Originally posted by james holt:
Meadowlark I'm sorry I missed what happened when you fertilized. Will you please tell me again because I just bought some fertilizer?
James,
It isn't a pretty story, but you asked, so...
Several years back, I had a small pond weed problem and asked what I should do about it. The recommendation was to fertilize the pond in early spring to get a better bloom and shade out the pond weed to eliminate it.
It was a complete disaster. The pond weed exploded with growth, algae popped up everywhere, completely taking over the pond...no amount of grass carp or even chemicals could get it in check for a couple of years. Finally, the nutrients diminished with rain events over several years, aeration was added to the pond, and chemicals and grass carp were able to get on top of it. This year I am chemical free and weeds are in control for the first time since the fertilizer event.
Now, if you read the Texas A&M and SRC publications, they clearly state DO NOT Fertilize if you have pre-existing weeds. They say...Get the weeds under control first and then you can think about fertilizing. Last month's issue of Southern Ponds said the same thing.
This is a controversial subject and I'm not interested in revisiting those past discussions. I'm simply responding to your question. You've probably seen many posts on it in the past. My story isn't necessarily what everyone will experience or even anyone...but I wouldn't want anyone to go through what I went through with this approach.
