There's a ditch that runs along the west side of our farm. On the other side of the ditch is a cattle pasture and log burn pile. Duckweed and Water Hyacinth grow vigorously in this ditch, utilizing all of the wonderful nutrients from the surrounding field. From here, we harvest the aquatic plants and muck to use as a soil amendment for our crops.
 Harvesting aquatic plants. |  Mud and aquatic plants draining on a screen in a plastic produce basket |
A curved hand fork is used to harvest aquatic plants and place them in buckets. A screen in the bottom of a plastic produce container works well for draining the pond mud and plants to make it lighter and easier for transporting. The containers are then taken to the vineyard and other crops to use as a soil amendment.
As a bonus, sometimes you can find a very nice tadpole. This one was rescued from under a pear tree where were distributing the duckweed.
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