How to Make Copper Algaecide

Simple Copper Solution

• 1

  Place the copper sulfate powder in the jute bag. Tie the top of the bag shut with the cord or thin rope.

• 2

  Pour the water into the bucket. Suspend the copper sulfate-filled bag over the water. The bag's bottom should just touch the water.

• 3

  Permit the bag and bucket to sit undisturbed overnight. The copper sulfate dissolves in the water during that time.

One Percent Burgundy Mixture

• 4

  Dissolve 2.2 lbs. of copper sulfate in 13 gallons of water. Mix 275 lbs. of sodium carbonate, or washing soda, in a separate 13-gallon container of water.

• 5

  Add the soda water to the copper solution slowly. Stirring the mixture encourages blending. Fill a sprayer with the Burgundy mixture before a fungal growth outbreak.

• 6

  Repeat spraying throughout the season combats various plant fungus. Copper is washed off during rainstorms, but the Burgundy mixture's ingredients help it cling to plant surfaces longer.

One Percent Bordeaux Mixture

• 7

  Dissolve 2.2 lbs. of copper sulfate in 13 gallons of water. Dissolve 1/2 lb. of hydrated lime in a separate 13 gallons of water.

• 8

  Mix the copper sulfate solution and lime water together into a sprayer tank, using a strainer to remove any clumps.

• 9

  Apply the Bordeaux mixture during the growing season when fungal diseases and algae most likely to occur. Reapply it as needed because copper solutions wash off with rainfall.