Country Escape's 2nd pond - Goldfish only

[CountryEscape]

So lucky you have a greenhouse next to your pond, Linda. You have the best of all 3 worlds! Water plants, greenhouse plants, and outside plants. Bet you are a true gardener in every aspect of the word! Maybe someday, I'll build a greenhouse, but unlikely, as I live in the wide open prairie, and the wind is ferocious here at times. I would love to have a real windmill, though. Still thinking about it as my "big" project in the next year or two. Would shock the chit out of my family if I got it done! First, though, I would want to redig my farm pond. It's nothing but cattails and water creeping primrose, which is pretty, but the pond is not very versatile. I would want to dig a new pond, make it in a curve design of some sort, and then use the windmill to aerate it. I would use the dirt to bury the old pond and hopefully get rid of the cattails. THEN, I would have one end of the pond dug so it was only 4' or so when the pond was full (in years like now, hopefully it would still have some water over that edge ...) so I could have lotus plants. Put a fence of some sort so the fish would stay out of that area, thus the heron that may visit would have no food, and have the rest of the pond straight down edges, again, to keep the heron at bay. I may keep half of the old pond, so the heron can go fishing there. Actually, I've never seen a heron there, but it sure would be prime fishing grounds for him, as it's very shallow, maybe 5' in the center when it's full! Aw heck, I went out and took pics of it.
As you can see, my pond is overtaken with creeping primrose, which floats, but also has roots in the soil, so you can tell how shallow the pond is I think the deepest where the primrose is would maybe be 3'. Very little open water.

This is the edge of the pond, showing how low it is. Probably only about 14" lower than when it's "full", but back 4-5' from normal water's edge.

And, noticed tons of these little baby fish, I think they are minnows.

I also saw a baby blue gill in the roots of the primrose when I pulled some up to put in my ponds, stream, filter, etc. Made sure to swish all the roots and mud off before I put them in a laundry basket, then washed them again before putting them into the various places of the ponds. Kept the water in the kiddie pool until it settles, just to see if there are any fish that survived me carrying the plants in a laundry basket to the yard, then rinsing them off into the kiddie pool.

 

[CountryEscape]

Ryan, my Menards didn't carry a single water plant this year, except the lilies in the packaging. I was sure glad I'd gotten some last year, and also some from the garden store, and they multipied. I got a few plants this year, too, and they are also multiplying, so I'm pretty full up with plants. LOL Need to figure out which ones I can transplant into the stream, try to get that covered and choke out the algae there next!

 

[LindaKay]

I live a little north of Selma. That is 20 miles down the river from Ottumwa. There is a manards in Ott. but I like to go to them all. Sometimes you can find something diff. ,even if it is just some little thing hidden in a corner.

 

[LindaKay]

CE I started with a sunroom then added the greenhouse onto the sunroom. I got hooked on orchids and you are right. I have gardened all my life, just had my 70th Birthday last month. The greenhouse keeps me sane in the winter. there are nose prints on my windows where I am just waiting for spring to come each year.

 

[CountryEscape]

Haha, I totally understand you, Linda! I'm that way, too, about anxiously awaiting spring, but this year there was not much anxiety, it came sooo early, and then now we have to deal with this hot weather.
Just got home from garden center. Their hyacinths look so gorgeous! Obviously, they are growing in perfect conditions. They have them in tubs for sale, and in their big pond, and they look the same. I just wish I could grow them, but my water has to be the reason. Theirs are in the hot sun all day long in the tubs AND the pond, and doing just fine, so it's not the heat or too much sun. Has to be my water minerals or high PH or something.
Also saw a red Musa Banana tree that I wanted really bad! They had small ones for $14, but had tall ones that had about 2-5 small ones for $20. But, the one I really wanted was the biggest, and I'm not sure if it was still $38, or if they just didn't change the price on it. It had a really tall one, maybe 6', plus about 5 or 6 that were 3-4' tall. Could have quite the banana tree forest on my deck with that pot! But, they are not hardy, so I would have to bring them all inside, so will wait and see if the one I bought as a baby is going to grow up to full height and be as pretty as those were. Mine is about 12" tall, but doing really well so far.

 

[LindaKay]

Banana trees grow really fast. I have bought small ones and once they get repoted and take off they really grow. Also in the fall I would take them out of the soil and put them in a garbage bag and put them in the basement. In feb or mar. I would pot them up a;nd they would start growing. They aren't very pretty at first but once they wake up and start growing they grow fast.

 

[CountryEscape]

Well, that would be far easier to bring them inside in a garbage bag rather than the whole pot and all! I was planning to bring it inside whole, keep it growing in an east window spare bedroom, but think I'd rather let it go dormant instead. Do you cut off the top at all when you repot it or when you bag it up, Linda, or just leave it whole and pot it back up the way it was? Just wondering, as the ones I saw were pretty large. I see no need in buying a 12" tall one for $14 when I can buy a 5' tall one with 3 or 4 more 12"-2' tall "babies" in the pot for $20! Maybe then I can share the babies with local friends.

 

[LindaKay]

The leaves usually dry up anyway so I cut them off. They usually get to tall to fit in my greenhouse or sunroom. You only need to water them once a month. I ended up giving mine to a friend that had a large greenhouse. Gave the pups to friends because they always get a few pups on them. She made a living with seven greenhouses and if things got to big for me to keep I would just give them to her. One of the trees I gave her actually bloomed and had bananas on it. She has retired now and only keep a couple greenhouses for her own use.

 

[sissy]

I found the plant place I bought plants at cheap here by googling and going to the yellow pages and found 2 great places for pond plants and other plants really cheap here .I love your puppies and good gosh they are as big as my pee wee is now .They are growing fast and yukon looks like he is watching out so no harm comes to mom and her babies and he sure will love playing with them .Remember hybiscus have a lot of seeds you can collect .I bought one plant and now have 15 pink ones and gave away 20 or more plants and handful of seeds .I only have pink so far

 

[CountryEscape]

I never thought about collecting the seeds from the hibiscus, Sissy. How do I do that, when is the best time, and would you like some? I have the white with hot pink center and a yellow/orange solid colored one I'd be happy to send you all the seeds you want! Also, if I do that, how long does it take to grow the plant so it's nice and full for the following year like these plants are that I have? If it's more hassle than I want to deal with, I'll just buy again, but if it's easy and they grow fast, I might just try that! I have a full basement, could set up grow lights, etc. How do you do it? I'm interested to know your technique, as you typically have it all figured out.

 

[sissy]

After the flower blooms you will see the pod and after it dries out you just pick the whole pod off and crunch it and the dry seeds fall out .I just put them in a pot with potting soil and perlite in a tray of water to wick up the water they need to start growing .They are fast growers and like it when you add a little miracle grow .All they really need is a small amount of light .They grow like weeds if you let them .I have 6 in pots now for my neighbor .I had them in an edge of my pond last year in a pot and they got to be 4 feet tall before i had to cut them back so the seed pods would not explode and fall into the pond .Mine just die back to the ground here and come back all by themselves

 

[CountryEscape]

Oh, well, what zone are you in, Sissy? I'm pretty sure hibiscus is not hardy here, because the ground freezes here. Maybe I should leave them in the bog and see if they happen to come back. I'll collect some of the seeds if you want come of the colors I have. They would be free to ship to you, just a stamp.

 

[sissy]

There are different varieties of hibiscus some that are harder than others and I grew them in NJ at my house there and had over 50 of them in 3 colors .These come back and get bigger every year .

 

[sissy]

This is the hardy pink one a little wilted from heat but still ready to flower.Here they call them swamp hibiscus because you see them every where water is standing .A couple of pics of the Dan river here from the bridge .They have walking paths and biking paths along side it.The last plant I got from a neighbor in trade for my hibiscus plants

 

[taherrmann4]

Sissy there are couple of nice pieces of driftwood I see on the river, do you think you could get them and send them to me. :razz: