A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Water Gardens Pond season is upon us..................

It is really warm here today and all the trees are getting that pink blush to them.............so I am getting spring fever very bad! Just wanted to start a thread to say EVERYBODY GET READY TO WAKE UP YOUR POND SOON! I can't wait!

I can't wait to see everyones pond too,, I want one!!!!!!!!

My pond is struggling at the moment. It has blanket weed, any suggestions of how to clean it up?

Hi Everyone!! My first post this year!! Woo hooo!

And I am right there with you guys.. sooo ready for spring.. unfortunately I will have to wait a bit longer.. being a bit farther north.. bleh. lol Oh well, it shall be here!! spring that is.. hehe

I don't know what to do to open my pond back up.. this is the first spring I have had it... since we just put it in last year. Is there something special I need to do.. I am curious to see if my fishies wintered over.. I haven't seen them, but they might be hiding in the bottom.. I hope so.

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyy there you are!! How have you been!????

hehe Hiii!! *feels all warm and fuzzy inside that you remembered me* I have been pretty good.. just holed up waiting for the sun!! Like everyone else probably. How have YOU been? I am trying to find my way around here again.. lol It has been a while. :P I need to get some info on starting some seeds this year.. I want to do some perennials! Save myself a bunch of money hopefully!

My pond is still covered in a layer of ice right this second, so it'll be a good while before it's woken up here.

But I did want to say that you should buy special fish food for spring/fall feeding. I got some last fall for my fishies. I was glad to see it because I didn't know that there was special food. Also I have a floating thermometer for my pond so I know when to start feeding them again. If the water is too cold they can't digest the food and it can kill them.

I think this spring I will use the pond pump to spray out of the pond so I can drain it some....that way I can clean it out a little....

My mosquito fish and snails in my fish tank will be returned to the pond!

I'll move my bench back out there....I MISS sitting by my pond!

Oh geez.. I didn't feed my fishies anything special in the fall.. I hope they are ok when things thaw out.

What temp should the water be before you start feeding them again? And what is this special food?

Thank you!

They should be just fine.....the special food just helps them get ready for the cold weather and makes them better suited to survive the winter....here is what it says about it on the pack I have(you can google spring and autumn fish food to find it):

Specially formulated for feeding koi and goldfish in spring and autumn water conditions. Contains a stabilized vitamin C and a complement of important vitamins and minerals to help maintain the immune system of pond fish.

Other ingredients include: bell peppers, spinach, tomatoes and carrots.

Protein requirements for koi and goldfish kept in ponds and water gardens is primarily determined by water temperature. In cool water, 42° to 70°F (6° to 21°C) fish will feed but do not require a high protein food. Feeding excess protein does not benefit the fish and will convert to poisonous ammonia. This is especially dangerous in cooler water because the bacteria that comprise the biological filter are inhibited by cooler temperatures.

Ohhhh, and I quit feeding and start feeding again when it hits 42 solidly. Their digestive systems can't handle the food if it's too cold.
Having a pond thermometer is great! It has writing on there to tell me when to feed regular food, when to feed spring/fall food, and when to quit feeding.

I guess I need a water tester kit this spring to check the water levels. Gonna have to invest in one.

BTW, the actual food name is PondCare spring and Autumn premium pellets.

Hmm.. thanks so much for that info!! My poor fishies.. will be malnourished. I will have to get a thermometer for the pond.. so I know when to start feeding them again.

your lucky, my pond still freezes some days, when do you start feeding the fish again. i know there is spring food, but our last frost could even happen in may, but everyone says march 17 is a good time to start planting. does that mean i start feeding then too?

I should've said earlier, I start feeding at 42--but a solid 42, and even then I only feed a two times a week. When it's about 50-55 degrees I feed 3-4 times a week, then as it hits a solid 60'ish I start feeding normal pellet food.

Don't overfeed them in the spring though....I'd rather underfeed them at first....and scoop out excess food if it's left floating.

spring is hard on the fish and they are more likely to get bacterial or parasitic infections at this time.

Everyone with a pond should really have a thermometer for it....that's really important!

Thanks for the info. I will get me a thermometer.. and some spring food for them.

Great info Loz!



and I want to stress That means the pond water doesn't drop below this temp at all.

I am so excited about spring this year and can't really do much about it. I can't bend over. I already have a sitter lined up to help after the baby is born so I can work in the yard.

Hey Donna you are like the pond queen so what you say I take to heart! You're very right with the water temp not dropping below 42....it's important. Some people get a few warm days and get spring-itis and start feeding too early and then it gets cold again....that is not good. Have to wait until it's permanently warmed up...not just a warm day here and there.

I'm so excited for you with the baby coming! I know you'll be a super mom! You've had a lot of practice mothering all your pets(children). I'm glad you have help lined up and that you'll still be able to get out in the yard and do what you enjoy best.

Great info Loz! I need a thermometer for my pond..........but I just follow whenever mom starts to fed hers!

When I did my first small pond years ago I read every ponding book I could get my hands on!

I bought one of them, I should get it out and read it over as a refresher.

That is what mom did! I hate reading and it does not "sink in" unless I actually do it. Thank goodness for The Momcat!

I need pictures please. I'm a visual person and need to see what I'm supposed to be doing.

Pictures? What is it you need pics of hon??

My pond won't be waking up anytime soon....it's frozen and covered in snow....

One of the stray cats earlier was out on top of it....It usually drinks out of it and I don't think it could figure out why it couldn't drink out of it this morning.

Pond pictures.

Mine too Loz!

Loz,


You have a point there...........
Nice pond too..
Nice snow......
It is snowing here again.. i shopped in the am .....it was sunny and bright.
But 16º..........eek

Bought new bed sheets.............
Their flowers at walmart looked like something God forgot.......

I like 50c stuff.....they had none.
my peppers are up......so are some petunias.

AAACCCCKKKKKK! That is an awful sight! (the snow, not the pond)!

Hush............down in tennessee sun........
This is snow business of yours.........

It will be spring soon.................Ask me I know..

It is terrible to look at when you look at the pond pictures from this summer and it's so pretty and lush and green all around it.

Oh well, winter comes and you can't stop it....I'm sure eventually in the summer I'll be complaining about the heat.

Oh Loz,
Quit that ........You sound just like me.

I'd rather be cold than hot. I love looking at everyones ponds. When I told Johnny that I'm going to dig a pond he looked at me like I'm crazy. He said "you know we have a permit to dig a pond already but I didn't think you'd be interested in dealing with it." Around here when I say "pond" people thing big ponds for fishing. He's right that I don't want to deal with a big pond. My inlaws used to have one that was dug with backhoes and stocked with fish they ordered that came in a tanker truck. They had to put stuff in it to kill algae and sain it once in a while to get out the gigantic fish, and mow around it and all sorts of up keep to keep it looking pretty and the fish healthy. It's more like a small lake. We used to row across it in a canoe and I did like eating the brim we caught. But this time, I want something I can make and I can take care of.

Sheri, more power to you. I would love to have a pond--I just do not know if I would be able to keep it up properly myself--& I would not want to ask/expect Rod to do it for me. he does all the grass maintance, as it is.

I just want to say that my pond really isn't much hard to take care of. I don't do much to it really.

I clean the pump/filter every other day in the summer. About once a month I point it out of the pond to throw about 25 percent of the water out and top it back off.

In the summer it needs topped off everyday because the heat makes a lot evaporate.

Really though it's easy to keep up! And it's a lot bigger than my old pond.......

It's much prettier in warm weather.

Oh that is gorgeous Loz!! *drools* I wish I could plant some Glads behind mine too.. but there isn't much room between the pond and the deck and it is kind of hard to get back in there.. I will have to see how my perennials from last year do this spring. ;)

How large is your pond Loz?

Right, those glads are beautiful.

Thanks, the pond is about 12 by 6.....Guesstimating that....

Check out this pic of my pond, it's my fav--at the very end of the pics in there!

//www.agardenersforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showgallery/Number/131703

//www.agardenersforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showgallery/Number/130112

Your pond is so pretty. Your flowers around it are lovely.

Wow Loz! That is awesome!! Yours is so much fuller than mine.. with plants and flowers.. mine seems bare in comparison. =(

Thanks Sheri....I have lots of ornamental grasses around the sides...and lavander, and the whole back is nothing but nice, bright Zinnias! I just love Zinnias for their height and color! And they are nice cut flowers too!

Aren't you afraid the ornamental grasses will get too big?? Or are they a smaller variety??

Oh Lavendar.. I might just have to plant some by mine too.. I did alot of annuals last year.. just because I wasn't sure what I wanted.. I did do a couple perennials.. a coreopsis and a day lily.. And one other one.. something blue.. but I don't know if it is going to make it.. it didn't seem to do too well. could be my soil.. AKA clay.

Zinnias are gorgeous.. I have never had any of those though.. might have to try some.. =)

Most of my ornamental grasses are big ones, I like them to make an impression---and they help give a little bit of shade to the pond. That's why I have a lot of tall plants around the pond, it's in full sun(which isn't good really), and so I try to shade it as much as possible. The more sun hitting a pond the greener it gets and the algae just keeps growing.

Zinnias are SO easy to grow....I would never buy them from a store as a plant....get some seeds, and a long window box planter and start them in there as soon as you can outside....they are super easy to start from seed. I grow my own every year.

Oh and all of my grasses are perennial except for the purpley ones you see on each side--purple fountain grass....I have to rebuy them each year because they are annuals here in this area....but I love them enough to buy them.

Good show Loz.