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Shelbyville, Tennessee ~ Thursday, November 20, 2008
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Winter weather
Posted Wednesday, January 30, 2008, at 2:48 PM<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>
Don't get me wrong, I love wintery weather - I feel like I have to since I grew up in Connecticut and spend every Christmas at my grandmother's in Quebec (talk about a lot of snow!). I heard something about snow this weekend on the radio on my way to work this morning. I actually really like it when it snows - I love watching our dogs go crazy running around in it.
But, here's the rub - since this will be our second summer in our house my husband and I are dying to get a garden started. I've been eye-ing some different types of veggies and flowers - but we're still deciding. We're thinking of going with seed savers (again, thanks for the link Jackie). We have a friend who's wife picked out all the veggies and such for their garden and she had a theme that was all black and dark purple items - I like the idea of doing something like that but if we're planting food, I'd like something that we will actually eat and not have to worry about pawning off onto other people.
I guess the point of this post is that I'm getting antsy for springtime. My favorite weather is when you can keep the windows open for the day and the air is crisp (maybe that's more fall than spring though...). Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
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Get a UV light for your pond, it will take care of the green water!
Really?
We know nothing about ponds - it came with the house - we were thinking of taking out all the fish, putting them in a safe place, draining out the water, cleaning the pond, then filling it back up and putting the fish back in...lots of work.
I wouldn't do that! Your fish are used to the water they are already in. When you refill it the water has to cycle at least 7 days before its safe to put them back in or it could kill them. The ammonia lever has to rise and fall after the water is changed. Chemicals do little if any good for a garden pond. You have good bacteria in the pond already and it needs to stay that way. You would not have blooms on your water lilly if your water wasn't balanced already. It already has nutrients that the lilly needs to bloom in the first place. If you don't have a good filter and pump, get one for the size of your pond. Install a UV light also for the size of your pond and it will clear up in about 3 to 7 days. Then you can take a net and see what you want and need to scoop out.
I meant ammonia level
Thank you so much for the info! I will be putting a UV light on our list of things to get for this spring.
We asked everyone we knew about ponds when we first moved into the house - but of course no one we knew, knew anything about koi ponds.
They will take care of themselves as long as you clean your filter on a regular basis! I've even had baby koi before. If it ever looks like someone put dish washing liquid in it they have spawned and you will have little golden eggs under the foam! Bad news, they will eat the eggs....... Not all of them if your lucky!
That's so cool. I'm honestly surprised the koi we have in there are still alive - we have no idea when the previous owners last ran the filter/pump before we bought the place. We run it off and on - we're working on getting an outlet next to the pond so it can be on all the time.
I heard the there are sometimes herons that come and steal the koi? at least that's what the old owners told us.
They will and thats where your lilly will help some. You can always cover it with a net, that really helps! The pump is very important in the summer when its hot because your fish will die if the water does not circulate and get oxygen in it. Winter isn't that big of a deal unless it freezes over! Pour hot water in one spot to keep a hole in the ice open. Dont ever try to bust ice. Dont feed them after cold weather sets in the fish go doormat and dont need to eat. Spring time start feeding them a few cherios' before regular fish food. I'm not an expert by any means but have had three ponds so far and one was the size of an in ground pool so I have learned alot during my fish/pond obsession!
I am anxious for Spring, too!
The picture of your water lilly is beautiful!!! What type of camera do you have?
We will be starting a garden soon, too. Little flower gardens for the back yard, along with a small veggi and herb garden.
This will be our first time gardening, so it's good to know someone else we might be able to seek advice from!
Thank you! I have a Cannon A560 power shot, I upgraded to it this summer and I really love it.
Actually, this will be our first time gardening - maybe we can learn together.
I have a Kodak Easy Share digital, and it eats batteries like you would not believe! Two brand new AA's will last 10 minutes. NO JOKE! Recyclable batteries last even shorter! We are fed up with it, and have only had it for about 10 months!
As far as gardening goes, will you be doing your own composting?