Apple Blossoms Pond Project and Progress

Discussion in 'Water Gardening' started by Apple Blossom, Aug 10, 2015.

  1. Apple Blossom

    Apple Blossom Total Gardener

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    Hi @Radiation91 and @WeeTam @Jimcub I've found out I have blanket weed in my pond :yikes:, (see above photo) I went to the local garden centre who have a pond section with one of the stones showing what I have, the guy there told me that I need to treat the area with some powder and then hoover it out... Don't have a hoover!! so he pointed out some at £250 :yikes:. I wonder if there is another way of dealing with this problem? I have had a read up on the internetthingy and it states that it can be dealt with and then the weed just removed... however the guy at the pond centre told me that if I don't hoover it out it will just come back.... I wonder if you have encountered this and could give me any advice :)

    I realised that to get the right balance I may not have enough plant so I have invested in placing some into the pond and they are all coming along nicely....:spinning:
     
  2. ARMANDII

    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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    That's the real answer, AB. I've got an 4' by 18' integral bog garden built into one side of my pond along with a heavy planting of marginal plants on the other sides, all of which extract the nutrients out of the water and deny silk weed, blanket weed, and algae the food to grow. I've got fish in the pond, along with other wildlife, and they add to the pond nutrients with their excrement but I've never had any problems with weed, other than the ones I have planted, and the water has always been crystal clear since I dug the pond out in '93.
    [​IMG]

    I would just keep taking out the weed with a net or stick keeping it to a bare minimum until the other marginal and deep water oxygenating plants get established enough to extract enough nutrients to stop the blanket weed flourishing.
     
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    • Apple Blossom

      Apple Blossom Total Gardener

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      Thank you so much for the advice :love30: I really thought there for one moment that I would have to fork out £250 for a pond hoover!!

      I do realise that I started my pond rather late in the season and that it didn't give much time for new plants to grow etc.... the one's that I did put in are coming along handsomely, the water is crystal clear so I can see where the weed is.... if the weather is better tomorrow I can see myself paddling to the middle to extract the filter to remove the weed... the plants I have added are only small ... well medium in side and I have noticed that they are coming along really well... I first noticed the green blanket weed on the stones through the waterfall... but just thought that this was natural as winter became spring and the sun was creating it... however when I saw it in the pond I thought otherwise:scratch: I shall take your very valuable advice and remove it daily until the other plants have time to mature :spinning: and hopefully this will fix the problem :)
       
    • Apple Blossom

      Apple Blossom Total Gardener

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      I forgot to say....... that is a brilliant photo
       
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      • ARMANDII

        ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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        If you do, then I would advise wearing shoes of some sort. I went into my pond several years ago without footwear and, unnoticed, already had a small cut on my left foot. The result was a badly infected and extremely painful foot and a course of antibiotics:doh: My pond is well over 3 feet deep so I now wear my Chest Waders when I go in for the annual clean up and maintenance.
        It should do the trick in time, AB. But one of the tricks to get the balance in the water right is to over plant at the margins.
        [​IMG]
        Part of the Bog garden
        [​IMG]
        Yellow Flag Irises are great for margins.
        [​IMG]
        The only pump I have is for the water fall out of a clay jug which oxygenates the pond.
        [​IMG]
        I wanted to avoid chemical filters, UV filters and the like as the cost is quite high and they need constantly maintaining, so natural planting was the answer for me.:dunno::snorky:
         
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        • Apple Blossom

          Apple Blossom Total Gardener

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          :wow: oh my goodness I have a long way to go to get the pond looking that good.... but summer is coming and hopefully I will this year be able to get it more established.... thanks for the tip with the feet... but as the pond is so new... I can see to the bottom and its all clear...:scratch: well I hope it is...:heehee: I think I shall take a tip out of your book and get more plants so that it looks after itself... I do have a good pump/filter UV, but agree that plants are the way forward :)
           
        • ARMANDII

          ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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          Glad you like it, AB. I was sitting on the bench by the pond and saw the petals from the Clematis and also the petals of the Jasmine Hedge on the clear water and, having my trusty Pentax with me, took the shot....and I like it too.:snorky:

          [​IMG]
           
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          • ARMANDII

            ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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            It's amazing how fast sludge will settle on the bottom of the pond from dust blown in on the wind, foliage debris, soil slipping in, etc. I usually find around 3 inches deep on the bottom but I like it like that as it hides aquatic insects and the like from the fish and the bacteria in it helps keep the water balanced.:coffee::snork:
             
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            • Apple Blossom

              Apple Blossom Total Gardener

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              I never knew that, at the moment the pond is so new that bottom is as clear as day.... other than the weed!!... I can see I have tadpoles and newts that scurry around the edges... oh I so wish I had of started it at the start of the season rather than the end, I'm just hoping that things will come together this season and it will be better balanced... I feel a trip coming along to Romsey Water World for more plants :)
               
            • Apple Blossom

              Apple Blossom Total Gardener

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              • ARMANDII

                ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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                To be honest, I wouldn't bother.:dunno: If the pond is going to be a permanent feature and a pleasure it's best to let it get on and do it's own thing without trying "quick fixes". It's probably something along the lines of one of the traditional methods which is to put parcels of Straw into the pond. The Straw decomposes and in doing so uses up the Nitrogen [that unwanted weed love and use to proliferate.] So it looks like they're using a dried form of it.........easy money for them,,,,just like the fellow who wanted to charge you £250 for a water hoover!!.:heehee:
                Ponds are personal things in how you want them to appear and you can end up fussing and getting fed up and disappointed in trying to get an instant perfect pond. I aimed for a reasonably natural looking wild life pond with very little maintenance and took up the late great Geoff Hamilton's advice on how to keep a pond in balance without any expensive equipment and, once the balance is achieved, not constantly having to keep cleaning it out or worrying about it. To be honest, if blanket weed is your only problem it's no big deal, I would be more concerned if the water became unclear due to algae, the cause of which is again too much nutrient [Nitrogen] in the water. Take your time, plant it up heavily and in a year or two time you'll wonder what you were worrying about!!:heehee:
                 
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                • Apple Blossom

                  Apple Blossom Total Gardener

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                  Good advice.... thank you...

                  I did ask at the time about putting.... sorry... one of those straw bundles in and the shop keeper told me not to...

                  I do believe in what you say... it will correct itself in time ... I will take on board what you have said and clear out the weed as I can and leave nature take its course... thank you so much for the advice it is very much appreciated.... this being my very first pond... my fish are loving it :hapydancsmil:and so am I :wub2:
                   
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                  • Sian in Belgium

                    Sian in Belgium Total Gardener

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                    A couple of thoughts about blanket weed in ponds...
                    1. That will be your tadpoles' breakfast, lunch and tea, so you don't want to get it all out!! They will be helping you, so chemicals will harm them at least as much as the weed.

                    As @ARMANDII said, best to stick to physically removing it. Which leads me to my top tip for removing blanket weed
                    2. Use lengths of bramble stem, if you have any!
                    I know, sounds mad, but we have brambles around the garden, and so of course, lengths of cut dead bramble stems, which get caught in the dogs fur, and "travel" around the garden. One day, I picked up a "stick" to twist the weed out. It was a slightly prickly bramble stem, and worked a dream getting the weed out. I now search out stems for the job! I think it's the little prickles, that catch on the weed, just like on your clothes/dogs fur.
                     
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                    • Apple Blossom

                      Apple Blossom Total Gardener

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                      Good Morning Sian.... what a brilliant idea :ideaIPB: I do have prickly brambles that are of some length... I will seek some today and see how I get on...

                      I never thought about the tadpoles helping and yes you are right I don't want to kill anything :)

                      Thank you for the tip :spinning:
                       
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                      • Apple Blossom

                        Apple Blossom Total Gardener

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                        Good afternoon @Sian in Belgium and @ARMANDII.

                        I've had a good day working on the pond.... Sian you are a genius :love30: I took a lot of the weed out with brambles, I would never of thought of doing that, just brilliant :)

                        I've purchased more plants and added them so with luck things should start to grow :)

                        I've added

                        Mazus rep tans blue
                        Anemopsis Californica
                        Achilles ptarmigan X 2
                        Rotala indica
                        Hydrocotyle vulgaris
                        Lilaeopsis brasilensis
                        Iris pseudacorus
                        Mentha aquatica
                        Juncos effusive spiralis
                        Myosotis palustris
                        Lysimachis nummularia
                        Acorus grannies ogon

                        I've also placed two 100% organic barley straw bales in to help get the balance better

                        Thank you both for your advice :spinning:
                         
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                          Last edited: Apr 12, 2016
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