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This plant is seen as the crop of the future. Some people are farming Azolla to sell it to biodiesel makers because it is now being used to make Biofuel. It is also seen as the animal feed of the future! Many farmers are now growing and mass-producing Azolla because these green aquatic ferns are high in protein and different minerals. You can use it to feed cattle, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, sheep, ostrich, Tilapia, and other livestock animals. Some people completely quit buying commercial feeds and feeds Azolla to the animals. While others feed their animals, 50% feeds and 50% Azolla.
It is seen as the future of renewable energy and Animal feeds.
Some people grow Azolla in small plastic containers.
Some people are now mass producing them in Ponds!
It is not ready to harvest if it looks like this:
It is ready to harvest if it looks like this:
I started with five water basins; I fertilized them with dried crushed Cow Manure (Manure of any grass-eating animals will do) and some soil. Then I let the Azolla plants I purchased online float around the waters. After ten days, They fully invaded the basin. I plan to buy multiple kiddie pools to have an infinite source of Azolla for livestock feed.
If you at least have three ponds of Azolla, You will never need to buy animal feeds again! They work well with Cattle, Goat and rabbit farmers since those are grass-eating animals. You can feed them Azolla and use their dried manure to fertilize the Azolla pond.
When you harvest Azolla from your container or pond, It will grow back on the water after 5 to 10 days. They are invasive in nutrient-rich waters. The only pest for Azolla will be frogs because if frogs laid eggs on your Azolla pond, The tadpoles would decimate the plants. People add carnivorous catfishes to their ponds to eliminate mosquitos and tadpoles. Also, when they feed the predatory fish, they fertilize the Azolla. So catfish and snakehead farmers let Azolla float on their ponds. It won't work with Tilapia since Tilapia eats Azolla.
In America, Azolla is becoming a popular fertilizer to farmers. Dried Azolla is now marketed as clean organic fertilizer. Many Environmentalists see Azolla as the environmentally friendly crop of the future because of its multiple uses.
I saw how fast these ferns grow as they float on water, so I plan to buy multiple kiddie pools and sell them to my neighbours.
My birds laid more eggs and gained some weight when I started to feed them Azolla. Unlike grass that takes forever to grow, Azolla grows back after 5 to 10 days, depending on how much you harvest from your container. I only harvest 40 % of a basin, and it's 100% ready to harvest again after five days. I currently have ten plastic basins, and I plan to replace the basins with kiddie pools.
