Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Late fall stocking

I was thinking of removing old used willow branches and replacing with new prior to rooting. And I thought I read where the shrimp ate decaying plants and etc. But I am not so sure of that. I have a few 30' cedars on the place and might be able to use some limbs of it for a short time, as I don't want to end up with a bare 30'ceder post.

One thing I read about the shrimp is they eat detritus. Pond bottom muck.

I am pretty certain they eat 32% sinking catfish pellets also. I have trapped them with FHM in a cylindrical minnow trap. Pretty sure they were going in there to get the pellets I was using as bait for the minnows. If I am right about this, tossing in a few sinking feed pellets (higher protein would likely be better) regularly might give them something to eat while the natural food chain is lacking.

I had some cedar's that were too tall for my pond also. Couple of things you can do. Cut them in half vertically and do two placements. Another thing I did was cut all the limbs off one side of the tree, then lay it on its side on the bottom. Then I laid concrete foundation chunks on top of the trunk to keep them in place (before pond filled).

Esshup

Speaking of willows, I have tons that are coming up around the edge of pond and dam. Been pulling up the ones on dam but have left the others alone , would they be good habitat as pond fills or should they be removed?


Merry Christmas all

Pat W

Pat, I'd remove them. They will get in the way if you want to access the pond from shore, and they suck up a lot of water during the year.

Around here, if a person wants to dry up a wet area, plant a few willows. Once the trees get larger, the area won't be wet any longer.

Pat, willows are extremely invasive. Get rid of every one of them. If you drive along rural roads and see a big willow or cottonwood, there is a good bet that you can jump the fence and find an old dried up stock tank. I pull them and/or spray them every year. They both suck an amazing amount of water. It's a yearly maintenance deal for me.

Dave, wtih me, I spray/pull them the same frequency that I take care of cattails - almost monthly.

Looks like I got a lot of pullin to do! Not any willows even close to us so I guess that will be a yearly thing .... O boy... Now we havin fun! Noticed some cat tails that need to be removed...

Thanks guys


Pat W

I left a few willows in my pond. One all alone about 4" around and another that is a clump of 4 all with a 3" base. My planes were to have the base of the trees in 5' of water. I did this because I remember fishing Lake Texhoma where the willows were in 4 to 5' of water and always caught fish around the area. Now I read where a WILLOW WITH A 30' mass can take up to 400 gpd drink. I wont be able to get them with my bucket now as they are two far from bank and are in about 4' of water. I guess I will see if I can get them with my chainsaw. And then coat the top of the cut with herbicide. Lovely just lovely. sounds like some extra work for me. Crap

TGW1

It's all fun! That's why we have a pond! For all the "fun"! LOL


Pat W

Pat W
Pat right now, I am ready for the fun to begin. So far it has been a lot of $$ and a lot of work. The fun has been in my dreams of having a great place to fish and to sit and watch over the wildlife around and in the pond. Thank God for the dreams

TGW1

I think we all know how that is, but if it wasn't work then we wouldn't appreciate it near as much when things go right. I just spent $1K on FHMs and shinners cause of untimely bucket stocking of bass at the wrong time. But we will get over it.

Pat

Question here guys. Lets talk vegetation in a new pond in E Texas. So u have a pond where 3 of the 4 the banks are steep. If u r standing at waters edge and take two steps out u will be in 4 to 6 foot of water. I am not sure what the grade is. I asked my builder to do it that way because reduced light penetration from water depth, ment less weed growth. I was trying to reduce the chances of vegetation getting out of hand. Not sure it will work, but that was my thought process. I do want some vegetation, and so when do I plant the seeds. The pond should be full by Feb if not before. I am using well water and rain run off to fill. Do I put the seed in now? And let the water come up and cover the planted seed of what? Better to have the vegetation I want, crowding out what I don't want? What and when would u plant?
Thanks
Tracy

Are you talking about submerged plants, emergent plants, marginal plants or above the water plants?

Hi esshup, I was thinking submerged by growing up to the surface. Maybe with and umbrella effect at the surface. Not crazy about lilly pad types but maybe something that has a small covering leaf that gives a shaded area. I am not sure if I should put the seeds out now and wait for water to cover and then wait for spring growth. All new to me when it comes to growing something in the water. What u think?

Tracy,

Where are you getting seeds? I was planning on transplanting vegetation but I like the seed idea.

Bill

American and Illinois pondweed would provide the shading/cover you suggest here. I have both species and find them easily managed, easy to fish through, and good for YOY protection.

Thank you for the suggestion. How did u get the pondweed started? And was it added prior to full pool? Thanking u ahead. And Bill, I am not sure how to get the seeds or how to get it started. Looking for some experience here. I was hoping to find out how to before it is to late and I wind up with native that wants to overtake the pond. I figure if I can take up the space with something good, it will not leave the space for something bad.

I'd do what TJ suggested. You can also put in some lilies, but make sure they are hardy lilies so they don't spread like wildfire.

Same plan as mine. Get the good guys established before the bad guys move in. I have a list of plants suited for Northern Illinois I will be sourcing in the spring and have some good leads on local suppliers. I know I can get plants to transplant but seeds would be a lot cheaper.

Bill, if you can get plants, and you know that you aren't bringing anything into the pond on the plants that you don't want, I'd go with the plants vs. the seeds. If you direct seed, how long are you willing to wait if the seeds don't germinate? With crops, you can tell within a week or two. With seeds in a pond, I have no idea how fast they grow from seeds.

I think you'd have a better success rate with plants vs. seeds.

Yea, I know you are right. I will just plant the plants and bite the bullet on the cost. I might buy seeds for a "bonus" species or two and report back to you guys how the experiment went.

Bill, I would also like to look at thee seeds if they are available somewhere. I am thinking I can throw out some and see what takes place. I'm thinking transplanting will have me bent over and wadeing in water, knee deep on a steep bank to put each plant around the banks of a 3.5 acre pond. How many times will a man slip and go under? Not the kind of job I was looking for. I can see me now. It would beat me to death so to speak. And I might get my grandson to do it as I pointed and said do it here, but I don't think I could find him the next day because he would be hard to find I'm sure.

I am hoping to keep the planting to a minimum by just establishing a good starter group of each species in the pond where I want them and letting nature take its course to fill in.

So far I have found tons of info on controlling vegetation and almost nothing on selecting and planting to establish vegetation. Let me know if you find anything.

There are numerous threads on types of plants to choose. Depends on location and goals.

Start here.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=15&page=1