The invasive algae that float on ponds and lakes in southern Connecticut (near where I live) and elsewhere could make great fertilizer. My public officials want to rid us of these algal masses by either poisoning them, draining the entire lake in hopes that a winter freeze will kill them, or employing mechanical means. All of these ideas would cost taxpayers money.
I look at these masses of floating green and see floating gold. Harvesting algae is free and easy. When I’m out in my kayak, I simply fill a laundry basket with handfuls of algae, and then take the harvest home to put on my garden. I am in the experimental stages of this idea, but I appreciate that algae are free, easy to harvest, and dry to about half of their wet mass. I believe every small farmer with a pond could harvest pond algae, dry them, fertilize a garden — and they could even sell algae at the farmers market!
Cliff Weller
Jewett City, Connecticut