Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Balance of plants in the environment Small Island

Foam Island update. The island soil is staying nice and moist in this 100 degree heat. The turtles, (see three on the right side) with their sharp toe nails have not damaged the heat gun harden skin of the foam. I bolted the first two layers of the island foam along with liquid nail because I wasn't sure the liquid nail would hold up, but the third layer is just held together by liquid nail and nothing has come loose. The cup with one flower in it and the roots just dangling in the water is short and not producing any flowers and the roots are turning black. But it hasn't turned yellow. I will do a close up photo of this plant at the end of the season. On the left you can see the spinach mustard I planted around June 15th. I think a vegetable island would do just fine.

Great idea John. I was thinking along your same lines yesterday as my pond is filling, I have some fish that I feed, yet no plants to help with absorbing the nutrients. I figure a couple more weeks I will be close enough to final level to start planting.

John - Any chance of an update? The picture of your island back in July is spectacular!

I will update the island later with pictures. The flowers are not quite as pretty as they were as they are taller and leggy but still nice. When we do get a rare rain it beats down the flowers but they come back. The turtles love to lay on the island and one day I counted 11 on it. I had no idea I had that many in my pond. The melted skin on the foam is tough but the turtles have skinned up it some but not enough to even think about repairing. However that would be easy with a propane torch and a little spray paint without removing the island from the water. I'm pretty sure I can leave the island in the water all winter without any deterioration since I run an experiment with a piece of foam from the middle of last summer through the winter and it hadn't been effected at all. The liquid nail glue has held the pieces together ok. The original 4 cubic feet of potting soil will just be left over winter and I think in the spring I can just pull out the old plants, fertilize and replant. Practically no maintenance and super easy. The experimental plant I had on the island with it roots in direct contact with the water was only about 2 inches tall when I last looked and was almost dead. This shows that the root must be filtered from the pond water. I will take pictures of all this later, and on through the winter until planting next spring. So far this has been too easy.

John glad to see your island is doing fine, another way to protect the surface of the foam is to coat it with some minwax polycrylic, it's clear and foam safe.

Looking forward to more photo's.

Thank you for the update, John. You have caused me to see islands in a very different light, now. Prior to your experiment, I thought only bog plants would flourish in that environment. Thank you for expanding my thinking and my options!! I'm looking forward to the new photos...

Any recommendations for type of rope?

Rangersedge I had different kinds of ropes that I used for sailing that I tested. I submerged maybe 5 inches in water and seen which rope wicked water the highest. Rope that had a hard slick finish didn't do as well as the soft ones. I bought mine in a box farm store that had rope on rolls and the rope was very soft and limp. But it could be that rope isn't necessary to keep the soil moist. My island with moist soil is heavy enough that the bottom layer is slightly under water in the middle and this allows water to also seep into the soil. Also maybe if you just put in 1/2 inch holes without the rope that the water would wick up through the soil in the holes. This is just a guess.

Foam Island update, Nov.19. It has survived in good condition since early spring. It seem to be a magnet for turtles, frogs and birds. I have made friends with the Heron and let him hang around.

John, how did it hold up over winter?