We've covered water temperatures, so what else should we do early spring prior to adding pond plants? We would like to mention a few things you should check when opening your pond for the season.

Check your pond to make sure there are no tears or leaks in your pond liner.  Check around the edges of your pond to make certain the ground has not settled, and your pond is not leaking around the perimeter.  Check out all your tubing, connections, pond pumps and filters to make sure they are all secure and working properly.  If you have left your pump run throughout the winter make sure it is working properly.  And for those who have turned off their pumps, you should check and clean them thoroughly. Turn your pump back on once the water temperatures are consistently above freezing which is around 40-45 degrees.

Remove any debris that has accumulated in your pond during the fall and winter. For those of you that have a pond vac, now is the best time to use those to rid your pond of small unwanted particles.  You can begin putting MicrobeLift Spring and Summer in your pond to help with the cleanup.  MicrobeLift Spring and Summer contains cold weather bacteria cultures that will work in the cooler water temperatures of spring. This will start establishing  good bacteria and help accelerate the break down of debris.  The spring rains help to flush your ponds, so if possible drain some of the water out of your pond and let the rain rinse and fill it up. 

Once everything has been checked out you can begin thinking about feeding your fish, if you have them, and dividing some of the pond plants that have out grown their planting containers.  We will discuss this in our next addition to Here Comes Spring.

A Dragonfly Aquatics Best Seller! The Muck Vac does not cause turbulence in the pond because all the muck, dirt and fish waste are vacuumed out of the pond into your yard or garden. If you place the out-take hose in a flower bed, it is great fertilizer for your surrounding flower beds around the pond. The Muck Vac requires 50 PSI garden hose pressure to work effectively. It comes with a power head, a telescoping pole, a waste hose and a vacuum head brush. The Muck Vac sure makes Spring cleaning your pond simple!

Check out Pond Vac here.

With March arriving, Old Man Winter should be packing his bags and moving on out! Those of us in the northeast, midwest and northwest can only hope that we have  seen the worst of the 2009-2010 winter season. Those of you that live in the southern states are already able to get out and work on your ponds. Time to add Microbe-Lift Spring Summer cleaner if you have debris left from last fall and replace or clean your filter pads. Adding Microbe-Lift P/L when the water temperatures reach 50-55 degrees will also help seed your filter pads and improve water clarity. Meanwhile, those of us up north look out at our still snow covered ponds and hope things continue to melt, and Mother Nature is kind to us in the coming weeks.

You'll find MicrobeLift Products here.

Microbe-Lift PL is specially formulated for decorative fish ponds, lagoons and smaller water features. Adding bacteria to your pond is important. It creates a healthy environment for your pond, promoting faster fish growth. Microbe-Lift PL also reduces ammonia nitrogen levels, dissolves away organic sludge, improves dissolved oxygen levels and helps break down dead algae. Adding Microbe-Lift PL on a regular basis will seed and maintain biological filters. Bacteria contains photosynthetic bacteria which helps eliminate cloudy water by promoting flocculation and settling of organic and inorganic particles.

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving with family and friends, and of course, a delicious meal. 

I finally put all my plants to bed for the winter and covered the pond.  It looks bare, but the fish all seem happy, even with the cooler water.  It has been a long fall, so we have been lucky so far.  Normally this time of year, we have already had our first snow and temperatures well below 40 degrees.  Daytime temperatures have been  averaging around 45 degrees to 55 degrees, with a bit more sun then Ohio usually sees, this time of year. Lucky so far,  but what will winter bring.....

A couple of weeks ago,  I noticed I had a few lilies starting to get green, Aquatic For-Get-Me Nots  still blooming and Cannas that refuse to die back so I can store them for the winter......they all must be a bit confused.  Snow and more seasonable temperatures are forecast for the end of this week, that should send the rest of the plants, that have been hanging on into dormancy.

I read an interesting article about algae that I thought I'd share.  It mentioned putting barley straw in your pond during the winter to help control algae.  I put a couple barley bundles  in my pond, to see if it makes a difference in the spring.  Water gardeners will do almost anything to keep that nasty algae from growing.  As soon as temperatures begin to warm in the spring, before the water lilies send up their first few leaves, the algae seems to re-appear on the waterfalls, sides of the pond and in the stream beds.  Barley does not kill algae, it prohibits it from growing. From everything I have read, and talking to customers that use either the barley bundles, barley extract or barley straw pellets, it does the trick! Next spring....hopefully no more algae!

Floating plants such as Water Hyacinth and Water Lettuce are considered tropical and will not survive temperatures below freezing. After the first hard frost,  remove them from the pond to prevent them from decaying and adding unwanted debris to the pond.  

Trying to winter them over indoors is difficult.   They need to be kept in an aquarium or  floated in anything that can hold water.  The problem is they lack adequate light intensity.  They seem to do well for awhile but by February when they start to grow the natural light is not bright enough to promote proper growth. The water temps need to be at least 70 degrees and they need at least 14 hours of sunlight or equivalent to four fluorescent bulbs held about 12 inches over the water.  

When you consider the amount of energy and electricity needed to keep tropical plants alive over the winter its probably cheaper to  just use them for mulch in your vegetable garden and buy new ones in the spring.

Many of the tropical bog plants will winter well indoors in a sunny window or under a flouresant grow light. They do not need to be submerged in water. Keep the soil constantly moist by placing the potted plants in a tray of water.

Reduce your fish feeding as the water temperatures drop below 60 degrees. Start feeding your fish a couple of times a week. We recommend switching to a wheat germ based fish food formulated for fall and spring feeding. When water temperatures drop below 60 degrees, the metabolism of your fish slows down. Both Tetra-Pond Spring/Fall and Microbe-Lift Cold Weather fish food are highly digestible cool weather diets that are made with less protein, but contain wheat germ, which is easily digested. They also contain higher levels of fat, which help your fish survive their winter hibernation. When water temperatures reach 50 degrees, stop feeding your fish completely. Feeding at water temperatures below 50 degrees can possibly kill your fish. A pond thermometer is a must have.

As water temperatures cool, algaecides such as PondCare Algaefix, Microbe-Lift Algaeway and Green Clean are less effective. Adding Microbe-Lift Barley Straw Extract or Barley Straw Bundle will help control string algae throughout the fall and winter months. Microbe-Lift Barley Straw Extract, Microbe-Lift Barley Straw Pellets or Barley Straw bundles are an effective and eco-friendly way to reduce algae.

Purchase MicrobeLift Barley Straw, Barley Bundles, Barley Pellets here.

Now is the time to switch to Microbe-Lift Autumn/Winter Prep. This will help break down organic material in the pond before winter sets in. Microbe-Lift Autumn/Winter Prep will help accelerate the decomposition of leaves, scum, sediment and other organic matter during the fall and throughout the winter months. Also, Microbe-Lift Autumn/Winter Prep helps to maintain a healthy immune system for your fish during the winter months. Microbe-Lift Autumn/Winter Prep will help jump-start your pond to a healthier environment in the spring.  For those of you with large ponds, we have now have the Microbe-Lift Autumn/Winter Prep available in the gallon size.

MicrobeLift Autumn/Winter Prep available here.