South Texas Backyard Oasis

[rrasco]

Day 13

Well, the time came to test the plumbing, waterfall and basically everything else. I wanted to make sure the manifold worked well enough before I shoveled in the pea gravel, which I hope to do this weekend. Soooo, I grabbed the house and started filling her up. It was a little messy and the rain we got last night didn't help either.

This was just the flow from the water hose. Really hoping my pumps puts out a little more for a consistent flow over the spillway. So far so good though.

Thankfully everything was pretty level. One side is slightly higher than the other, but the design accounts for that. It worked almost perfectly.

I have a few LED lights I hooked up. Power cords too short, so I may need a power stake. Just wanted to see what they'd look like, might need a little adjusting.

And of course the skimmer.

This one was from this morning after most of the debris had been skimmed out.

Now that we are functional. I'll work on finishing the bog mortar work, filling with gravel, and of course begin edging out and dressing the rest of the pond. Now the fun part really starts.

 

[addy1]

Looking good!

 

[sissy]

I took 6 frogs away yesterday when I went grocery shopping .Had a toad kill a fish and had the taddies clog my filters and had so many in the pond I had to scoop them out and take them to farm ponds around here .The noise was also horrible after awhile

 

[rrasco]

Thanks addy!

Sissy, they are not toads. Had more around the pond yesterday. We will see what happens. We have enough snakes around here it might not be a problem, for long. Who knows though.

 

[sissy]

I have been taking toads and frogs away for years now and there are snakes here (believe me there are snakes )But when they start clogging the filter and lily pond and then start causing problems with water quality I had to do something and farm ponds around here welcome them with open arms .I have open access to 8 farms here, unlimited .They love my taddies and frogs and got a call the other day and lucky he called because I had a tote with banana plant starts and it was full of taddies and caught the frogs with the pool net and a LED flashlight .I had a couple of really huge toads I took away .I told the farmers I have a no return policy

 

[rrasco]

Well let's hope I don't have an invasion! Is it a specific type of toad or frog that causes you problems or just in general because of their numbers?

 

[rrasco]

Days 14 and 15

This weekend I borrowed a truck from work and hauled 1.5 yards of pea gravel for the bog. As you can tell, I didn't wash it off prior. I wanted to, but logistically it wasn't an option. I knew it would settle and make a bit of a mess, but sheesh, there is silt all over the inside of the pond. I'll have to figure out how to clean it up, maybe put a pump or two inside to keep it stirred up so it can get skimmed out. I'm open to suggestions.

I also finished the mortar work around the bog. Then I went to the local nursery and picked up my first bog plants. They didn't have much of a selection, so I'm going to have to shop around, find some local pond people, or order online. At least now the pond can begin to establish itself.

What I did find:

• Twisted Rush
• Bloody Dock
• Aquatic Mint
• Unknown (identification needed)

This is the unknown plant I need identified.

 

[addy1]

Looking good. The silt will go away, I did not clean my gravel, dry summer and on a well.

The unknown might be a taro./ Elephant ear, maybe.

 

[MitchM]

If that silt is clay, I say leave it alone. Clay is good for your pond. It adsorbs phosphorus.

 

[rrasco]

Looking good. The silt will go away, I did not clean my gravel, dry summer and on a well.

The unknown might be a taro./ Elephant ear, maybe.

Good to know. I don't think it's an elephant ear, I have plenty of those in my front yard. It could be though, I'm no expert.

If that silt is clay, I say leave it alone. Clay is good for your pond. It adsorbs phosphorus.

Also good to know. It may be. I know I have clay soil, but I don't know where the pea gravel is sourced from.

 

[rrasco]

A few pictures from this evening.

 

[addy1]

Very nice looking. My bog used to look like that, now it is only early growing season you can see the gravel.

 

[rrasco]

Very nice looking. My bog used to look like that, now it is only early growing season you can see the gravel.

I am very much looking forward to it maturing.

Right now I'm focusing on how I'm going to landscape/hide everything on the edge. We have a pretty nice pond store about 45 minutes from me so I am trying to get over there in the next week or two. Going to the coast this weekend so I guess it will have to wait.

 

[CountryEscape]

Pretty sure that's a canna plant, and they are usually tropical. If it is, let it die in the first frost, then remove the root/bulb, dry it out completely, removing any outer leaves, and keep it cool and dry in a dark place (basements work great) until spring. Then put it in a pot to get it started growing and when it's warm enough outside (no more frosts at night) put it back in your bog.
BTW, I have TONS of parrots feather, penny wart and what is called a dwarf cattail. The cattail is a thin stemmed plant, instead of the wider stem of the typical cattails. The other good thing about it is this cattail grows from the center out when it spreads. Regular cattails send runners under the gravel, and can come up several feet from the parent plant. Anyhow, if you would like any or all of these, I'd be happy to send you pics of them, and send you some for just the postage it costs me to send them!

 

[rrasco]

Thanks for the great info. I am in South Texas so we don't quite freeze over or have frosts, if at all, and we most certainly don't have basements. I was just reading about Cannas and it looks like it may do okay through the "winter" here. Only one way to find out right?

I really appreciate the offer. I may take you up on that. What kind of shipping do plants require?