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Robyn's Pond Blog for September 2015

Last Updated: 10/5/15

1. I did pond work on 9/6/15. The 1800 gallon pond was at 73 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 74 degrees F. I squirted all the filter materials and the bioballs. More chunks of paint came off the fiberglass biofilter. I put up the mosaic pond. The raccoons not only made it dirty but busted off a piece of the little fountain. They had previously broken the stem of it. It is also faded so I may not set it up again. The weed grass keeps getting worse. It's seeding now, and I didn't catch it in time. It will not regrow next year from current plants, just from seed but I can never get it in time. Remember, half of the area around the pond was weeded and mulched this spring but the weed grass grows fast and strong, and I have no time to get it all. I removed a bucket of water lettuce from the pond which now has no open areas as the water lettuce has filled up every corner.

2. 9/7/15 was Labor Day, and I traditional repot water iris on that day. But, it has not rained in weeks so the ground is too hard to dig up dirt to repot. Also, the yellow flag iris was destroyed by perhaps deer a while back, and I had to repot it at that time. It never re-sprouted so I don't know if it's 100% dead. I thought yellow flag iris couldn't be killed but I guess everything has a limit. I did do one thing around the ponds though. I hacked up and removed three wheelbarrows full of weeds around the 20 and 50 gallon tub ponds because I couldn't even see them anymore! I also pulled up four wheelbarrows of weed grass on the east side of the pond and beside the house, both areas that I had weeded to the ground and mulched just a few months ago!

3. On 9/13/15, I did pond chores. I changed the main filter floss completely and did the usual. The 1800 gallon pond was at 69 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 70 degrees F. I changed the Ammocarb in the main filter. I fertilized the lilies in the big pond and my one lotus one last time for the year. I removed two buckets of water lettuce. The common cattails and yellow flag iris that were decimated a while back and then repotted show absolutely no new growth. I don't think they'll make it. It was breezy, and there are already leaves falling on the pond and its net which is not over the waterfall yet so leaves get in and join the water lettuce.

I netted some tadpoles out of the 20 gallon tub pond and put them in the 153 gallon pond. I need to rescue more from that pond and the other two small ponds. The 20 gallon tub pond also has seed shrimp in there!

4. I did pond chores on 9/20/15. The 1800 gallon pond was at 69 degrees F, and the 153 gallon pond was at 70 degrees F which is the same as last week. I squirted all the flosses, put in some additives, and topped off all of the ponds. I changed the PondMaster filters. I tossed out three buckets full of water lettuce. Some individual plants were huge! Under it all, there is now zero growth on the Albata white hardy waterlily which was one damaged by the pond marauder a few months back. That means that only my yellow Chromatella waterlily is still alive and the big tropical. I don't know if I should give up or buy new ones next spring.

5. I did pond work on 9/27/15. The 1800 gallon pond was down to 65 degrees F while the 153 gallon pond was at 66 degrees F. First, I got the large torn net off the big pond. Then, I did regular chores. I squirted off the Cyprio biothings in the kiddie pool. I squirted all the flosses. I pulled up a lot of weeds around the edge of the pond so that I could put on the new full net. It hasn't rained more than a sprinkle in a month so the leaves are falling at a good clip already. I will net the 153 gallon pond next week. I saw the little green tree frog again on a leaf of pickerel rush in the big pond. My terrestrial marsh mallow next to the pond is no longer living after 18 years. Year after year of sawfly larvae sucking on it coupled with the drought finished it off.

6. My last chicken, Chickie, died on 9/30/15 at the age of 8 years, 4 months.


Continue to the October 2015 pond blog.



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