Pond Boss Forums AQUATIC VEGETATION Identifying plants Impact of runoff from herb fields

I am planning to plant 5 acres in herbs to provide food for my honey bees this year, and wanted to see if there could be any risks to my pond (fish and/or plant life) if I plant the field in borage, Anise Hyssop, lemon mint and catnip.

The five acre tract is directly above the pond, and is part of a larger watershed estimated to be 20 acres total.

I believe all except the borage fall into the Lamiaceae, or "mint" family.

Thanks in advance for advice that will help me determine whether planting herbs will be beneficial or harmful to the pond.

My gut feeling is that "I don't think so", but I'll defer to the experts.

I have really never heard of specific plants being toxic enough to kill fish from washing in. I would be more worried if you spray them with the wrong herbicides or insecticides. Of course too much vegetation of any type washing in can cause low O2.

RAH nailed it on the head. Stick with native plants and succulents when every you can. If focusing on honey production by planting heavy floral plants, best to find the native herbs that suit your needs. Introduction of exotic plants that are not within the 5 surround states can cause detrimental effects to the surrounding habitats, due to possible invasive plant species without herbivores to consume them, or the requirement of herbicides and pesticides to control the nuisance. Research, and tell us what floral species you would like. I'll ask the biologists and habitat management here about the possible natural toxicity that the plants will produce to harm the existing aquafauna of your lower pond during run-off.

I feel that 5 acres of garden will greatly improve you pond -- unless you are using some kind of herbicide/pesticide/...cide that is harmful to fish.

Assuming you have runoff, the unused fertilizer needed for the plants should help your pond, unless it is extremely excessive. Similarly, you should be cautious of filling the pond with runoff silt from the garden area.

Overall, I see it as a great benefit to the pond and the fish living in it.

The hives a friend put on our place are the healthiest after the winter compare with others they have placed. We just have lots of trees and weeds.

Thanks for comments!

The four herbs are Anise Hyssop, Borage, Lemon Mint and Catnip.

Not sure which of these are native to North Carolina but after reading the comments, I will definitely research this further.

Anise Hyssop will not effect the panfish, but may cause some appetite suppressant for the larger fish. Borage/mint has a couple of the compounds from the oil properties could create undesirable film on the water's surface, at high concentration, creating a biofilm that could be a problem for the aquafauna population. I don't know how much of the borage/mint plants you will be planting vs how much water surface you'll have. Catnip, be wearied. High level will cause irritation, but level is still uncertain. Some argued at 20ppm, some argued higher.

I rather do the field experiment. Take a handful of everything, and test it in your pond. Put the plants in bundles, and submerge near the dense areas where the fish linger. If your fish don't exhibit any anomaly, you're good to go. If they do, just exclude that specific plant from your list.

Thank you for the additional follow up comments. Very helpful information.