A garden needs some sort of water feature to make it perfect. In this article, I share how I am using Barley Straw Treatments in my small pond to help control algae.
Barley Straw Video
When I first saw these at Menards I thought… NO WAY! Hard to believe by following a simple regiment these naturally grown bales can help keep your pond algea free. Check out this video I put together featuring my small Koi garden pond I have in my 20′ Geodesic Bio-Dome.
This video is featured on my Bren Haas YouTube Channel. If you are a YouTube subscriber I hope you will subscribe to my channel @brenhaas so you get updates when my new videos are available. Most of my videos are in 4K so they are perfect for large screen viewing.
The Barley Straw
I found this great article on Penn State about Barley Straw for Algae Control. The pond guy says that using barley dates back 100’s of years ago to acre farm ponds in Europe.
Interested in trying some in your pond? I found mine at Menards but you can also order them on Amazon.
In The Pond
Here are a few of my photos taken during this video update featuring the pond located in the 20′ geodesic biodome greenhouse garden
It is important to note that the barley will not clear up existing algae. Once the pond is clean you will want to add the bale. As the bale gets oxygen and sunlight it will break down. A natural chemical in the barley PREVENTS algae growth.
More Pond Blog Posts
It has been a fun learning experience having a 3’x5′ small pond in my dome greenhouse for the koi fish. Not only is the water awesome to use on my plants but it is super relaxing to enjoy. Below are a few more post about the pond in the geodesic bio dome I grow in.
How To Add New Water Lettuce Plant
In this post I share a short video featuring a water lettuce plant review. See how the plant is doing in my dome greenhouse koi pond. Super easy steps on how to ensure the plant does well with fish.
Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes ) in The Winter Dome
In this post I share a few things about the water lettuce (or pistia stratiotes). Check out how I am trying to winter over this
A Visit To Fin Farm For New Koi Vlog
In this video I share one of our first visits to the Fin Farm in Northwest Ohio. You’ll see in this live stream presentation what
Thank you for stopping by my blog today!
Let’s Connect
I’d love to hear from you and what you think about using natural solutions in a pond such as the barley straw. IF you have a question or would like to add to my thoughts on Barley Bales please get in touch with me. Be sure to comment on this blog post or reach out to me on my contact page featured on this website.
Happy Gardening,
4 Responses
The dome is amazing. A playground I would love too. A great, gardening video. Not much on my blog yet. I am trying to do it.
You got this… I need to share more about blogging. It really can be a fun experience. I know over the past few months I’ve really enjoyed documenting and sharing my experiences with others.
I got two large ponds. I heard barely was a myth. What did you find out?
Hey Pat – thank you for stopping by my site. The use of the barley bales featured in this post have been a success. I switch them out every 6 months. You will want to read the package to make sure you have the correct amount of barley bales in your pond. My dome pond is only about 5’x 3′ and 1 bales do the trick. I hope this helps! Soon I will put an update video on my website so be sure to follow for details.