Organic Corn Meal for Ponds

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Organic Corn Meal for Ponds

Excessive algae growth in your pond can choke out vegetation and reduce the water clarity, which affects light penetration to aquatic plants and organisms. Algae also give your pond an unpleasant musky odor. Organic corn meal is a natural option for immediate control of algae in your pond that doesn’t add excessive nutrients to the water or damage other plants and aquatic life the way that chemical fertilizers and herbicides may.

Organic Corn Meal or Corn Gluten Meal

  1. There are two types of corn meal products available for horticultural use: corn gluten meal and organic corn meal. Corn gluten meal is a by-product of corn oil production, and has been used as animal feed and as a natural weed-control option for lawns and gardens. It is an effective pre-emergent herbicide that prevents the germination of weed and grass seeds, but is not meant for use in your pond.

    Organic corn meal is similar to the product you’d find in grocery stores, but it is manufactured in granular or pelletized forms to reduce or eliminate algae growth in your pond.

Benefits

  1. The cellulose in organic corn meal helps bind excess phosphorus in water and balances the water chemistry, which kills off algae. The organic carbon available in the corn meal enables beneficial bacteria to thrive, which also kills algae. The decaying of the algae in turn benefits the bacteria by providing another source of carbon. One or two treatments of corn meal can often control algae problems for several months.

Disadvantages

  1. If you apply corn meal too often, or in high levels, algae may die off rapidly. When algae die off too quickly, oxygen levels in your pond are temporarily reduced, which can be deadly to fish and other aquatic life. Use corn meal only in an organic pond maintenance program. When you use chemical products in conjunction with corn meal, the beneficial effects of the corn meal are lost. Corn meal does not provide long-term algae control, and must be reapplied when new growth occurs.

Application

  1. To control algae using organic corn meal, apply at a rate of 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet of surface, or 140 pounds of corn meal per surface acre. The application of corn meal is most effective if it reaches the bottom of the water. You can put the corn meal into a burlap or mesh bag weighted with a rock, or use pelletized corn meal, which will sink instead of floating on the top.

References

Writer Bio

Renee Miller began writing professionally in 2008, contributing to websites and the “Community Press” newspaper. She is co-founder of On Fiction Writing, a website for writers. Miller holds a diploma in social services from Clarke College in Belleville, Ontario.

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I'm a writer who focuses on the outdoors and travel. I share my time between Alaska and Colorado, where, when I'm not writing, I enjoy camping, kayaking, hiking, fishing, and skiing (often with dogs in tow). My byline may also be seen in publications such as The New York Times, National Geographic, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and others.

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