Duckweed Uses

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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


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!)

 

Aquaponics, use Duckweed for fodder.

Duckweed is considered a noxious pond weed in many states

 

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.

 

the big thing is cheap fish, chicken and rabbit fodder for animals. It grows fast and is cheap with 40% protein content

 

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.

 

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.

 

@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?

 

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.