Ponds

For the first time in my recollection, I started my pond pump on Friday. It appears that most or all of the fish in our pond have survived the winter and I was beginning to think that they might need some oxygen. The water in the upper pond was a little smelly (ammonia) given the detritus from decaying clematis and silver maple leaves. The fish seem a little happier right now but who knows for sure, they haven't told me so.

To overwinter our fish in the pond (we would bring them in each fall keeping them in 3 large aquaria - what a job!!), we heat a small area of the pond with a heater meant to keep water troughs for cattle free of ice. The hole allows gases to escape so that the fish could survive. Our pond is also 3 feet deep, the recommended depth if you plan to overwinter fish in our area.

In the near future, I'll begin repotting and dividing some of the water plants that were also left in the pond over the winter. We have some plants that I promised to share with colleagues. The folk at Sheridan's Nursery suggested last year that I add some watercress to the pond as it would help to clean the pond of toxins. In addition to the watercress I used barley pellets and other oxygenators to improve conditions in the pond. I hate to use chemicals.

I did get some green algae in the pond last year but it was relatively easy to remove.