Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations fertilizing grass near a pond.

Can I use any type of fertilizer to help the grass grow along the banks of a pond or will the runnoff contaminate the pond water? or am I better off just putting grass seed and nothing elese???

The best would be to not use fertilizer. Second would be to use a fertilizer with zero or very low phosphorous level. this is the middle number in the sequence on the bag.
Robert B

OR if you consider the pond a candidate for fertilizing don't worry about it and get some benefit from the "runoff".

I'm confused. I thought phosohorous was the
key ingrediant in pond fertilizer that is
used to create the phytoplankton bloom. And,
potash was the unnecessary one. So what's wrong
with a ferilizer runoff ?

It depends on where you are located and the current condition of the water. I fight with my pond continuously to remove nutrient and have very green water with about 18" of visibility. If I were to fertilize my water it would create major problems. The guys with their ponds in Texas may need to but not here in Wisconsin. We actually try to leave long grass around the pond to filter the run off to prevent algae growth.

With regard to fertilizer, having a pond in virginia is definatly a different situation than many ponds in the mid-west that have exclent fertility naturaly. I would say if your water is pea green with visibility around 18" naturaly than do what you can to restrict the nutrents in your pond. If not than I would assume that you are fertilizing anyways and the runoff from fertilizing your lawn would be a bonus. I've been puting all the phosphorus I can get my hands on into my VA pond and still cant get my visibility shallower than 36". So if your pond is anything like mine I wouldn't wory about your pond over-blooming as a result of the run off from your lawn.

hope that helps
-Scott

Often the disadvntage of surface runoff or Improper nutrient ratios (nitrogen to phosphorus) from haphazard fertilization, result in bluegreen algae blooms (surface, scummy films) instead of the beneficial green (Chlorophyta) algae mid-water suspension, blooms which feed zooplankton.