Barley Products
We are proud to offer everyday low prices on quality barley products, the natural way to achieve clear water and control string algae in Koi ponds and water gardens. For best results, you should apply barley straw in the early spring prior to the growing season and into the fall to protect your pond over the winter months. Today's alternative, barley straw, offers the pond owner a safe and effective, inexpensive, and long-term solution to string algae control. The pond owner places a small bag of barley straw at the surface and lets nature do the work. When properly applied, naturally occurring microorganisms decompose the lignins in the barley, releasing humic substances (dissolved organic carbon) in the water. In the presence ofsunlight and oxygen, these compounds are converted into low levels of hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide is the component that modifies the pond chemistry to improve pond clarity. Hydrogen peroxide itself is relatively unstable and does not persist in water, but the slow release effect from the barley straw provides a constant source of hydrogen peroxide. The effects from barley straw will begin as early as one to two weeks after installation, and will remain effective for between four and six months.
Tips for Success:
* Apply early in the spring (March or April) before algae and turbidity increase.
* Physically remove existing algae at the time of installation.
* Float the barley at the surface for best exposure to oxygen.
* Aerate the water.
* Place the barley near a waterfall or aerator.
* Use smaller. more frequent applications in warmer climates.
* Apply a second treatment prior to total decomposition of the first. Also, leave the first application in the water for at least two to three weeks beyond application of the second treatment.
