Looking for barley hay

NCWayne

Well-known Member
I talked to a buddy the other day that was looking for 6 or 7 bales of barley straw. His plans are to put it in how pond. From what he said he has been doing it for years. Something about the barley, after it gets wet and settles, it will begin 'eating' any algie in the pond. He said between the balrey straw, and an aeration pump, it wouldn't take long before the water turned crystal clear.

So, two questions. Has anyone else out there ever heard of this? No one I've talked to around here has ever heard of it, but my buddy swears by the process and says he has been doing it for years and it has always worked. Second, does anyone know where he can get some in the Charlotte, NC area? He's willing to travel a bit if he has to but he'd rather find it close to home. Unfortunately the guy he used to get it from is eiter out of stock or going out of business one day at a time and are currently empty as far as what is really needed on a PHONE .
 
they always told me a crystal clear pond was poor on nutrients & therefore bad for fish. You should not be able to see a pop bottle cap one foot below the surface. Maybe his pond is just for looks tho.
 
Maintaining a clean, clear pond is cheap and easy when you use barley straw. It helps control algae so your pond isn"t covered over or muddied with these organisms. Plus, you"ll feel good about using the barley straw because it won"t harm the environment or plants, animals and fish that live in or around the pond. Barley straw is not an algaecide, so it doesn"t kill algae. Instead, its decomposition creates an environment that is hostile to algae formation, leaving you with a cleaner
 
Yes they do that this side of the pond too. The story goes that some barley straw bales fell off a trailer and into a pond and the owner of the pond noticed that as if by magic, the algae disappeared!
I will tell you a funny story. I was watching a gardening programme on TV and one of the gardening experts who presents the show was filling some old panty hose with some 'barley straw' (Although with her strong Lancashire accent it sounded more like 'burley strurr') to put in her garden pond just for that purpose. However, as she was stuffing it into the hose, I noticed it was WHEAT straw! Talk about 'horticultural gaffe'.
 
They are growing algae here in Phx so it can produce fuel. He should keep the algae and learn how to turn it into fuel for his vehicles!
 
I have a friend who has been selling it for that purpose for years. He raises a field of barley every year. Last I knew he gets 10 dollars a bale and sells out every year.
 
I can't help you with locating the straw, but can your buddy tell you "how much" it would take per pond? How do you calculate amount needed for a given size pond?
 
I use small bags of barley straw to keep my water troughs clear, works well. Buy them at TSC, about the only thing I buy there. Never seen any bales.
If he has any fish in the pond it would be better to have a low visability otherwise he won't have any little fish only a couple of big ones.
 
Yes it does work. My irrigation pound is about 60' Dia, and 10' deep in the center that I pump out of. BUT remember that Barley straw has a lot of copper in it and that is what kills the algie. Alpacas can not handle a lot of copper. Irrigation ok, but not for drinking.
 
Is there any particular variety of barley better than the other for this purpose?

The reason I ask is I'm looking for a winter cover crop for my small vegetable garden this fall and could use the barley in my pond next summer.

I wonder what varieties would work in Texas since my USGA book shows most of this grown far north of here.
 
I personally did not have good luck with algae control from the barley straw. Neighbor didnt either. Maybe I needed more barley. Pond is 3/4 acre and 18 foot deep.

I ended up with an aerator at the bottom of the pond. I would have went to it anyway, as I keep the one pond open year round.

Rick
 
Barley straw at the rate of what you can wrap your hand around/per 1/8 acre. Wheat straw also works but a lot slower. Had to use wheat straw here for lack of barley one year. Wrap in netting of some kind and put a float on it and use an anchoring device to keep it in one place. Put it out as 1 spot every 1/2 acre.
 

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