Make A Simple And Quick Pond Plant Pruner (AKA- Good Old Polish Ingenuity) :o)

So the weather got cold sooner than you expected (or hoped), and you still need to get those Waterlily and Lotus leaves trimmed off before they rot in the pond. i don't know about you, but i don't want to get into 50 degree water for maintenance! SO, i use the handy-dandy pond plant trimmer i 'invented'! i use this thing all season and thought i'd share the instructions. 

Here is what you'll need:

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  One of those cheap plastic envelope openers you can find at office supply stores or that a lot of places give away (at least around here!)
  
  
  
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  A long sturdy stick (mine is bamboo, about 5-6 ft long, enough to reach at least halfway across the watergarden) with 2 or 3 notches cut into the end
  
  
  
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  Cable ties or 'zip' ties, the kind that lock securely. i like to use a dark color - it seems to be more resistant to the UV rays that make them brittle
  
  
  
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  A file or tool that will cut notches into the plastic letter opener - i use a pair of wire cutters, but whatever works for you
  
  
  

Cut 2 or 3 notches into the plastic - you just want to make sure it's secure and doesn't pull off and fall into the water (sharp plastic with RAZOR BLADE attached- get it? Very bad around pond liners!) i also cut off the little plastic guide piece that was near the blade - you want that a little wider by the blade

Attach the letter opener with the cable ties, making sure that you have it secured in shown direction, and that the ties fit in to the notches on both the opener AND the stick. Tighten the ties as much as you can, so that the opener feels secure and doesn't move.

Cut off the excess ends of the cable ties. 

If you can't picture how it works, here's a pic of how the cutter is placed around a lily stem.  

After you grab the stem with it, give it a sharp tug! Try to get as much stem as possible along with it. You'll get better with practice

i have become pretty good at using the flat side of the cutter to lift the leaves out, but you could just net them out as well.

One of these usually lasts me a season, and the cable ties have to be replaced periodically- check them before each use so you're sure they won't break when you're using it

Here i am using it to cut a Lotus stem (can you tell i'm really behind at my pond maintenance, too?) Yuck! Look at those skanky leaves!

Here is another 'invention'. This one works well to pull string algae out of the pond. Same principle - different tool - a toilet brush!

The Dreaded "Pea Soup" Syndrome And How To Get Out Of It!

One of the most frequent complaints there are about water gardens is that the suspended green algae in the water is so thick the fish can't even be seen ("algae bloom"). Now, it does not harm the fish at all, in fact they probably prefer it (mine have told me that....really!) since predators can't see them, either. BUT, the reason we humans have such things is so we can enjoy watching the fishies and wildlife. So the trick is to get rid of the green water. Although i am far from an expert, all i can do is tell you what worked for me. Keep in mind that i am not someone who constantly checks the PH levels and things like that, nor do i dump chemicals in the water very much at all. We think the watergarden should run as a little ecosystem,

for the most part, so there may be another solution regarding chemical additions, but i don't know about that, plus i'm far too cheap to put all that money into it.

***Let me mention before i get any farther is another most frequent complaint - the OTHER kind of green algae - string algae - it forms on waterfall rocks and wraps around the pond plants, and many people consider it unsightly. This will tie in later to my story...

***We had a HORRIBLE problem with green water when we started water gardening. i was researching and trying everything - here are most of the "solutions" i found, and how well they worked for us.

1. Be patient and it will balance and clear up on it's own.This is true. However, in our climate, it would clear up about mid September, about a month before winter set in! Not great for me, may work in Florida...
2. You need a large percentage of the water's surface covered with things like waterlily pads to shade the water from the sun which algae uses to live, and "floaters" such as water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and water lettuce (pistia stratiotes), to filter nutrients out of the water that the algae needs.This is true. However- same problem. It takes so long for that to happen (mid July), that half the season is wasted on waiting. i really like the hyacinths, despite the fact that they're an incredibly noxious weed in the South - clogging waterways and choking out native vegetation, but in zone 5 they will not live over the winter (believe me- i've tried!), so are no threat here. AND despite the last fact mentioned above, watergarden shops around here charge a ridiculously high price for them, and even with my relatively small watergarden, i need to start with at least 20 to 50 of them to even show up in it!
3. A UV light. The water runs over the light and it kills suspended algae.i'm sure this would work. However, it is also very expensive, and i do not want to electronically zap the water to do something Nature should do.
4. Dye in the water.Shades the sunlight so the algae can't utilize it.Don't bother. Doesn't work, even if it did, it dissipates within a week, PLUS you can't see the fish! Wasn't that what we were trying to avoid?
5. Stuff quilt batting in the filter and/or wrap it around the pump. Filters out the algae.Well, it does filter out a lot, but never enough to make a difference. Then you have to change it daily, so it's either keep replacing with brand new stuff or wash the slimy gunk out of it. It's a mess to rinse that stuff out, too! Eeewww.. Also, i wrapped the pump once, and a lot of my fish got tangled in it and died! :o(
6. There are some websites that recommend adding Muriate of Potash to the water - it helps the vascular plants (hyacinths) grow so they can absorb and tie up the extra Phosphorous, which causes the algae bloom.i tried it, didn't really help, and when we had the water tested at a local water garden place, they said everything was out of whack and were horrified when we told them about the Potash! Told us the water would kill everything in the pond and to drain and replace the water ASAP! Scared the bejesus out of us! When i look back now, i really don't think anything was gonna get killed, and the levels in the water quality probably were caused by something else (at the time, i WAS dumping all sorts of things in the water to try to eradicate the algae).
7. Oops, almost forgot Barley Straw! Supposed to release a chemical that kills algae. Well, don't bother! Takes a long time to work (i,e., not at all!), plus i think it tends to work on string algae more than the Pea Soup.
   
   

...So here's my solution: String Algae!

I noticed over and over that when someone was complaining about the string algae appearing in their watergarden and posted pictures, the water was always clear! i came to the conclusion that string algae would eat up those nutrients that would cause the pea soup. Yes, it would be trading one "pest" for another, but i was at the point that i didn't care - we were not enjoying our pond anymore, i was willing to risk it. One day i was looking at pond plants in a tub at a local farm store, and noticed a bunch of string algae in the tub around the pots of plants! So as i was going to purchase a water plant anyway. i picked one out, then rummaged around in the water (yes, i really did!)and pulled out a bunch of the algae and packed it around the plant in the pot! When i got home, threw it in the pond, and within a month the green water was gone! This was almost September, so i wasn't sure if it was just balancing out, but the next year ( i think it was 2005) and ever since, we have not had green water! Yes, we have green stuff covering the waterfall rocks, and sometimes i have to net out some of the string algae, but generally, after things start growing in late spring, it's not a problem. And no more Pea Soup! i love my String Algae!!!