Duckweed: Growing Experiments Continue!

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We're experimenting with a number of ways to grow high quality feed for our chickens using as little embodied energy and cost as possible, and duckweed is proving to be a very exciting possibility. In this video I'm showing 3 different ways we are currently working with producing duckweed for our hard working friends. If we can refine and deepen the design, hopefully we can produce enough to be able to actively dehydrate large amounts to then store for winter use for them. But that's a bit down the road for sure!
Edible Acres is a full service permaculture nursery located in the Finger Lakes area of NY state. We grow all layers of perennial food forest systems and provide super hardy, edible, useful, medicinal, easy to propagate, perennial plants for sale locally or for shipping around the country…
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Happy growing!

Опубликовано:

26 июн 2018

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Комментарии : 126

@Sue.5776 11 месяцев назад

As an aquarist with a duckweed infestation I've found that the best way to skim duckweed is to use a fine toothed comb. Duckweed is a nitrate sucker, meaning it needs nutrients, consider adding a few guppies and pond snails to your metal tub to help with this. Duckweed does not require aeration however standing water can benefit from movement. I did not realize you could get a solar powered air pump, quite an interesting discovery. Thanks.

@mynameisnotcory 6 лет назад

Duckweed only likes subsurface aeration if any. Heat alone will churn the water enough to keep it plenty aerated. Add some livebearers or other slow moving creek fish from around you

@samirmanohar573 5 лет назад

Have you considered adding small fish to the duckweed pond, their dropping very good for duckweed and no insect larve survive in water

@robertmcauslan6191 6 лет назад

Be cautious with water agitation and duck weed. It prefers still/slow moving water and will die off if it’s too turbulent. I don know how you personally feel about this but adding some livebearing fish to the “ponds” will provide nutrients for the duckweed and a secondary food source for the birds. Fish eat mosquito larvae and algae so no additional input in that regard.

@joansmith3492 6 лет назад

What fish would you recommend that would tolerate this situation?

@rustedoakhomestead 6 лет назад

Joan Smith Gambusia is a very tough fish that thrives in less than ideal situations and feed mostly off of mosquito larvae

@GrubbGardenBonnie 6 лет назад

I bought feeder goldfish for my stock tank that catches rain water from my roof. I have one left in it after four years I have never fed him. He lives through out east Texas winters and sultry hot summer on just the algae and mosquito larva.

@robertmcauslan6191 6 лет назад

Depending on the area, feeder guppies are probably the cheapest and most prolific. Platys, swordtails would work. I have a lot of aquarium stores in my area so I raise many barns and what not outside in the summer for resale. I’m zone 6.

@HergerTheJoyous 6 лет назад

Robert McAuslan that's not a bad idea but what I found is the fish eat all the duckweed as well. I had a closed loop aquaponics system in a greenhouse and a 4x8 shallow duckweed production tank and what happened was the fish laid eggs the eggs traveled through the grow beds and ended up in the duckweed tank where they eventually hatched. Needless to say one day I had more duckweed production than I could deal with and the next the tank was empty! I think if you separate out the fish and take steps to filter out egg production it probably could work.

@Mary-had-a-lil-farm 3 года назад

So clever Sean. I have been planning to add duckweed to my system. This is a good reference/idea. Thanks

@edibleacres 3 года назад

Hope it works out for you!

@gkiferonhs 6 лет назад

Enjoy all of your experiments.

@kimlabuschagne6923 5 лет назад

Great ideas .. thank you very much for sharing with us 👏🏻👏🏻🇿🇦

@EstebanZavalaF 2 года назад

hey! Thank you! it was duckweed (couldnt find the other msg) then realized you have couple of videos, and starting doing my own investigation, im thinking on doing ethanol with it to increase my ebike autonomy

@mmangla5575 2 года назад

thanks 👍

@jimboholcomb1 6 лет назад

Nice, I will be adding this to my chicken yard.

@loneforest6541 4 года назад

nice experiment...very useful

@sankaridevidasi 4 года назад

I love your videos. Thank you so much

@edibleacres 4 года назад

You are so welcome!

@champignon8249 6 лет назад

Great video. I have a big natural pond covered with duckweed where I am in the Netherlands. It's a good protein source for my chickens and speeds the process of my composting system. In my experience, it might not be a good idea to aerate the pond as duckweed does not like too much movement in the water.

@nazzurjanerachillcorpuz4079 4 года назад

good day maam/sir,, what kind of nutrients you add to the pond,,i started growing duckweed but my 1st trial failed so try again,,tnx a lot

@zedmeinhardt3404 Год назад

@@nazzurjanerachillcorpuz4079 Have you been successful in growing duck weed?

@TimmyOFlinn 11 месяцев назад

If I ever said "there is no way for the chickens to get dirt in the water" my chickens would say, challenge accepted.

@edibleacres 11 месяцев назад

That is for sure

@LordChumbley 6 лет назад

I believe they are Green Frogs, Lithobates clamitans. Their call sounds like a deep thumping/swallowing sound similar to someone pulling on a guitar string.

@kylesimukka 6 лет назад

Nice! If you have any problems, I have a lot of notes about solar air bubblers. Also, Sasha you are an excellent camera operator :)

@edibleacres 6 лет назад

Thanks Kyle! I just told Sasha you liked the cinematography! :) Please do share notes on the solar air bubblers! If you have any links please post them here so folks can learn what you know, too...

@castleofcostamesa8291 6 лет назад

I am in Southern California. My shallow concrete mixing tub full of duckweed got fried in the full sun last year. I will have to put my “pond” in partial shade if I were to repeat it this year.

@cynthiamolenaar770 4 года назад

Castle of Costa Mesa pk thanks for the tip....my duckweed is also in a cement tub...first time...how do you take care of nutrition for the little ”plants”? I am afraid to put it all in my fish pond ’caise I think the fish will eat all of it😳

@GardinersPlot 6 лет назад

great idea!

@johnstonj92 6 лет назад

Im curious about where you get youre solar panels for youre bubblers

@motherfreethinker 2 года назад

Wonderful

@janesborofeen 6 лет назад

Initial duckweed, great name for a band

@reksmeyok1957 5 лет назад

That's really creative for using duckweed to feed chicken. I have used it to feed my fish in separate pond, but was not easy to feed them to chicken. Now I ll try your technique.

@joannot6706 4 года назад

Apparently duckweed has naturally occurring bioactive B12 in it that is way enough to fulfill our B12 needs! It was previously thought that B12 was only found in necessary amount in meat!

@DonnaFernstrom 4 года назад

There is no peer-reviewed research indicating that duckweed contains a form of B-12 that is biovailable to humans. Some seaweeds also contain B-12, but are not a reliable source for humans because they contain bioavailable and unusable forms of the vitamin in variable amounts, and there is no good test available to distinguish these forms. As a result, if you eat these seaweeds, you might get usable B-12, or you might not. No way to be sure. With duckweed, we don't know whether you can get a usable form at all. Further research is needed.

@thisorthat7626 4 года назад

@@DonnaFernstrom Sounds like I can eat duckweed and find out for myself. Thank you for the information. Blessings.

@cameronbethea123 2 года назад

@@thisorthat7626A potential b12 deficiency is not worth the risk, I wouldn't consider relying on duckweed for it. Duckweed has not actually been proven to contain bioavailable b12. Its better to simply take supplements if you're vegan or eat some animal protein in your diet as a vegetarian eating some eggs or milk, or as a "seagan" that eats non sentient shellfish like clams and mussels. Another thing to consider, is that If you eat a high folate diet, and you aren't getting enough b12, you can have false blood test results since high folate intake tends to mask b12 deficiencies. A lack of b12 can cause irreversible brain damage over the long term, and issues like fatigue and cognitive impairment in the short term.

@domingobumatay8551 2 года назад

Tenk u

@hanks_backyard 2 года назад

From my very limited research on the subject, duckweed seems to be a bit of a wonder food - high in protein, amino acids and fiber. I built a similar set up to your trough thing to leverage that with my chickens and my emu Hank, but they are pretty finicky about eating it - did you do anything special to get them started or they just went for it straight away?

@sholaran 4 года назад

Great video. Where did you source your duckweed from? I'm looking to grow some indoors with an artificial pond and grow light.

@edibleacres 4 года назад

I can't remember where I got it initially... Wild ponds around may already have gobs of it!

@perfectlife4u 5 лет назад

animal eat dry or wet,with or with out wheat dryleaves,,, 1:39 how u made this fence berrier behind u

@filougreendog Год назад

surely old glassfibre baths... strong, waterproof and available in a skip near you!🙂

@HergerTheJoyous 6 лет назад

This does give me an idea. I already have a small pond in my yard to drain water away from the drive way but my sump pump also drains out into the yard. I could probably diga pond out there. Has anyone heard of using the clay they use for kitty litter to line the bottom of the pond to retain the water?

@edibleacres 6 лет назад

I've heard of it but haven't tried it. Seems interesting.

@HergerTheJoyous 6 лет назад

EdibleAcres ive changed my mind and decided to go with paper crete instead.

@hilaryduffield2552 2 года назад

I am just watching this in 2021 (I watch edible acres videos always when I want to brighten up my evening after I can't work in my garden any more). I am really interested in the idea you mentioned of creating a papier-maché pond with newspapers and clay. Any more info on this would be much appreciated.

@edibleacres 2 года назад

Not a whole lot to share, hoping to do some more experiments soon and document them, but hopefully you try in the meantime!

@TheArtofDoing Год назад

This is an amazing idea! Did you end up keeping it? How did it work for you long term? Thanks!

@edibleacres Год назад

We retired this in the fall... Our climate is rough for duckweed over winter, so we have to return to this each spring in a new way

@TheArtofDoing Год назад

@@edibleacres Thank you so much for your reply! I have harsh winters too but it seems like such a great idea. Im going to think on it but may attempt something similar. If I do, and I make a video if it, would you like me to mention your channel by name?

@ethankolodny8654 11 месяцев назад

Hows your duckweed chicken feeder fairing after all this time? What sort of maintenance have you found it needs? Did you ever decide to add an aerator?

@edibleacres 11 месяцев назад

This project has been abandoned, not because it's bad but just other things have been happening to fill our days so I don't have more notes sorry :(

@ahimsainternational3361 Месяц назад

Is there a follow up to this experiment?

@johnstonj92 6 лет назад

I love this idea ...im going to try it ..i dont have livestock to feed but im curious about the potential for a nitrogen source on top of the garden..also i have heard mixed reviews about it like its calcium oxide and its ability to slow oxygen from the water source but ultimately its pros weigh out cons and it seems to me like it should be used more for filtering on large livestock farms and for biofuel its got some unlocked potential and will help with mosquitos infesting my lil rainwater tub. It seems like anytime we have a abundant plant crop the government or someone wants to put it down like autumn olive i honestly wish i could buy one instead of hunting for it.

@flavionicolaispinetti6063 6 лет назад

Hi, could you post a link for the solarpowered airpump?

@edibleacres 6 лет назад

I'll leave that blank for now as I just ordered it, and have no experience with it yet so until I know it actually is a decent tool that lasts, I shouldn't promote it :)

@jasonmillar8945 6 лет назад

Do you stack up the compost everyday, or do you let the chickens kick it flat and the turn and stack it. Also do you find you are getting smaller eggs from compost fed chickens apose to commercial feed fed chickens. That's what I've found

@edibleacres 6 лет назад

I haven't noticed smaller eggs (although we never buy eggs any more so maybe they're shrinking and I don't know :) We pile up the compost every day, sometimes multiple times. Lots of labor but then incredibly fast turn around...

@brianpoe9144 6 лет назад

Very cool project. Have you thought about adding azolla (nitrogen fixing aquatic fern)?

@edibleacres 6 лет назад

I did before and they died over winter so I'm less excited to try them again...

@billirogers3206 2 года назад

@@edibleacres so the duckweed doesn't die in winter?

@mayshomesteadchronicles Год назад

Freakin awesome! I’ve got to get on this. I, like you, am trying to get where most, if not all, of our chicken food is grown in our land. Also, random question, Random question, does anyone know if it’s safe to let gray water flow into a pond? To clarify, the gray water would first be filtered through two separate patches of Bermuda grass before entering the pond. I’ve seen my dogs and chickens drink the gray water many times and they have yet to die…haha so maybe it would be fine??

@edibleacres Год назад

I would suggest strongly having the grey water be able to 'settle' into wide depressions that are vegetated so it can sit a bit and really be worked on by vegetation before going into a pond.. You don't want it flowing directly to a pond even if it goes through grass. Think speed bumps but in reverse, the more the merrier

@permiebird937 6 лет назад

Are you only using duckweed, or do you have azolla mixed in too? One of my hens picks the azolla out of all the duckweed in a tiny pond she can access. I find that if the water stays mostly covered with duckweed that mosquitos don't like it for laying eggs. If the water doesn't stay covered mosquitos will use it. I keep 2 tiny ponds made in cement mixer pans where my chickens can eat the duckweed, they eat it too fast for the water to stay covered, but they can reach over most of the pond, and will eat mosquito larvae right from the water.

@edibleacres 6 лет назад

We had azolla before, but it died off over winter so I quit trying to grow it. Maybe next spring. I've been seeing a lack of any mosquitoes in the duckweed beds, too, which is an incredible bonus!

@tnason04 5 лет назад

Do you have any problems with mosquitos in your Duckweed ponds?

@edibleacres 5 лет назад

So far so good... Frogs seem to help a lot.

@TheNoodlyAppendage 5 лет назад

2:30 I would use a mor eopen wire mesh, os they cna drink adn eat, but also I would not use any mesh and let them shit in the water . It make the duckweed grow better.

@piranhakeeper4615 3 года назад

The galvanized tank is coated with oil. You will need to burn a fire in it to get rid of the oil coating and then paint it with a water proof coating.

@ronron7787 5 лет назад

how is it possible that fish dont eat your duckweed? and what other ways i can do to prevent mosquito larvae? can i cover them with nets?

@edibleacres 5 лет назад

I don't know how but the fish leave it alone! The fish help eat the mosquito larvae, and letting frogs into the system really keeps the problem down to a minimum.

@ronron7787 5 лет назад

@@edibleacresthanks maybe I'll go for frog. that for a fact they dont eat plant matter

@haroldpastoral8699 5 лет назад

That is truly ingenious. The duck weed will propagate pushing out the excess, then the chicken will eat the excess. The duck weed will just keep producing endlessly for the chicken as long as there is water. Maybe I can do something like this for fish as well. Please show us how or tell us if you were successful with this idea of yours.

@edibleacres 5 лет назад

I’ll plan an update. Short answer is it is still working just fine for us...

@ikyitching 6 лет назад

Does duck weed really need aeration?

@edibleacres 6 лет назад

I'm getting feedback from folks that they don't, so seems like no...

@ernestocarandang9801 4 года назад

Hi sir how can i buy like that

@ItsMe-jh3ze 6 лет назад

I bought some duckweed and it died. I was really looking forward to doing what you are doing for your chickens.

@lolnowwhat 4 года назад

You got to have some light and the right nutrients in the water

@lolnowwhat 4 года назад

And the ph level does need to be just right

@markstr8309 5 лет назад

how about adding a piece of glass or plexiglass on top of mesh to control the ducks from eating it all.

@edibleacres 5 лет назад

Thats what I should have done, and more than anything to keep them from pooping into it! I need to revisit this project.

@danielallouche2493 6 лет назад

The only down side I can foresee with an air bubbler is faster evaporation.

@edibleacres 6 лет назад

Makes sense. I've gotten feedback from folks that the duckweed doesn't need it, so I'm phasing it out of the initial plan.

@ArthurDent12 5 лет назад

Can we get an update on the duckweed?

@edibleacres 5 лет назад

Good reminder... I can offer up an update soon...

@ArthurDent12 5 лет назад

@@edibleacres I'm starting a similar project using Azolla instead of duckweed. Would love to pick your brain.

@williamwalter8554 6 лет назад

Hi Sean, How does one over-winter duck weed? Do you save seeds? Do you keep it growing inside? Cheers,. Bill

@rustedoakhomestead 6 лет назад

William Walter I bring it inside overwinter and grow it in a fishtank

@permiebird937 6 лет назад

It depends on your climate zone. I live in zone 8, the duckweed dies after first frost, and it comes back on its own in spring once the water warns a little. If you are in a colder climate you may need to put some live plants inside. I have overwintered duckweed in a closed jar in my kitchen, and it stayed green all winter and did great.

@Quackalott 6 лет назад

Permie Bird - I like the maintenance an mess free aspect of your closed jar method, pretty cool, I'll do that this coming autumn even though it's mild here on the S.E. coast UK. Recon the ducks will appreciate it's early return in the spring B-)

@permiebird937 6 лет назад

The jar method doesn't keep a lot, so if you have a lot of water to cover, you might want more then one jar, but to works great. I kept it in my kitchen where it could get a little light. The duckweed needs to be floating in water, like it's a micro pond. Where you are it might come back on it's own, but having a ready jump start is a good thing.

@Quackalott 6 лет назад

Sounds like good advice thanks. I might try a couple of buckets of them in the hoop house/polytunnel over winter as well an see how they do;)

@songli2156 Год назад

How’s it going now?

@edibleacres Год назад

We've retired most of the duckweed experiments in containers because it all dies back in the winter, but we may explore this all again this year, we'll have to see..

@brandonlasvegas 5 лет назад

😎

@JuvzBolivar 3 года назад

Does duckweed improve the water quality?

@edibleacres 3 года назад

It is super hungry for nutrient so it seems reasonable it'll take up excess and manage it.

@JuvzBolivar 3 года назад

@@edibleacres does it grow if i use mineral water?

@kellymorgan4783 3 года назад

@@edibleacres what nutrients are you putting in for the duckweed that's safe for the chooks? I've currently got seasol in the water - it keeps the azzola alive but it's not multiplying so I'm constantly topping it up (I live in the tropics so the azzola/duckweed nursery doubles almost daily in cow manure water). I have KNF labs with molasses & comfrey - I'm thinking of adding some of that. Would cow manure be safe for them? Or even well composted chicken manure in the water? Ooooh I'd love to see an update on your duckweed systems :)

@michbushi 6 лет назад

When you have air bubbler, you can have a pump. Google "airlift water pump" , and you are welcomed 😉

@michbushi 6 лет назад

...oh and I forgot to add, it has no moving parts so ity is pretty much clog/abrasion damage proof. Meaning murky water is not an issue

@edibleacres 6 лет назад

I will look into that for sure. Always WAY more for me to learn :)

@michbushi 6 лет назад

...seems to be a perfect fit for your application, and dead simple to make - a vertical piece of pipe, open on both ends,, with an airstone at the bottom of it (as for the essence) . They are very efficient for creating a substantial water flow at zero head. They are rubbish if you need to lift water at all, but this is not your scenario. Best of luck,

@premasru 4 года назад

News I read today is that it could be a source of B12. Good news for Vegans.

@edibleacres 4 года назад

I am excited to think about how much of a nutrient boost it offers our chickens!

@federicomachon8841 Год назад

My chickens had access to my pond an almost eat all my duck weed

@edibleacres Год назад

Whoa!

@krisyallowega5487 5 лет назад

Duckweed is such a "Rock Star." It is a shame that it has been called a weed. Sorry, how are you? Hope things are going well and you are at peace.

@edibleacres 5 лет назад

We're well and so is duckweed! We love it. So many of the beings we love are called weeds or invasive, or illegal. At this point, those terms generally perk up our ears and have us asking "oohhh, I wanna meet them!"

@krisyallowega5487 5 лет назад

@@edibleacres Open dialogue should always be encouraged. But all too often someone is looking for an argument rather than a debate and will pillory anyone against them. I am contemplating on growing this just because I can.