Duckweed Uses

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by Ganado, Oct 2, 2015.


  1. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    Home Page
    ISSUU - Sep 2015 - Milling and Grain magazine by Perendale Publishers
    Uses for Duckweed | Duckweed Gardening
    Cleans waste water, decreases evaporation on open ponds
    Uses for Duckweed
    [​IMG]

    This list of over seventy uses for duckweed is by no means final, but is meant to give you an inkling of what is possible. I can’t lay claim to developing all of them. A big thank you goes out to all my fellow duckweed enthusiasts from around the world who have been kind enough to share their experiences with me.

    Disclaimer: As this is only a list, please exercise common sense and safe practices in any application.
    Uses for Duckweed

    Indoor Pets
    1. Hamsters and Gerbils
    2. Mice
    3. Goldfish, Bettas, Koi
    4. Turtles
    5. Aquarium water cleaner
    6. As a fish laxative
    7. Frozen duckweed treats
    Organic Gardening
    1. Compost
    2. Soil amendment
    3. Green mulch in vegetable gardens
    4. Green mulch in fruit orchards
    5. Green mulch for potted plants
    6. Green mulch for flower beds
    Animal Feedstock
    1. Ducks and geese
    2. Chickens- layers and brooders
    3. Pea fowl
    4. Rabbits
    5. Sheep
    6. Hogs
    7. Goats
    8. Cattle
    9. Fermented feed for livestock
    Aquaculture

    1. Tilapia
    2. Grass Carp
    3. Koi
    4. Catfish
    Pond Health and Management
    1. Measurement of waste nutrient loads in ponds
    2. Algae suppression
    3. Frog haven
    4. Water health of pond
    5. Suppression of mosquito larvae
    6. Minimize evaporation of water
    7. Cooler water columns
    8. Suppression of underwater vegetation
    9. Burning duckweed to drive away mosquitos
    10. As a cover to protect fish from predators
    Vermiculture
    1. Material for worm beds
    Soldier Fly Propagation
    1. As breeding ground/compost medium
    2. Closed loop system
    Bioenergy
    1. Biomethane
    2. Ethanol production
    3. Duckweed pellets for home heating
    4. Electricity
    Wastewater Bioremediation
    1. Wastewater remediation of nitrogen and phosphorus
    2. Polisher of heavy metals and biological pathogens
    3. Interplant with wetland plants for prolonging season
    4. Waste nutrient recycling of duckweed into animal feedstock, bioenergy, etc…
    5. Retaining pond or canal around agriculture fields to collect fertilizer leachate for bioremediation (thanks for the reminder, Ken Carman!)
    Integrated farming
    1. Farm animal/biomethane/duckweed semi-closed loop systems
    2. Aquaponics- tilapia/hydroponics/duckweed semi-closed loop systems
    3. Combined fish/duckweed systems
    Art
    1. Photos
    2. Waterscaping Outdoors
    3. Waterscaping Indoors
    4. Chlorophyl Art
    5. Dried duckweed applications
    Social Inter-relations
    1. Neighborhood duckweed pond recycling
    2. Bartering duckweed for goods or services
    Health
    1. Chinese medicinal uses
    2. Homeopathy
    Human Food
    1. Lemna recipes
    2. Watermeal recipes
    3. Protein tofu and refined powdered source for protein additives
    NASA

    1. Space travel research
    2. OMEGA project research
    Research

    1. Gene manipulation for wide variety of applications
    2. Indicators of variances in research testing
    Education

    1. Duckweed science experiments for kids
    2. Lessons in sustainable aquaculture
    3. Promotion for sustainable wastewater reuse
    Commercial Uses

    1. As large-scale protein feed supplement
    2. As large-scale bioenergy feedstock
    3. Bioplastic raw ingredient (Thanks Ryan Hunt!)
     
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2015
  2. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++



    Aquaponics, use Duckweed for fodder.

    Duckweed is considered a noxious pond weed in many states
     
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  3. Altoidfishfins

    Altoidfishfins Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    I've had more than one individual call me by that name.
    Oh, Duckweed. Never mind.

    A friend of mine was working on a project for a company that was growing algae, an extract of which was used in cosmetics. Don't know much in the way of details.
     
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  4. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    the big thing is cheap fish, chicken and rabbit fodder for animals. It grows fast and is cheap with 40% protein content
     
    DuxDawg, Altoidfishfins and Motomom34 like this.
  5. techsar

    techsar Monkey+++

    And will foul props like it's nobody's business.

    I guess it's similar to bamboo...lots of uses, but don't let it go in the wild.
     
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  6. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    I had duckweed growing in one of the AP beds last summer. My rabbits would not touch it. Maybe it smelled fishy, I dunno, but they refused to eat it. The chickens were meh about it, though I suppose they'd enjoy it more in the winter when there's not an abundance of green stuff around. Planning to set up another grow bed for it next year, just to feed the fish with.
     
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  7. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    @techsar we removed it from ponds every year it's smelly but great compost
    @ditch witch so you did not find it at all useful?
     
    tacmotusn likes this.
  8. ditch witch

    ditch witch I do stupid crap, so you don't have to

    It did a good job of keeping the sunlight out of the bed so the algae didn't take over. We had some baby bluegill in the tank underneath them and had problems in the past with algae smothering everything, so it was helpful there. Like I said, it smelled fishy, may be why the rabbits weren't fans.
     
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