While walking outside my mother’s house in Pasig after work, I happen to chance by seeing some “green stuff” near the swampy grass. I thought it it was just algae or some green liquid stuff disposed by the house nearby. I kept ignoring it until one day my curiosity took over and I looked closer. And guess what’s I’ve found… duckweed!
I’ve been trying to grow them ever since somebody gave me a handful to multiply, but this was the first time that I saw them in the wild. First time I would ever see them grow in that small village in the last 22 years of living there. How they got there, I had no idea.
Some people who are not familiar with duckweed might ask, what’s the big deal about it? In some places they are considered a nuisance and often associated with poor water quality (they basically thrive if the water is rich with nutrients). While this is true, duckweed is considered by some as a plant who might play a major part in the future of food production. In spite of being the smallest aquatic plant, it can contain up to 45% protein and is rich in amino acids which is an ideal food for fish in ponds and aquaponic systems. They multiply rapidly given the proper conditions (conditions that I am yet to fully understand).
So what did I do when I confirmed that it’s duckweed that I saw lying on the murky water in our neighborhood? I ran back home, took some plastic container and my phone camera! Imagine this being done while getting this what-the-hell-is-this-guy-doing kind of look from our neighbors. When I came back with my container, some old guy even tied up his dog on a tree a few feet away from where I found the duckweed, probably thinking I was up to something not very good. But in spite of having to dodge this dog and with his annoying barking, I managed to scoop my duckweed away and walk home smiling.
Aqualeafygreen 