat duckweed or do they just prefer clearer water? I've
tried to find the answer with Google, but haven't hit on the right
search terms yet. Others that I have asked just don't seem to know.

JB

We have that problem. Our veggie filters serve as safe havens for the
duckweed, so we can dump some in the pond from time to time.

Galen,

How did the duckweed get into your pond?

Jim

"Galen Hekhuis" <ghekhuis@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:6rj4p4p9o4fnavj8o9eff1qmsfno9c80b1@4ax.com...
> We've had some pretty cold nights here, down in the low 20s. Anyone
> know how cold it has to get to kill duckweed? The pond out front is
> only about one foot deep now, but the duckweed seems to have
> vanished, and it used to be infested. Not so the pond in back, which
> still has a healthy covering of duckweed. I have noticed turtles in
> the front pond, and the back pond used to be clear, and I used to see
> turtles. Now I don't. Could the turtles be eating the duckweed (I
> know some are vegetarian) or is it that the turtles just prefer
> duckweed-free ponds? The ducks don't seem to care, I find them at
> either pond. I also seem to have an otter (or more, I only saw one),
> should I be worried?
>
=====================
Mine dies out with the first really cold nights. It starts coming back ab
out
the time the chorus frogs begin singing.
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

On Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:34:42 EST, Phyllis and Jim
<jimandphyllisrp@gmail.com> wrote:

>How did the duckweed get into your pond?

I don't know. I think maybe ducks, mainly because I see a lot of
them and because of the name, but that's just a guess. I suppose if
alligators and otters can make it here (I'm only a couple of miles
from the Suwannee River) most anything could have brought it.

It comes in with other plants that I may buy from a nursery. I'll even scrap
handfuls to place in the bag hoping that I might be able to get it started
at home. My veggie filter has too much pf a waterflow to keep the duckweed
in the filter for very long.

"Phyllis and Jim" <jimandphyllisrp@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4d7da839-f460-4bb9-8d34-d51e48b80949@k8g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...
> JB
>
> We have that problem. Our veggie filters serve as safe havens for the
> duckweed, so we can dump some in the pond from time to time.
>
> Galen,
>
> How did the duckweed get into your pond?
>
> Jim
>

duckweed needs nutrients and light. cut off either and it dies. it is good to very
much below zero and pops back after being frozen in ice. Ingrid