Cleaning up our old pond - 05/28/23 01:01 AM
We figure our pond is old... 60 to 70 years old. Its not on the 1938 maps, but it is on the 1955 maps, and in the early 50s they were building Lake Waco. We purchased this property in 2021, 5 lots in the back of an old neighborhood that noone wanted b/c "flood plain". But that flood plain only covers part! So here we are in our new house, cleaning up an old pond.
I cleared a new path to the water today. Lots of green briar, poison ivy and ligustrum. But I found the male mulberry tree! We have 2 mulberry trees dropping fruit right now, and I'd been wondering where the male was, so glad I found him. And now I have a nice new path to bucket water for my veggy plots nearby. I put on my waders and got in to deepen a bit near the shore to make the bucketing easier, and I got a wheelbarrow full of muck out. Oh, it was stinky! And heavy. That went on to the compost pile over the poison ivy I'd cut earlier. I found that I would sink a good 6 to 8 inches into the bottom and the water there was about a foot deep; the muck is thick. The pond is full of a tall grass that loves the shallow water. I did see little fish, about 1 to 2 inches long, of a grey color. One of these days I'll have a net to try and catch a few!
I dipped out a cup-full and used an aquarium test strip and found the pond has a GH of 180, KH 240, pH 7.5, NO2 of 0 and NO3 of 0. Yeah, I need to do more research to learn what all this means. And maybe what counts in an aquarium is not what counts in a pond? I started with what I had! Any pointers in learning about these? (yes, my plan is to purchase some books after I get my boys to bed)
We aren't in a place to spend much money on the pond yet, so I'm just working on clearing the vines from all around the trees and opening access to the pond. Is it worth pulling this grass? (the stuff is 7 to 8 feet tall and the base is about 1 inch diameter for each plant.) Anyone know what it is? [img]https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TjHQXll_s1axkmexYlf7PKlW8Ff7bC6N/view?usp=drive_link [/img] I looked through https://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/ , but didn't see it.
I cleared a new path to the water today. Lots of green briar, poison ivy and ligustrum. But I found the male mulberry tree! We have 2 mulberry trees dropping fruit right now, and I'd been wondering where the male was, so glad I found him. And now I have a nice new path to bucket water for my veggy plots nearby. I put on my waders and got in to deepen a bit near the shore to make the bucketing easier, and I got a wheelbarrow full of muck out. Oh, it was stinky! And heavy. That went on to the compost pile over the poison ivy I'd cut earlier. I found that I would sink a good 6 to 8 inches into the bottom and the water there was about a foot deep; the muck is thick. The pond is full of a tall grass that loves the shallow water. I did see little fish, about 1 to 2 inches long, of a grey color. One of these days I'll have a net to try and catch a few!
I dipped out a cup-full and used an aquarium test strip and found the pond has a GH of 180, KH 240, pH 7.5, NO2 of 0 and NO3 of 0. Yeah, I need to do more research to learn what all this means. And maybe what counts in an aquarium is not what counts in a pond? I started with what I had! Any pointers in learning about these? (yes, my plan is to purchase some books after I get my boys to bed)
We aren't in a place to spend much money on the pond yet, so I'm just working on clearing the vines from all around the trees and opening access to the pond. Is it worth pulling this grass? (the stuff is 7 to 8 feet tall and the base is about 1 inch diameter for each plant.) Anyone know what it is? [img]https:/