Yes, I will try that Dove - thanks. We don't have Blagdons here but just perhaps they may send to Guernsey (not many companies do any more - grrrr). We will try some more water cress once the temperature warms up a few more degrees.
Yes, we do have Amazon deliveries in Guernsey. My OH says he will look at the GC next time he goes there, otherwise we may have to resort to Amazon for it - thanks.
Hi GD. I have seen the dye on a few garden programmes and I'm sure they said wildlife safe. In each instance it was used more so for a water feature not a pond. It gives a good reflection and in the programme you watched it was to conceal building blocks so that the stepping stones appeared to float. It was lovely.
i don't find barley straw works in my pond and like Lyn says I like to twiddle a stick, very therapeutic ? Or if I just want to get the job done I use a childs fishing net ?
He built a 'floating' walkway across the pond and the dye was to hide the supporting structure so that it gave the impression the stones were floating on the pond.
Yes, that's right - sorry just caught up with this and interesting comments. It did "look" good, but as you say the dye was just for effect. I think as Lyn has suggested - I will try a bit of twiddling, but also the barley straw extract and cress - once the weather has warmed up a tad more - thanks for all the suggestions.
I am resurrecting this post to see if anyone in the past 18 months has first hand experience of using dye as a blanket weed control. On p. 36 of the current issue of Gardeners’ World magazine Nick Bailey advocates its use.
The reviews on Amazon are mostly positive though users there principally used it for aesthetic reasons rather than for weed control.
In my pond I have tried most remedies: oxygenators (but I think I need more), barley bales, surface coverage with water lilies, pond snails and giving time to find a natural balance. The problem persists but could very well be significantly worse without the controls.
As the manufacturer of the DyoFix brand I would like to clear up a few points. The first being that the Black dye is used to prevent algae and weed growth but most use it for aesthetics because of the bright reflection it creates. Also, it does not prevent lilies from thriving. It was first seen on TV being used in the lily pond at Kew Gardens! For people that would like to slow or halt the growth of weeds and algae but still desire clear water we offer Lake Shadow or Pond Blue with the Shadow being the most “natural” look. There is a wealth of information on our web site but I’m more than happy to answer individual emails
I am not sure if I’m allowed to put an email address in a forum
The dyes used do not create any chemical reaction, it simply slightly colours the water to filter out a small amount of light from the red end of the colour spectrum. All of the above and more (pets, children, humans for example) are not affected by the dye. The dyes used are classed as food approved additives, and part of the testing process was subjecting trout in a concentration 2000 times greater than our dosage recommendation. Any heavy metals are below set limits. If you drank 1 Litre of blue powerade you would need to drink 67 Litres of blue pond water to consume the same level of dye.
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GD get some barley straw extract from Blagdons - does the trick for us and doesn't harm the plants or wildlife
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Yes, I will try that Dove - thanks. We don't have Blagdons here but just perhaps they may send to Guernsey (not many companies do any more - grrrr). We will try some more water cress once the temperature warms up a few more degrees.
We get ours via Amazon ... do they dispatch to Guernsey?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Yes, we do have Amazon deliveries in Guernsey. My OH says he will look at the GC next time he goes there, otherwise we may have to resort to Amazon for it - thanks.
Hi GD. I have seen the dye on a few garden programmes and I'm sure they said wildlife safe. In each instance it was used more so for a water feature not a pond. It gives a good reflection and in the programme you watched it was to conceal building blocks so that the stepping stones appeared to float. It was lovely.
i don't find barley straw works in my pond and like Lyn says I like to twiddle a stick, very therapeutic ? Or if I just want to get the job done I use a childs fishing net ?
He built a 'floating' walkway across the pond and the dye was to hide the supporting structure so that it gave the impression the stones were floating on the pond.
Yes, that's right - sorry just caught up with this and interesting comments. It did "look" good, but as you say the dye was just for effect. I think as Lyn has suggested - I will try a bit of twiddling, but also the barley straw extract and cress - once the weather has warmed up a tad more - thanks for all the suggestions.
The reviews on Amazon are mostly positive though users there principally used it for aesthetic reasons rather than for weed control.
In my pond I have tried most remedies: oxygenators (but I think I need more), barley bales, surface coverage with water lilies, pond snails and giving time to find a natural balance. The problem persists but could very well be significantly worse without the controls.
For people that would like to slow or halt the growth of weeds and algae but still desire clear water we offer Lake Shadow or Pond Blue with the Shadow being the most “natural” look.
There is a wealth of information on our web site but I’m more than happy to answer individual emails
I am not sure if I’m allowed to put an email address in a forum
The dyes used are classed as food approved additives, and part of the testing process was subjecting trout in a concentration 2000 times greater than our dosage recommendation. Any heavy metals are below set limits.
If you drank 1 Litre of blue powerade you would need to drink 67 Litres of blue pond water to consume the same level of dye.