I'm new to this board and have spent some time reading other posts on this topic, but still have some questions that, hopefully, someone(s) can help me with.

First, my husband and I have a small farm in central Texas which we are in the process of getting certified as organic. Our pond is about 1/2 acre and had been seasonal until last year, when we were able to supplement water to it from our well. Since then, it has seemed to have sealed itself and now stays full with minimal addition of water. We stocked it with minnows, perch, bass and 5 or so catfish. The fish are thriving, but so now are the algae and water lilies. We don't want to use chemicals so have investigated other means to stop the proliferation.

We started using cornmeal 2 months ago and the algae seems to be clearing up.

On the water lilies, have read the post about using a pole with a hook to pull them out by the root. Also saw a tool that cuts the water lilies. Read somewhere else that by pulling them/cutting them, they eventually die out. Does this work and how long will it take to get this to occur (months vs years??).

Also, I read somewhere that the water lilies grow because the chemical or other? balance in the pond is wrong and by solving that, they will not grow any longer. Any truth to that? If so, what is the right balance?

I saw the posts re the use of HABITAT, but it doesn't sound like something we could use in an organic program. Can someone confirm that?

Thanks for any and all help with this.

Susan