Help again please.

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by derwent, Aug 25, 2011.

  1. derwent

    derwent Gardener

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    I've discovered I have a small amound of algae in my pond so when removing it today (twined around the end of a cane) I was having a dig about when I pulled up from the deepest part (about 3ft deep) some moss/fern type plant. Don't know if it is a water plant or just some moss from around the edge of the pond that the birds have pulled up and dropped in.
    Do you think I should leave this plant in the pond or net it out.
    I have lots of other plants in the pond that I have bought or been given but not this mossy one so don't know if it is a natural water plant or not.
    Any one got any advice - thanks.
     
    derwent, Aug 25, 2011
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  2. ARMANDII

    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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    Hi Derwent, It sounds like you picked some oxygenating plant. Was it long and stringy with curly thin leaves??
     
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      ARMANDII, Aug 25, 2011
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    • derwent

      derwent Gardener

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      Thanks for that. It looks like a very fine fern, the type you get attached to the back of a flower on a wedding buttonhole. If it won't clog the pond up I'll leave it growin as you say it will help to oxygenate. My pond is approx 10ft x 14ft x 3ft at the deepest so it can cope with a good amount of plants.
       
      derwent, Aug 26, 2011
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    • ARMANDII

      ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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      Yes, it'll be fine. You may have to take some out in a couple of years time, but otherwise it'll do a good job not only of oxygenating but also taking nutrients from the water along with any marginal plants you have helping to keep your water clear. My pond is over 20 years old, is 23ft by 15ft and between 3'ft and 4'ft deep with small fish in, and I've always used plants to take the nutrients of the water, preventing algae and keeping it crystal clear ever since. Other gardeners use filters etc but I have found no need to do so, but each to their own!!:D
       
      ARMANDII, Aug 26, 2011
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    • derwent

      derwent Gardener

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      I will leave the fern/moss in, but keep my eye on it.
      I do have a good variety of plants and only a small fountain that works by solar as the pond is down the field. But as you can imagine here in West Cumbria we get very little sun so the fountain is a bit pathetic.
      I don't have fish but lots of bugs, flys, frogs etc.
       
      derwent, Aug 27, 2011
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    • ARMANDII

      ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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      Well, if you've got the bugs and insects it show's your pond is working and in balance.:D:thumbsup:
       
      ARMANDII, Aug 27, 2011
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    • derwent

      derwent Gardener

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      That's great, thanks for your comments, pleased to know that because there are bugs and insects my pond is ok. I was worried the bugs and crawlies were there because the water was "rotten".
       
      derwent, Aug 27, 2011
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    • ARMANDII

      ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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      No, not so. Contrary to belief, "diseased" water isn't attractive to insects and bugs, but it probably comes from the fact that insects that cause disease, like Mosquitoes, have part of their life cycle in the water. Water is an attraction to to all kinds of insects, some good for the plants and some bad, but as I said before it does show your pond is in balance with nature. Your pond is full of all sorts of life, some of which you'll see and some, unless you use a microscope, you'll never see!!:D
       
      ARMANDII, Aug 27, 2011
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    • watergarden

      watergarden have left the forum because...i'm a sad case

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      I don't agree, sorry.

      I look at it this way. "bugs" (generic term) will live in any water any quality. The type of bug you find does depend on the quality of water, or more to the point how much oxygen there is in the water.

      To say that a pond is "balanced" because it has bugs and plants is not correct.

      Folk also say that if you add plants and fish to a pond and the water is clear then you have achieved a balance.

      You can introduce duckweed to a pond, the water will be clear (If you can see it under the duckweed) but just because the water is clear and the pond has plants does not mean the pond is balanced.

      There is no known "recipe" for a "balanced pond" if there was, filters and UV's would never have been invented.

      Its also not unknown for a "balanced pond" to change for no obvious reason.

      The term "balanced pond" is often misused.
       
      watergarden, Aug 27, 2011
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