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!!!

Flower Day at the Farmer's Market

Well, this weekend is the biggest day at our local Farmer's Market. i started attending this event, first as one of the Master Gardeners at The Ohio State University Master Gardener booth there (around 1991), then a few years as a customer, now in the third year with my garden art! Our Downtown area has been very depressed for quite a few years (and my job is in that area, so i see it every day), but i'm hoping, like many of us Toledoans are, that Downtown is on the upswing. Regardless, you'd never know there was anything wrong on Flower Day weekend! Many of the area farmers, nurseries, and greenhouses (AND garden artists!:o) ) converge on the Market with food, song, flowers fruits and veggies for two days and it is a wonderful thing! The first events where i tried my leaves were the Farmers Markets, so i have good feelings about them! This also kicks off MY season, as i will be doing quite a few shows between now and September.

The "Frost Free" Date

It's almost here! May 15th- The Frost Free date! Actually, it's the AVERAGE frost free date for our area, but everyone around here (including me) treats it like it is a law that cannot be changed or wrong for any reason. If we have a frost on May 16th, we all wander around in shock, wondering HOW this could've happened! "...It can't be- the OFFICIAL FROST FREE DATE was yesterday!"

To be fair, that rarely happens- it gets CLOSE to being that cold sometimes, but generally after that date it's pretty safe. i sometimes think the date could be a couple of weeks earlier, except almost every year it happens during that time period that the weather gets warm or at least settles so you feel you can plant the tomatoes and stick the tropicals on the patio, and then weget ONE more night of freezing temps! Just enough that the pink and white leaves of the variegated Kiwi vine freeze to a crisp (and then come back a plain green when they re-emerge), and the beautiful acid yellow leaves of my "Tiger Eyes" Sumac turn brown and ugly!The 'maters can be covered, the house plants can be taken back in, but i've tried covering the Kiwi and the Sumac, and it does no good. Tonight may be that night, although i have heard varying reports, 40 degrees (F) or down to 36 degrees, so it may get dicey! And, of course, the Gunnera (who is behaving himself and throwing some fairly large leaves) can be brought in, but he's in a large container i can't negotiate by myself and don't want to have to bring in. i think i'm just gonna grit my teeth and hope for the best!

The Search For The Elusive Himalayan Blue Poppy

(Photo blatantly stolen from Katina Choovanski's Blog)

Found a Meconopsis ( the sky blue Himalayan Poppy) today at a local farm market and greenhouse - this is an "average" farm market most of the year, albeit a nice one, but in May, it transforms into a "collector's heaven"! Rows and rows of unusual, if not downright RARE plants for my area, and a lot of new (and expensive) varieties of Hostas. i make one trip there a year (any more often and i'd be living in poverty- all my money would be theirs!) i have never seen a Meconopsis for sale before around here- but there's a good reason....Yes, the tag DOES say "hardy to zone 5" - and that is where i live, in zone 5b. Unfortunately, MY zone 5 is not the same as "THAT" zone 5! The plant needs a cool, moist environment to thrive (the Pacific Northwest), and our summers get too hot and too dry. With that in mind, did i pass it up? Nope. You never know, we may have a cool, damp summer this year....maybe...:o}

i'll take any advice and/or growing tips anyone passes my way!

i had found seed for it before, and had very little luck germinating it. i did manage to get one feeble little plant going, it didn't make it. Another year, one started in it's pot, and, to my amazement, it was growing like a weed! I pampered that thing for weeks, until i realized that, unfortunately, it WAS a weed! Oops.

"White Feather" Hosta amongst the crabapple petals

So this was a strong looking little plant, and it will be my last try to see one of the blooms in living color! So, in the ground it goes, with some water holding crystals in the soil and in part shade, and i'll let you know what happens. Along with my new "White Feather" Hosta, my "Summer Glow" Tamarisk, and a couple more little treasures, it was a very fulfilling trip!

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Treasured "Weeds"

Petasites japonicus (Giant Butterbur) - Mine's not QUITE this big yet....
Went to the semi- annual Perennial Swap in my city (the one and only, far as i know), the proprietors of a small sub shop on the outskirts of our Downtown area started organizing it several years ago. i discovered it about 4 years ago, and have attended at least the Spring swap every year since then. As i mentioned before, there is a strong group of gardeners in my city, but unfortunately, there are not many of us, relatively speaking, considering we are in a fairly large city.

This is also one of the events i whined about in my rant, " Seed Swaps". A lot of folks show up with nothing and take plants, and that bothers me, BUT i realized this year that, if you are a real "plant nut", chances are you'll be there -with your plants-earlier than they are, and will more than likely find some treasures anyway! So i was calm, collected, and in a good mood when i showed up this year. The weather was about perfect (it's usually windy, rainy, cold, or all three!), about 65-70 degress F (19-20 C), sunny, not windy, and all in all, a pretty day! i arrived with a large purple leaved Honeysuckle that had taken over my garden one too many times, (but would be great for someone with room for it), several divisions of "Yellow Sword" yuccas, a yellow- leaved Forsythia, and several pots of Blue Sedge. I left with 4 Hostas (two for me, two for my MIL), a Jack in the Pulpit, a Chinese Lantern (that i have had difficulty starting from seed), another start of a Giant Butterbur -Petasites japonicus- (gotta have those big leaves!), that i may try to put in the pond, and my

Rose Acacia
"treasure" this year - a Sweet Pea tree, or Rose Acacia (Robinia hispida). i had managed to transplant one from my hubby's grandparents' farm years ago (they are very hard to move), and had to leave it when we moved. It took me years to find out what it was (this was in the Eighties, B.I. {Before Internet}).i Think it's a pretty little tree, but it does send out runners and may become weedy, so i am thinking i may keep it in a large pot. i'm happy to have one again, though!