i used water cress when I first started mine, just until everything settled, I bought a bag from the supermarket and just threw it in. It made its own roots and soon spread, it didn't last though the winter, but by then the pond had established.
i do agree with Pete and A who said about not using the vinegar, and the pond will settle, not over night though?
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
We did put water cress in a couple of months ago when we first filled the pond (with the well water) and a couple of the sprigs of cress have rooted since then.. The water was murky and over a period of a couple of weeks or so the water cleared and has been clear ever since. We put another bag of cress into the pond this morning, as Lyn says - we just chucked it in, but I quite like the idea of planting some in a basket as you have done Pete8.
We saw our first pond snail today - it must have come in with one of the plants, hopefully a mate will join it in time.
Incidentally the pond straw bail that we bought was in a mesh - and the instructions said to tie a piece of string around it - which we have done, and now the straw is bobby about in the pond just below the end of the stream - so in the main part of the pond.
As rain water is very slightly acidic due to the dissolved carbon dioxide in it (technically, rain is very weak carbonic acid), your pond's pH will naturally get lower if you top it up with rainwater. Do check the rocks using the test Pete mentions as some limestones are too alkaline and they will keep the pH high if in contact with the water.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
Sorry, I should have mentioned before that the stones around the pond are granite, but they are in contact with the water. We have granite quarries in Guernsey (used to ship granite to London for kerb stones etc.), and the water board here store water in the old quarries, I can't imagine that granite (being so hard) would effect the water quality in any way.?
Yes, I thought it was Bob, but of course there is always that little doubt when you have problems you have to eliminate things to find the culprit.
I have just (a couple of minutes ago), noticed that some of the curly wurly oxeygenators that I transferred from our smaller pond are starting to send down roots - which is great - there is a little bit of silt at the bottom of the pond for it to root into. It isn't an oxygenating weed that I am particularly fond off - invasive to say the least, but it's a start and we won't let it get out of hand and take over!
Thanks Dove, we may yet resort to Blagdons or a similar product. We will test the water again in a week or two, we must let the water settle after the input of the tap water yesterday and also monitor the plant growth although I fear that another marginal plant is dying off this evening.
Posts
i used water cress when I first started mine, just until everything settled, I bought a bag from the supermarket and just threw it in. It made its own roots and soon spread, it didn't last though the winter, but by then the pond had established.
i do agree with Pete and A who said about not using the vinegar, and the pond will settle, not over night though?
We did put water cress in a couple of months ago when we first filled the pond (with the well water) and a couple of the sprigs of cress have rooted since then.. The water was murky and over a period of a couple of weeks or so the water cleared and has been clear ever since. We put another bag of cress into the pond this morning, as Lyn says - we just chucked it in, but I quite like the idea of planting some in a basket as you have done Pete8.
We saw our first pond snail today - it must have come in with one of the plants, hopefully a mate will join it in time.
Incidentally the pond straw bail that we bought was in a mesh - and the instructions said to tie a piece of string around it - which we have done, and now the straw is bobby about in the pond just below the end of the stream - so in the main part of the pond.
What a huge pond - you could do some 'wild' swimming in that size.
As rain water is very slightly acidic due to the dissolved carbon dioxide in it (technically, rain is very weak carbonic acid), your pond's pH will naturally get lower if you top it up with rainwater. Do check the rocks using the test Pete mentions as some limestones are too alkaline and they will keep the pH high if in contact with the water.
Sorry, I should have mentioned before that the stones around the pond are granite, but they are in contact with the water. We have granite quarries in Guernsey (used to ship granite to London for kerb stones etc.), and the water board here store water in the old quarries, I can't imagine that granite (being so hard) would effect the water quality in any way.?
Granite is fine, GD.
Yes, I thought it was Bob, but of course there is always that little doubt when you have problems you have to eliminate things to find the culprit.
I have just (a couple of minutes ago), noticed that some of the curly wurly oxeygenators that I transferred from our smaller pond are starting to send down roots - which is great - there is a little bit of silt at the bottom of the pond for it to root into. It isn't an oxygenating weed that I am particularly fond off - invasive to say the least, but it's a start and we won't let it get out of hand and take over!
If it doesn't settle, Blagdon's do two ph Adjusters ... one for alkaline ponds and one for acid ones.
https://www.pondkeeper.co.uk/blagdon-ph-adjuster-for-alkaline-ponds/p967?gclid=CJWej5isxdQCFQ-eGwodr7YIYg
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks Dove, we may yet resort to Blagdons or a similar product. We will test the water again in a week or two, we must let the water settle after the input of the tap water yesterday and also monitor the plant growth although I fear that another marginal plant is dying off this evening.