Algae in my waterbutt

[lesleygl]

thank you Sanjo

[Bigmallly]

I am a bit confused, the veg is grown in dirt, clay, horse manure, chicken manure, fish blood, bonemeal. Yet there is concern over a bit of green water............

[teakdesk]

I am a bit confused, the veg is grown in dirt, clay, horse manure, chicken manure, fish blood, bonemeal. Yet there is concern over a bit of green water............

Good point!

It has always seemed odd to me that people are fastidious about washing their hands after visiting the loo in case a bit of wee splashed onto them....

...yet they are quite happy to throw urine, manure, etc. onto their "organic" soil and eat the plants that lap it all up!!


It's a funny old world!

[rob the roller]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I should have said that there is a tight fitting lid on the waterbutt. The butt is fed by a downpipe which passes through an aperture in the lid. I assume the algae and larvae find their way down the pipe, or in the space between the downpipe and the edge of the aperture, or they form when the butt is full to overlowing on the surface.

Besides the smell and insects, the algae can be a problem when used to water plants, as it tends to affect the compost, turning it green. There is no other noticeable affect, and it tends to be a problem in the greenhouse rather than on the plot, presumably because there is direct sunlight and wind on the plot.

So far as goldfish go, they sound interesting, but will they survive with the lid on the butt? And what about winter when it freezes over?

Rob