More About Duckweed

The other day, I was reading Mother Earth News, which has some good information about gardening. The article mentioned that duckweed can double its volume in about ten days, meaning it soaks up nutrients really fast. That makes it good as a so called green fertilizer and water cleaner outer. The article said that you can feed it to live stock, the compost heap, and us humus beans. A duckweed salad doesn't sound all that good to me, but the stuff is a lot more than just a nuisance. Recipes are welcomed.

Picture a like 55g with the bottom all duckweed. and like a couples big rocks coming up from the bottom....i think there's a picture of something similar to this but that would be awesome....also is it a good idea to put duckweed in my 10g? or my 130g?

Duckweed floats on top and spreads very rapidly. Once the stuff is established, you need to thin it out every week. Because of all the nutrients it contains, I use it as a mulch on top of vegetables growing in my garden. Since it does use lots of nutrients, it helps keep the aquarium water clean, but it could use up the nutrients needed by some more exotic plants. On balance, I like the stuff, especially because being called a duckweed dipper doesn't bother me.

One of my tanks got saved probably because it had duckweed. i went on a trip for about a week and accidentally put the whole aquarium on a timer, not just the light!!! so the water was only being cycled about 4-5 hrs day. but non of the fishes died, the plants grew well and duckweed did exceptionally well. however my fed it daily. so i am guessing the duckweed cleaned up all the nitrogen containing waste....and it fully covered the top of my 12g tank. i love the stuff. specially the little roots hanging down from the top (it does not take much to make me happy).

I agree that it probably saved your aquarium. Did you know that the roots on fully mature duckweed get long enough to hide little fish?

PS: I still want to see a legitimate recipe for duckweed salad.

I have duckweed in my endler tank... well... In ALL my tanks, but I like it in the endler tank because of the fry hiding value!

Also, the Cherry shrimp are in the same tank, and they like to hang from the duckweed and eat, and sometimes surf down through the tank... pretty cool.

Now I have some aggravating duckweed in a juvy angel tank... I hate it in there... it stills the top of the water and it almost gets stagnant. I need to remove it all from there... *RIGHT*

Anyways... Here's ya a recipe John!!!

Duckweed (Lemna spp.) Lemna trisulca L.

Lemnaceae

Duckweed is a green slime that covers ponds in mid summer. Upon close inspection, the green water cover is a small plant called duckweed from the family Lemnaceae. The root hairs suck nutrients from the water. Duckweed is edible.

Food Preparation: Blend it in your favorite soup recipe. Make certain you puree the duckweed and cook it because it is tough and may be harvested from polluted water. It is best in cream soups.

Recipe: DUCKWEED SOUP

Wash duckweed thoroughly. Recipe feeds four.

-One cup of broccoli

-Chop a 2 cups of leeks.

-One cup of celery.

-One cup of broccoli

-Two tablespoons of chopped Oriental ginger

-One large vegetable bullion cube.

-Two tablespoons of soy sauce

-One tablespoon of sesame seed oil

-One cup of low fat sour cream

Saute in a cup of water and two tablespoons of olive oil the duckweed and vegetables. Cook at a simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool. Then puree in a blender. Add the pureed vegetables to the pan, stir in two cups of water, the bullion cube, sesame oil and soy. Raise heat. Then stir in the cup of sour cream. Adjust seasoning to taste. I sometimes add a tablespoon of fine chili sauce or satay sauce. Serve hot.

Medicinal: The Chinese use Lemna to treat hypothermia. It also relieves flatulence and is used to treat acute kidney infections. For more medicinal uses of duckweed and other herbs, read Dr. Duke's "Handbook of Medicinal Plants" from Quarterman Press.

Oops!!!

That's duckweed soup... Not salad...

Well... I don't think that salad's a good idea... I think it should be cooked...

So next time you're flatulating...

Holy cow! Is that real? I may give it a try. Will i have to resign my membership in the Terminal Flatulence Foundation?

ROFL!!!!

If you were... to try it... let us know!!!!

You're wife might thank me for the recipe if it makes you resign your membership!!!

Congratulations on Post 500!

i need a bigger aquarium. the amount of duck weed i have is not enough!! let us know how it goes Jon.

That is very interesting! John, if it goes well I may just have to try it myself. The recipe does sound good.

If I get up the nerve to try the duckweed soup, I will submit a detailed report complete with any funny noises. As for growing large quantities of duckweed, the Mother Earth article suggests growing it outdoors in a child size wading pool.

Hey thanks!

I'm still not half the moderator you are...

LOL!

I'd be really interested in the details of the soup...

ROFL!!!