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After cleaning out my pond last weekend I thought I would keep a photo diary of the pond this year.
At present I have 4 goldfish and 1 green tench but will be buying more fish later on.
I actually have 2 ponds,one for goldfish and a small wildlife one.
In past years I have had a big problem with blanket weed and have tried a few different things,barley straw logs,barley straw extract and even in desperation used a chemical solution.Needless to say none worked to any great effect.
Last year I tried using floating plants to block out sunlight and so stop the blanket weed growing too much.
I used Azolla filiculoides which is a small floating fern and looks quite attractive (Google it!).
It was very sucessful in getting rid of the blanket weed but became such a problem in itself as it is so invasive! I could not see the fish and it killed several other plants in the pond as it just completely smothered them.
I am going to have to continue removing the Azolla by hand as it can be persistant!
So this year I am trying another product (natural and harmless to pondlife etc) called 'Blanket Answer'.
Since I have no blanket weed at present (thanks to the Azolla) I hope to start from a good point.
This is the pond before cleaning showing the Azolla on the surface,I would actually remove this by the bucketful!:-
Big pond before and after treatment (Day 1).The cloudiness is supposed to clear in a few days.
and the wildlife pond before and after treatment:-
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
Day 2 and the 'Blanket Answer' has cleared a bit and settled on pond sides and plants etc.
Day 3 and we have snow!! and it is bitterly cold.
have you got any frogs in your pond
I heard that watercress (as you'd buy in the shops), as long as there are wee roots, will help with blanket weed. Never tried as no pond :-( just young children!!
'In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks' John Muir.
Excuse wobbily dyslexic spelling!
No frogs in the pond yet though did see a squashed female in the road a couple of days ago and was probably on her way to us.
Have had frogspawn for the last 8 years but last year it was caught by the frost so no tadpoles.
I originally brought in spawn from a local pond (where it never survived) as we were on a very new housing estate and have had frogs ever since.
We also have toads and newts but not breeding.
I have tried watercress for blanket weed but did no good!!
The product I am using this year is a natural blend of enzymes and minerals and all the reviews have been very good.
It does not harm the fish,plants or other wildlife and you can't really overdose with it.
Hence the diary to see if it lives up to the claims.
Over the past couple of years I have not had a lot of success with the pond.fish losses etc which may be due to a heron,though I have never seen one,and the blanket weed which may be part of the problem as it just covers everything,I have even found frogs caught up in it.
Will let you know if I get any frogs etc!
Great idea for a thread Madpenguin!
Usually the barley bundles work but you have to clear out most of the blanket weed first, certainly worked for me anyway! It will be interesting to see how your pond develops!
As for Azolla filiculoides, yep it is invasive and a plant we suggest you avoid for this very reason, check out our list of plants to use and plants to swerve here.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
I thought I would just put in a couple of pics from the 'history' of my pond.
It was originally bought in 1992 and put in position at my old house where it stayed until I moved out 10 years later in 2002.
As the house was to be demolished and I was moving to a brand new house I decided to take as much from the garden as possible including the pond and stones (and the fish!).
I put pond in place in the summer of 2002 so it has now been in position for 11 years.
Here is it going in at my old house:-
and one year later (1993):-
and again in 2000:-
Putting in position at the new house:-
and settled in in 2006:-
The pond seems to possibly have a leak somewhere near the top as how ever much I fill it the water always drops a couple of inches or so fairly quickly,I may have to patch it up some time (any suggestions as to how I should go about that?).
The pond had a 20 year guarantee but can't claim on it as it is now over 21 years old!!!!!!
Nothing much to report on the pond at the moment.
Some of the plants seem to be shooting out but that is all!
the trouble with the watercress ( I bought organic) is it does the same as the other weed, takes over the pond and husband is not good at getting it all out. as I am disabled it is difficult for me. but will have to do something soon as cannot see any water except the little bit above the weed.
BUT how many chemicals are involved in the Blanket Answer? as I really try to be as organic as possible.
I like deadlines I particularly like the whooshing sounds as they fly by ( Douglas Adams)