Interesting article on Duckweed

I’ve not heard of duckweed before. Has anyone in TGN had any experience?


Comments

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    I've heard of duckweed but didn't know anything about it being used as a food or medicine.

    I'm going to have to leave now while I fall down the rabbit hole. :)

  • JennyT Upstate South Carolina
    JennyT Upstate South Carolina Posts: 1,273 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited December 2022

    We have duckweed growing in our little pond in front of our house. But I didn't know it was a health food.😮

    I'll need to look into this some more too, @torey.

  • Sheila
    Sheila Posts: 108 ✭✭✭

    That was interesting! Now I know what to do in the summer when my spinach bolts :) We basically have a pond of it growing in the back fed with rainwater so nice and clean. Who knew - around here (Vancouver Island) people spend hours and dollars to get rid of the stuff.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    Please take note that if duckweed is used for yourself or livestock, that it should be taken from a clean source (see bioremediation in the first link below).



  • Michelle D
    Michelle D Posts: 1,465 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have heard of people growing duckweed in water barrels in a greenhouse for feeding to ducks. I knew it has a lot of benefits for them. I didn't even think about if it would be beneficial for human consumption. Maybe I should revisit the idea of growing some.

  • jowitt.europe
    jowitt.europe Posts: 1,465 admin

    I have pleanty of duckweed in my two ponds which I made for bees and birds. They both contain only rain water. So far I would just remove them from time to time and throw into compost. Now I am looking forward to spring when they come again. And I will definitely try how they taste. @JodieDownUnder @LaurieLovesLearning thanks for sharing!

  • Mare
    Mare Posts: 1 ✭✭✭

    Many years ago we used to have duckweed growing in our freshwater aquariums. Never heard of it as a food source. Hmmm🤔

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @Mare Welcome to the forum! Please leave a short into in the Introductions section to give us an idea where in the world you are from.

    I remember canoeing in duckweed in our dugout. I didn't know what it was back then, but as everything sat in the water and it grew, by summer's end the water smelled quite foul. It killed off all other plant life underneath as it took over the water's surface. But I have to say that the water insects underneath were fascinating!

  • JodieDownUnder
    JodieDownUnder Posts: 1,483 admin

    @torey thank you for the deep dive into duckweed. You are a walking Encyclopaedia Britannica (I’m old fashion)

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @JodieDownUnder Thank you so much for sharing the article. @torey Thank you for the detailed information. You may have sent me down a rabbit hole with you. Pea and wheat production here have had a couple rough years. So our local grown grain based chicken feed is no longer available as both growers have no peas or wheat available. I don't use soy, so may have to look into this and see if it is suitable for chickens and what nutritional needs it would fill for them as well as us.

  • marjstratton
    marjstratton Posts: 1,132 ✭✭✭✭

    I've heard of duck weed only as an invasive species.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @marjstratton Me as well. I remember reading that just a few years ago and how bad it was, but everything I looked up now claims it's native.

    I remember seeing it in our sloughs as as a teen. We weren't living anywhere close to water before that.

  • gardneto76
    gardneto76 Posts: 528 ✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning now that you mention it, I remember small weeds like this growing all over the lakes in the summer time when I was very young. I had no thought then to ask about it. Many people with aquaponics systems will grow duckweed to feed their fish in place of the processed fish food. It does make sense to me now, if fish can eat it and we eat the fish then if from a clean source we should be able to eat it as well. I know tilapia raisers that feed their fish plants and vegetables they have raised in their setups.

  • marjstratton
    marjstratton Posts: 1,132 ✭✭✭✭

    I'm glad to know that duck weed has beneficial uses. Now that I know that it is nutritious, may have to grow some, like in a water tank, once I have some chickens and use that as an inexpensive feed for them. I have thought about putting a water tank in the greenhouse and raising tilapia, but I also have heard that they are very hard to catch, even in a tank!