Ponds & Water Gardens Magazine

[wifezilla]

Just picked up a copy at Big R yesterday and the annual 2012 issue (it's from the FUTURE! ) has a great write up on gravel bog filtering. I use a combination of skippy filtering and bog filtering for my pond system.

I use plants and gravel beds and it really does make a big difference on how clean the water is.

If you are thinking of putting in a pond you may want to get a copy.

 

[vfem]

Thanks for the info.... they got anything in there on maintaining a 2 acre pond?!!? :/

 

[wifezilla]

The plant articles might be applicable to you, but this magazine shows huge ponds as well as small back yard ones like mine.

 

[vfem]

That's what I was wondering. How large? We have a pond that is about 2 acres on our property (the whole pond isn't ours, just a portion) and it can get very 'nasty'. I would like to find some tips on all this nasty green stuff that builds up on our end.

 

[wifezilla]

You need oxygenators!

http://www.pondplants.com/aisle8.html

The magazine lists South African and Brazilian Pond weed, hornworts, milfoils, curly pond weed, water violet and fanwort as good oxygenators. Just be careful you don't pick an oxygenator that is an invasive species. Parrots feather is a good example of an invasive plant.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

hornwort is what is legal in our neck of the woods up here in NH. they will die back during the winter but will come back if you leave them in the water instead of tossing them each year.

with the issue of algae growing and taking over a pond, you really need to over stock the pond with plants to help keep the nutrients from feeding that algae bloom! the introduction of new water from heavy rains will also cause a pond to get a lot of algae. if you want to help clear up a pond fairly quickly get some water hyacinth or water lettuce. depending on how much nutrients are free floating in your pond will show if you ever picked up one of the plants after a few weeks! just check to see if your area is allowed to have those in your pond. some areas will restrict them with big fines for just having 1 plant!

there's also a nice benefit if you keep fish in the ponds! those plants help keep any baby fish (fry) from getting eaten from their parents!

 

[vfem]

Like Wife, I have DUCKS!

I did do water lilies last year... about 12 of them. The pekins thought I was treating them to a very expensive snack.

But I will look into something that will spread well, slow in winter... and more then likely spread where the ducks can't devour it ALL! :coolsun

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

try getting some duck weed! i would suggest getting some to give the ducks and keep a small pond or pool that the ducks will not be able to access so it has space to grow! or something i just found out they call duck potato, also known as arrowhead http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittaria_latifolia

if you are looking for a decent source of pond plant seeds try searching through www.everwilde.com i got a packet of 1500 arrowhead seeds for $2.75 from them when i found them on ebay. they are cheaper if you go directly to their website! they quickly sent me all the seeds i ordered from them!

there aren't many sources in my area that supply pond plants other than a big greenhouse, so many times i have to order things new each year. this year with the plans for putting in a large backyard pond i was looking around and found a lot of hardy perennial pond plant seeds that i remembered the local pond guy used to carry as started plants, they were a little expensive and my mom was the one that decided what plants got put in the ponds each year. i was just her landscaper while i lived at home. the big greenhouse doesn't carry a lot of what our pond guy used to so i have been on a search for the plants he had been stocking ever since!

Jim the pond guy used to keep a small greenhouse for his tropical plants during the winter and i really want to build my greenhouse just like his so i can over winter a lot of the tropicals that usually don't survive here without a warm area. he retired a few years ago and the lady that bought the remainder of his plants doesn't have much of a clue how much to charge for a lot of the stuff. she doesn't mark prices on any of her plants-pond, veggies or flowers! so it is hard to tell what price she might charge when you go there.

 

[momofdrew]

try getting some duck weed! i would suggest getting some to give the ducks and keep a small pond or pool that the ducks will not be able to access so it has space to grow! or something i just found out they call duck potato, also known as arrowhead http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagittaria_latifolia

if you are looking for a decent source of pond plant seeds try searching through www.everwilde.com i got a packet of 1500 arrowhead seeds for $2.75 from them when i found them on ebay. they are cheaper if you go directly to their website! they quickly sent me all the seeds i ordered from them!

there aren't many sources in my area that supply pond plants other than a big greenhouse, so many times i have to order things new each year. this year with the plans for putting in a large backyard pond i was looking around and found a lot of hardy perennial pond plant seeds that i remembered the local pond guy used to carry as started plants, they were a little expensive and my mom was the one that decided what plants got put in the ponds each year. i was just her landscaper while i lived at home. the big greenhouse doesn't carry a lot of what our pond guy used to so i have been on a search for the plants he had been stocking ever since!

Jim the pond guy used to keep a small greenhouse for his tropical plants during the winter and i really want to build my greenhouse just like his so i can over winter a lot of the tropicals that usually don't survive here without a warm area. he retired a few years ago and the lady that bought the remainder of his plants doesn't have much of a clue how much to charge for a lot of the stuff. she doesn't mark prices on any of her plants-pond, veggies or flowers! so it is hard to tell what price she might charge when you go there.

CM did you know you can eat the root of the Arrowhead like a potatoe???

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

yeah, i was reading about that when i found out it is also called a duck potato! kind on neat to think of some of the pond plants as edible! sweet flag is also edible! i always liked it when i would divide the rhizomes during the spring and they would smell sooo sweet!

btw, Wife do you happen to have a link to that magazine? i'm not sure if i found the right one online and i know i haven't been able to find it locally. our pond guy used to carry back copies of the other pond magazines but i'm not familiar with that new one!