I want to take this chance to cover some of the questions people have been asking: The only words about your pond for this time of year is.."DO NOT BREAK THE ICE!". It is hard on the fish.(will cause them to swim on their sides.
You will not need to feed your pond fish for a few months now....(If you choose to feed them give the fish some duckweed to nibble on and some Cheerio's. The duckweed will not cloud the water and the fish can digest the vegetable fiber. ) I hope you have taken time out to walk over to your pond and had a chance to see your fish swimming under the ice. My fish are still quite active swimming around. It is a good idea not to be to noisy or be racing around by your pond. Remember the fish are in a suspended state and any extra motion will cause undue stress and weight loss to your fish. If you see lots of air trapped under the ice, pile a small handful of rock salt on the ice. The salt will melt safely through the ice and vent out the trapped methane gas.
We have made some fantastic advance purchase of Lotus plants and fancy water lilies. These will be available the first of April(by the promise of our suppliers.) Large pond size goldfish are still not always available. We will have a few bulked up for next season. Hopefully I will get the large pond finished this winter at the nursery.
I am pleased to report there will be 4 new bog plants available for the 1996 summer season. (very hush hush.. sneak by in April when we transport them to the retail division (the one on Simpson))
Yes we are no longer the big fish in the little pond..... We have taken the plunge and set up the beginnings of a Virtual Pond. So my soggy "WEB" footed friends, towel off and check out our WEB PAGE on the Internet. Our Web Site is http://www.techline.com/~frazzle I have some cool links to pond places on the net. and this site has many of the articles I've written over the past year or so. This site has some nice pictures of Koi and will have some of our local ponds showcasing what you can do with a shovel and some pond liner. Please jot me an E-Mail message while you are there.. frazzle@techline.com checked out our site! Very soon folks will be able to order pond related supples from our HOMEPAGE on the Internet!!!
Well the pressure from many of you urging us to be able to convert plastic into plants.....(I suppose this might be considered RECYCLING) This year we will be able to accept Visa/Master charge, to make shopping for pond supplies and plants easier. We still are working out the details on getting this running. Until then we will still accept personal checks, folding currency with pictures of past U.S. Presidents, and pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, fifty cent pieces, and Susan B. Anthony coins... Money orders, Travelers checks.. (oh I'm going to get ribbed for this)
With all the rain we have gotten the past 2 months have you checked to see if the pond is overflowing at the `place you want it to? It is a good time to check this out. Spring modifications may include a dry well of crushed rock or round river rock as a catch area right by the spots were your pond overflows. I urge all of our pond owners to have this incorporated in their landscape. The dry well helps control the excess water off your pond and it also catches any fish or plants that might escape over the edge.
From Scenic Harbor Nursery We Wish you all Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year!
http://www.techline.com/~frazzle and frazzle@techline.com