[ GARDENING FEATURE ]

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Feb 18, 2000 by Capital-Journal

Winterizing

The Capital-Journal

From Alaska to Florida, homeowners are enjoying incorporating ponds, fountains and other water gardening features into their landscape. With only a few simple steps, an oasis comprised of moving water, fish and flowers (that provide countless hours of enjoyment) will weather the cold winter months and be ready to make a splash again next spring.

Hitting the big five-0

Temperature is the single greatest influence on the amount of cold weather preparation a pond requires. For those lucky enough to live in warm climates where it won't drop below 50 degrees, no real winter preparations are necessary for ponds. At 50 degrees, beneficial bacteria die off, and fish in the pond begin to hibernate.

According to David Self, proud pond owner and an employee of the Beckett Corp., America's leading maker of water gardening products, there is no standard correlation between air and water temperature.

"The easiest thing to do is to care for the pond using the air temperature, since a variety of factors like wind, sunlight and depth can influence your water temperature," says Self. "A pond thermometer can be very helpful --- especially in extreme climates."

When water temperature does reach 50 degrees, be sure to take the following preventative measures:

- Clean the bottom of the pond thoroughly, since this is where decaying material accumulates. For smaller ponds, a net on a long pole, such as a fish net, can be used. (Self wades into his 2,100 gallon pond and actually cleans the bottom with his shop vac.)

- Do not clean the sides of the pond, unless you have algae growing in long strings. The material on the side of the pond can help feed your fish, and it covers the pond liner, adding to a more natural looking pond.

- If leaves are still falling in your area, either clean them out of the pond regularly with the fish net or cover the pond (again with fine mesh netting) to keep leaves out. The netting cover can be removed when all the leaves have fallen.

- Clean pumps by rinsing algae and other residue from the inlet screen of the pump. Also, rinse filter material contained in your pond biological filter and pump prefilters, if they have been installed. (Fountain nozzles should also be removed and rinsed.) This can be done by removing these items from your pond and spraying with a garden hose on the ground or other area outside the pond.

- Trim "hardy" aquatic plants even with the tops of the baskets in which they are planted and sink them to the lowest part of your pond. Semi-tropical plants can be brought indoors to be kept over the winter. In parts of the country where extremely cold winters are common, most people transport plants and fish indoors to a "container garden" such as a whiskey barrel lined with pond liner, or decorative urns and clay pots. The plants can be moved back outdoors once it is warmer.

- If there is a possibility that the temperature may dip below 32 degrees, remove any fountain nozzles from pond pumps.

- Also, discontinue feeding fish when the water temperature drops below 50 degrees, at this point their metabolisms slow, and they are unable digest their food.

Freeze right there

At temperatures below 32 degrees, the priority is to ensure that the top of the pond never freezes solid. As long as there is an opening in the ice, toxic gases that are being produced will escape, and the fish will "rest easy".

Beckett suggests several ways to ensure the pond doesn't freeze over.

The first includes bringing the pump closer to the surface, and running it 24 hours a day to keep the surface water in motion. Beckett also now offers floating pond heaters, which will prevent solid ice from forming on the pond surface. For larger ponds, two heaters may be necessary to prevent the formation of solid ice.

If solid ice coverage forms, Beckett recommends sitting a pan of hot water on the surface of the ice at the pond edge. Ice should never be broken with a hammer or any other object, to protect the fish from the sound waves that travel through the water from such force that could potentially damage or even kill fish.

Beckett also recommends disconnecting pumps and draining water from outdoor fountains during extended periods of extreme cold to protect the pump.