Hello,

This is my pond's second year. It is somewhere around 800 gallons. It has
a skippy type filter with no plants which flows into a kiddie poll plant
filter which then goes back into the pond. It has a very low fish load and
two large bullfrogs. The fish and frogs are thriving. Everything turned
green about the middle of May The green algae seems to be mostly gone now
but the water is still brown and murky and visibility is only about six
inches.

Problem; the plants. Everything in pots is small and unhealthy. Initial
growth in the spring was slow and spindly. There is no new growth on the
iris or pickeral weed now, and new lily pads are very few and very small..
The underwater plants that flourished last year are barely holding their
own, and not putting out new growth. There is about a tablespoon of
duckweed, up from about a teaspoonfull in the kiddie pool. I composted
azolla by the gallon last year. This year I cannot get it started in the
pond or the pool. Needless to say the veggie filter is almost devoid of
veggies.

I gave everything a bath in the miracle grow tub last weekend but it does
not seem to have helped.
Could something about the water chemistry cause my plants not to grow?

Hubby used a test strip in the water this morning and got nitrate 20,
nitrite 1, hardness 75, alkalinity between 80 and 120, and pH 7.2. He
didn't check for ammonia. I know I need to invest in some good water
testing materials, and will do so soon.

Suggestions? I'm in hot, humid south MS where our climate is a mix ofzone 8
and zone 9.

Thanks!

"Pam" wrote in message
. ..
Hello,

This is my pond's second year. It is somewhere around 800 gallons. It
has a skippy type filter with no plants which flows into a kiddie poll
plant filter which then goes back into the pond. It has a very low fish
load and two large bullfrogs. The fish and frogs are thriving. Everything
turned green about the middle of May The green algae seems to be mostly
gone now but the water is still brown and murky and visibility is only
about six inches.

Problem; the plants. Everything in pots is small and unhealthy. Initial
growth in the spring was slow and spindly. There is no new growth on the
iris or pickeral weed now, and new lily pads are very few and very small..
The underwater plants that flourished last year are barely holding their
own, and not putting out new growth. There is about a tablespoon of
duckweed, up from about a teaspoonfull in the kiddie pool. I composted
azolla by the gallon last year. This year I cannot get it started in the
pond or the pool. Needless to say the veggie filter is almost devoid of
veggies.

I gave everything a bath in the miracle grow tub last weekend but it does
not seem to have helped.
Could something about the water chemistry cause my plants not to grow?

Hubby used a test strip in the water this morning and got nitrate 20,
nitrite 1, hardness 75, alkalinity between 80 and 120, and pH 7.2. He
didn't check for ammonia. I know I need to invest in some good water
testing materials, and will do so soon.

Suggestions? I'm in hot, humid south MS where our climate is a mix ofzone
8 and zone 9.

Thanks!

Your numbers all seem pretty good. You might try some aquatic plant tabs for
the potted plants and some Potassium (Potash) for the floating plants.
About 2 tablespoons of Potash per 1,000 should be OK, but a little more
won't do any harm.

"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...

"Pam" wrote in message
. ..
Hello,

This is my pond's second year. It is somewhere around 800 gallons. It
has a skippy type filter with no plants which flows into a kiddie poll
plant filter which then goes back into the pond. It has a very low fish
load and two large bullfrogs. The fish and frogs are thriving.
Everything turned green about the middle of May The green algae seems to
be mostly gone now but the water is still brown and murky and visibility
is only about six inches.

Problem; the plants. Everything in pots is small and unhealthy. Initial
growth in the spring was slow and spindly. There is no new growth on the
iris or pickeral weed now, and new lily pads are very few and very
small.. The underwater plants that flourished last year are barely
holding their own, and not putting out new growth. There is about a
tablespoon of duckweed, up from about a teaspoonfull in the kiddie pool.
I composted azolla by the gallon last year. This year I cannot get it
started in the pond or the pool. Needless to say the veggie filter is
almost devoid of veggies.

I gave everything a bath in the miracle grow tub last weekend but it does
not seem to have helped.
Could something about the water chemistry cause my plants not to grow?

Hubby used a test strip in the water this morning and got nitrate 20,
nitrite 1, hardness 75, alkalinity between 80 and 120, and pH 7.2. He
didn't check for ammonia. I know I need to invest in some good water
testing materials, and will do so soon.

Suggestions? I'm in hot, humid south MS where our climate is a mix
ofzone 8 and zone 9.

Thanks!

Your numbers all seem pretty good. You might try some aquatic plant tabs
for the potted plants and some Potassium (Potash) for the floating plants.
About 2 tablespoons of Potash per 1,000 should be OK, but a little more
won't do any harm.

about 2 tablespoons per 1,000 GALLONS that is.

"Pam" wrote in message
. ..
Hello,

This is my pond's second year. It is somewhere around 800 gallons. It
has
a skippy type filter with no plants which flows into a kiddie poll plant
filter which then goes back into the pond. It has a very low fish load
and
two large bullfrogs. The fish and frogs are thriving. Everything turned
green about the middle of May The green algae seems to be mostly gone now
but the water is still brown and murky and visibility is only about six
inches.

Problem; the plants. Everything in pots is small and unhealthy. Initial
growth in the spring was slow and spindly. There is no new growth on the
iris or pickeral weed now, and new lily pads are very few and very small..
The underwater plants that flourished last year are barely holding their
own, and not putting out new growth. There is about a tablespoon of
duckweed, up from about a teaspoonfull in the kiddie pool. I composted
azolla by the gallon last year. This year I cannot get it started in the
pond or the pool. Needless to say the veggie filter is almost devoid of
veggies.

I gave everything a bath in the miracle grow tub last weekend but it does
not seem to have helped.
Could something about the water chemistry cause my plants not to grow?

Hubby used a test strip in the water this morning and got nitrate 20,
nitrite 1, hardness 75, alkalinity between 80 and 120, and pH 7.2. He
didn't check for ammonia. I know I need to invest in some good water
testing materials, and will do so soon.

Suggestions? I'm in hot, humid south MS where our climate is a mix ofzone
8
and zone 9.
========================
It sounds like they need a repotting and some fertilizer. Could last years
azolla load have depleted the micronutrients in your pond? I repot my pond
plants at least every other year in a good clay soil, topped with 1" or more
of gravel. I mix "Ironite" in the potting soil. For a general fertilizer I
use Jobe's Rose spikes broken into thirds or fourths pushed down into the
soil. It sounds like your plants may be starving.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Hi Pam,

We are in Clinton. Whwere are you in So MS?

We have used a little bit Jobe's stake as a fertilizer for plants (about
1"). It seems to help. We also use potash to boost them. The results
are very solid. When we begin to see a bit of yellow, they get a shot
of potash and usually green up.

Good luck.

Jim

Pam wrote:
Hello,

This is my pond's second year. It is somewhere around 800 gallons. It has
a skippy type filter with no plants which flows into a kiddie poll plant
filter which then goes back into the pond. It has a very low fish load and
two large bullfrogs. The fish and frogs are thriving. Everything turned
green about the middle of May The green algae seems to be mostly gone now
but the water is still brown and murky and visibility is only about six
inches.

Problem; the plants. Everything in pots is small and unhealthy. Initial
growth in the spring was slow and spindly. There is no new growth on the
iris or pickeral weed now, and new lily pads are very few and very small..
The underwater plants that flourished last year are barely holding their
own, and not putting out new growth. There is about a tablespoon of
duckweed, up from about a teaspoonfull in the kiddie pool. I composted
azolla by the gallon last year. This year I cannot get it started in the
pond or the pool. Needless to say the veggie filter is almost devoid of
veggies.

I gave everything a bath in the miracle grow tub last weekend but it does
not seem to have helped.
Could something about the water chemistry cause my plants not to grow?

Hubby used a test strip in the water this morning and got nitrate 20,
nitrite 1, hardness 75, alkalinity between 80 and 120, and pH 7.2. He
didn't check for ammonia. I know I need to invest in some good water
testing materials, and will do so soon.

Suggestions? I'm in hot, humid south MS where our climate is a mix ofzone 8
and zone 9.

Thanks!

Thanks!

I repotted most everything into bigger pots in the spring. I use clay and
the Jobe's rose spikes broken into thirds. Maybe the problem with the
lilies is lack of sun? The algae was plentiful and the water is still dark.

Where do I get potash that I can add to the pond?


"Pam" wrote in message
. ..
Hello,

This is my pond's second year. It is somewhere around 800 gallons. It
has a skippy type filter with no plants which flows into a kiddie poll
plant filter which then goes back into the pond. It has a very low fish
load and two large bullfrogs. The fish and frogs are thriving. Everything
turned green about the middle of May The green algae seems to be mostly
gone now but the water is still brown and murky and visibility is only
about six inches.

Problem; the plants. Everything in pots is small and unhealthy. Initial
growth in the spring was slow and spindly. There is no new growth on the
iris or pickeral weed now, and new lily pads are very few and very small..
The underwater plants that flourished last year are barely holding their
own, and not putting out new growth. There is about a tablespoon of
duckweed, up from about a teaspoonfull in the kiddie pool. I composted
azolla by the gallon last year. This year I cannot get it started in the
pond or the pool. Needless to say the veggie filter is almost devoid of
veggies.

I gave everything a bath in the miracle grow tub last weekend but it does
not seem to have helped.
Could something about the water chemistry cause my plants not to grow?

Hubby used a test strip in the water this morning and got nitrate 20,
nitrite 1, hardness 75, alkalinity between 80 and 120, and pH 7.2. He
didn't check for ammonia. I know I need to invest in some good water
testing materials, and will do so soon.

Suggestions? I'm in hot, humid south MS where our climate is a mix ofzone
8 and zone 9.

Thanks!

"Pam" wrote in message
. ..
Thanks!

I repotted most everything into bigger pots in the spring. I use clay and
the Jobe's rose spikes broken into thirds. Maybe the problem with the
lilies is lack of sun? The algae was plentiful and the water is still
dark.

Where do I get potash that I can add to the pond?

You should be able to get it at the local garden centre. It's sold as
Muiriate of Potash or 0-0-60 fertilizer.




"Pam" wrote in message
. ..
Hello,

This is my pond's second year. It is somewhere around 800 gallons. It
has a skippy type filter with no plants which flows into a kiddie poll
plant filter which then goes back into the pond. It has a very low fish
load and two large bullfrogs. The fish and frogs are thriving.
Everything turned green about the middle of May The green algae seems to
be mostly gone now but the water is still brown and murky and visibility
is only about six inches.

Problem; the plants. Everything in pots is small and unhealthy. Initial
growth in the spring was slow and spindly. There is no new growth on the
iris or pickeral weed now, and new lily pads are very few and very
small.. The underwater plants that flourished last year are barely
holding their own, and not putting out new growth. There is about a
tablespoon of duckweed, up from about a teaspoonfull in the kiddie pool.
I composted azolla by the gallon last year. This year I cannot get it
started in the pond or the pool. Needless to say the veggie filter is
almost devoid of veggies.

I gave everything a bath in the miracle grow tub last weekend but it does
not seem to have helped.
Could something about the water chemistry cause my plants not to grow?

Hubby used a test strip in the water this morning and got nitrate 20,
nitrite 1, hardness 75, alkalinity between 80 and 120, and pH 7.2. He
didn't check for ammonia. I know I need to invest in some good water
testing materials, and will do so soon.

Suggestions? I'm in hot, humid south MS where our climate is a mix
ofzone 8 and zone 9.

Thanks!

On Sun, 17 Jul 2005 17:42:39 -0500, "Pam" wrote:

This is my pond's second year. It is somewhere around 800 gallons. It has
a skippy type filter with no plants which flows into a kiddie poll plant
filter which then goes back into the pond. It has a very low fish load and
two large bullfrogs. The fish and frogs are thriving. Everything turned
green about the middle of May The green algae seems to be mostly gone now
but the water is still brown and murky and visibility is only about six
inches.

Problem; the plants. Everything in pots is small and unhealthy. Initial
growth in the spring was slow and spindly. There is no new growth on the
iris or pickeral weed now, and new lily pads are very few and very small..
The underwater plants that flourished last year are barely holding their
own, and not putting out new growth. There is about a tablespoon of
duckweed, up from about a teaspoonfull in the kiddie pool. I composted
azolla by the gallon last year. This year I cannot get it started in the
pond or the pool. Needless to say the veggie filter is almost devoid of
veggies.

I gave everything a bath in the miracle grow tub last weekend but it does
not seem to have helped.
Could something about the water chemistry cause my plants not to grow?

Hubby used a test strip in the water this morning and got nitrate 20,
nitrite 1, hardness 75, alkalinity between 80 and 120, and pH 7.2. He
didn't check for ammonia. I know I need to invest in some good water
testing materials, and will do so soon.

Suggestions? I'm in hot, humid south MS where our climate is a mix ofzone 8
and zone 9.

Hmmmm, are you using any salt in the water to prevent brown blood disease
in your fish with a nitrite of 1?

Otherwise your numbers should support plant life. Any possibility that run
off od some sort of weed-be-gone or other herbicide got in the pond? Did
you use an algaecide on the algae? ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

Pam wrote:

Problem; the plants. Everything in pots is small and unhealthy. Initial
growth in the spring was slow and spindly. There is no new growth on the
iris or pickeral weed now, and new lily pads are very few and very small..
The underwater plants that flourished last year are barely holding their
own, and not putting out new growth. There is about a tablespoon of
duckweed, up from about a teaspoonfull in the kiddie pool. I composted
azolla by the gallon last year. This year I cannot get it started in the
pond or the pool. Needless to say the veggie filter is almost devoid of
veggies.

Have you tried wattering the darn things?