Fertilizer and ponds . . .

Now I know that it's a no-no to allow drainage from surrounding
landscape to contaminate a pond, due to the risk of accummulated
fertilizer and chemicals.

However, this is a different question:

I have plants in pots that come from a lake-margins environment and
which live in nature with their toes in the water, but nothing else.
In my pond, they sit in pots on a ledge in the pond that's about 2
inches under the normal water line. I water the plants occasionally,
and they seemed satisfied with the routine. I never fertilized for
fear of contaminating the pond w/ fert runoff.

Unfortunately, after a year of doing well in this location, the plants
are beginning to show signs of nutritional deficiencies --- namely
potassium and nitrogen (I am an experienced gardener and have had good
success addressing signs of such deficiencies before, so I feel fairly
confident in making this assessment).

I'd like to fertilize the pots with something like Potassium Nitrate,
but of course, that would gradually make its way into the pond, and
then ---yikes!

I know that water lilly fertilizer (in "pill" form) is used for
totally aquatic plants by burying it in the media, and that the pots
have no holes in the bottom, so the fert is more likely to stay in the
pots and around the roots . . . but the fish regularly mess with the
stones in the pots of the underwater plants and throw them about, so I
wonder whether this fertilizer gradually makes it into the general
pond environment.

So I'm confused: How can fertilizer for waterlilly pots be OK, yet
fertilizer for mostly-above-water plants not be OK?

Thanks!

I think the difference between runoff from the yard and fertilizer in the
pots is a matter of volume. The (relatively) small amount used to fertilize
the stuff in pots would not likely cause a problem to the pond.

IMHO

Joe


On 4/21/04 11:23 AM, "seed lover" wrote:

Now I know that it's a no-no to allow drainage from surrounding
landscape to contaminate a pond, due to the risk of accummulated
fertilizer and chemicals.

However, this is a different question:

I have plants in pots that come from a lake-margins environment and
which live in nature with their toes in the water, but nothing else.
In my pond, they sit in pots on a ledge in the pond that's about 2
inches under the normal water line. I water the plants occasionally,
and they seemed satisfied with the routine. I never fertilized for
fear of contaminating the pond w/ fert runoff.

Unfortunately, after a year of doing well in this location, the plants
are beginning to show signs of nutritional deficiencies --- namely
potassium and nitrogen (I am an experienced gardener and have had good
success addressing signs of such deficiencies before, so I feel fairly
confident in making this assessment).

I'd like to fertilize the pots with something like Potassium Nitrate,
but of course, that would gradually make its way into the pond, and
then ---yikes!

I know that water lilly fertilizer (in "pill" form) is used for
totally aquatic plants by burying it in the media, and that the pots
have no holes in the bottom, so the fert is more likely to stay in the
pots and around the roots . . . but the fish regularly mess with the
stones in the pots of the underwater plants and throw them about, so I
wonder whether this fertilizer gradually makes it into the general
pond environment.

So I'm confused: How can fertilizer for waterlilly pots be OK, yet
fertilizer for mostly-above-water plants not be OK?



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"joe" wrote in message
...
I think the difference between runoff from the yard and fertilizer in the
pots is a matter of volume. The (relatively) small amount used to
fertilize
the stuff in pots would not likely cause a problem to the pond.
snip

I agree, and would add that it is a matter of control. I fertilize my pond
with miracle grow sometimes, but in small doses. I know how much goes in and
I can measure the effect. Chances are the run off in your yard is not toxic
and you may not ever notice any detriment to you pond aside from a few algae
blooms, but the mere fact that something unknown "could" be in the run off,
makes all run-off a good rule of thumb avoidance issue.

Just as I would not eat a Krispy Creme found sitting in the middle of the
road, I do not let outside chemicals enter my pond if neccessary.

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

That's where you and I differ!



Joe

On 4/21/04 12:34 PM, "Benign Vanilla"
wrote:

Just as I would not eat a Krispy Creme found sitting in the middle of the
road, I do not let outside chemicals enter my pond if neccessary.



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That's where you and I differ!



Joe

On 4/21/04 12:34 PM, "Benign Vanilla"
wrote:

Just as I would not eat a Krispy Creme found sitting in the middle of the
road, I do not let outside chemicals enter my pond if neccessary.



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"joe" wrote in message
...
I think the difference between runoff from the yard and fertilizer in the
pots is a matter of volume. The (relatively) small amount used to
fertilize
the stuff in pots would not likely cause a problem to the pond.
snip

I agree, and would add that it is a matter of control. I fertilize my pond
with miracle grow sometimes, but in small doses. I know how much goes in and
I can measure the effect. Chances are the run off in your yard is not toxic
and you may not ever notice any detriment to you pond aside from a few algae
blooms, but the mere fact that something unknown "could" be in the run off,
makes all run-off a good rule of thumb avoidance issue.

Just as I would not eat a Krispy Creme found sitting in the middle of the
road, I do not let outside chemicals enter my pond if neccessary.

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

Clay in underwater pond plant containers "binds" the phosphate etc and will
not release it into the pond as long as you are careful to cover the hole
after you insert the pill or tab finger deep - if you have only stones in
the baskets, I would use the mesh type or pots with holes to allow the roots
to grow out through the baskets and get their nutrients from the pond
water - I would think the same would apply to plants with their 'toes' in
the water
Gale :~)
"seed lover" wrote in message
om...
Now I know that it's a no-no to allow drainage from surrounding
landscape to contaminate a pond, due to the risk of accummulated
fertilizer and chemicals.

However, this is a different question:

I have plants in pots that come from a lake-margins environment and
which live in nature with their toes in the water, but nothing else.
In my pond, they sit in pots on a ledge in the pond that's about 2
inches under the normal water line. I water the plants occasionally,
and they seemed satisfied with the routine. I never fertilized for
fear of contaminating the pond w/ fert runoff.

Unfortunately, after a year of doing well in this location, the plants
are beginning to show signs of nutritional deficiencies --- namely
potassium and nitrogen (I am an experienced gardener and have had good
success addressing signs of such deficiencies before, so I feel fairly
confident in making this assessment).

I'd like to fertilize the pots with something like Potassium Nitrate,
but of course, that would gradually make its way into the pond, and
then ---yikes!

I know that water lilly fertilizer (in "pill" form) is used for
totally aquatic plants by burying it in the media, and that the pots
have no holes in the bottom, so the fert is more likely to stay in the
pots and around the roots . . . but the fish regularly mess with the
stones in the pots of the underwater plants and throw them about, so I
wonder whether this fertilizer gradually makes it into the general
pond environment.

So I'm confused: How can fertilizer for waterlilly pots be OK, yet
fertilizer for mostly-above-water plants not be OK?

Thanks!

Gale,

My plants in pots have potting mix in them --- no clay --- So do you
think I can fertilize these pots by applying a top dressing and
watering it in?

If not, how do I fertilize these plants?

Thanks!

D


"Gale Pearce" wrote in message ...
Clay in underwater pond plant containers "binds" the phosphate etc and will
not release it into the pond as long as you are careful to cover the hole
after you insert the pill or tab finger deep - if you have only stones in
the baskets, I would use the mesh type or pots with holes to allow the roots
to grow out through the baskets and get their nutrients from the pond
water - I would think the same would apply to plants with their 'toes' in
the water
Gale :~)
"seed lover" wrote in message
om...
Now I know that it's a no-no to allow drainage from surrounding
landscape to contaminate a pond, due to the risk of accummulated
fertilizer and chemicals.

However, this is a different question:

I have plants in pots that come from a lake-margins environment and
which live in nature with their toes in the water, but nothing else.
In my pond, they sit in pots on a ledge in the pond that's about 2
inches under the normal water line. I water the plants occasionally,
and they seemed satisfied with the routine. I never fertilized for
fear of contaminating the pond w/ fert runoff.

Unfortunately, after a year of doing well in this location, the plants
are beginning to show signs of nutritional deficiencies --- namely
potassium and nitrogen (I am an experienced gardener and have had good
success addressing signs of such deficiencies before, so I feel fairly
confident in making this assessment).

I'd like to fertilize the pots with something like Potassium Nitrate,
but of course, that would gradually make its way into the pond, and
then ---yikes!

I know that water lilly fertilizer (in "pill" form) is used for
totally aquatic plants by burying it in the media, and that the pots
have no holes in the bottom, so the fert is more likely to stay in the
pots and around the roots . . . but the fish regularly mess with the
stones in the pots of the underwater plants and throw them about, so I
wonder whether this fertilizer gradually makes it into the general
pond environment.

So I'm confused: How can fertilizer for waterlilly pots be OK, yet
fertilizer for mostly-above-water plants not be OK?

Thanks!

Seed Lover - I would prefer getting the fertilizer into the dirt, rather
than top dressing the pots - maybe mixing it in the top layer of soil -or as
long as the pot isn't full to the brim you can get away with top dressing,
so it won't wash over the top in a heavy rain - personally, I have always
used tabs pushed in finger deep and buried, so I have never had this issue
Gale :~)

"seed lover" wrote in message
om...
Gale,

My plants in pots have potting mix in them --- no clay --- So do you
think I can fertilize these pots by applying a top dressing and
watering it in?

If not, how do I fertilize these plants?

Thanks!

D


"Gale Pearce" wrote in message
...
Clay in underwater pond plant containers "binds" the phosphate etc and
will
not release it into the pond as long as you are careful to cover the
hole
after you insert the pill or tab finger deep - if you have only stones
in
the baskets, I would use the mesh type or pots with holes to allow the
roots
to grow out through the baskets and get their nutrients from the pond
water - I would think the same would apply to plants with their 'toes'
in
the water
Gale :~)
"seed lover" wrote in message
om...
Now I know that it's a no-no to allow drainage from surrounding
landscape to contaminate a pond, due to the risk of accummulated
fertilizer and chemicals.

However, this is a different question:

I have plants in pots that come from a lake-margins environment and
which live in nature with their toes in the water, but nothing else.
In my pond, they sit in pots on a ledge in the pond that's about 2
inches under the normal water line. I water the plants occasionally,
and they seemed satisfied with the routine. I never fertilized for
fear of contaminating the pond w/ fert runoff.

Unfortunately, after a year of doing well in this location, the plants
are beginning to show signs of nutritional deficiencies --- namely
potassium and nitrogen (I am an experienced gardener and have had good
success addressing signs of such deficiencies before, so I feel fairly
confident in making this assessment).

I'd like to fertilize the pots with something like Potassium Nitrate,
but of course, that would gradually make its way into the pond, and
then ---yikes!

I know that water lilly fertilizer (in "pill" form) is used for
totally aquatic plants by burying it in the media, and that the pots
have no holes in the bottom, so the fert is more likely to stay in the
pots and around the roots . . . but the fish regularly mess with the
stones in the pots of the underwater plants and throw them about, so I
wonder whether this fertilizer gradually makes it into the general
pond environment.

So I'm confused: How can fertilizer for waterlilly pots be OK, yet
fertilizer for mostly-above-water plants not be OK?

Thanks!

I agree with Gale on this one. Just use grow-sticks (for terrestrial
plants). They're about 2-3 inches long, green colour, probably about 10 in a
pack and can be bought from any nursery. Try buying the ones for Ferns, they
have a low phosphate level and wont mess up your pond with Algae blooms.
G'Luck
--
**So long, and thanks for all the fish!**


"Gale Pearce" wrote in message
...
Seed Lover - I would prefer getting the fertilizer into the dirt, rather
than top dressing the pots - maybe mixing it in the top layer of soil -or
as
long as the pot isn't full to the brim you can get away with top dressing,
so it won't wash over the top in a heavy rain - personally, I have always
used tabs pushed in finger deep and buried, so I have never had this issue
Gale :~)

"seed lover" wrote in message
om...
Gale,

My plants in pots have potting mix in them --- no clay --- So do you
think I can fertilize these pots by applying a top dressing and
watering it in?

If not, how do I fertilize these plants?

Thanks!

D


"Gale Pearce" wrote in message
...
Clay in underwater pond plant containers "binds" the phosphate etc and
will
not release it into the pond as long as you are careful to cover the
hole
after you insert the pill or tab finger deep - if you have only stones
in
the baskets, I would use the mesh type or pots with holes to allow the
roots
to grow out through the baskets and get their nutrients from the pond
water - I would think the same would apply to plants with their
'toes'
in
the water
Gale :~)
"seed lover" wrote in message
om...
Now I know that it's a no-no to allow drainage from surrounding
landscape to contaminate a pond, due to the risk of accummulated
fertilizer and chemicals.

However, this is a different question:

I have plants in pots that come from a lake-margins environment and
which live in nature with their toes in the water, but nothing else.
In my pond, they sit in pots on a ledge in the pond that's about 2
inches under the normal water line. I water the plants occasionally,
and they seemed satisfied with the routine. I never fertilized for
fear of contaminating the pond w/ fert runoff.

Unfortunately, after a year of doing well in this location, the
plants
are beginning to show signs of nutritional deficiencies --- namely
potassium and nitrogen (I am an experienced gardener and have had
good
success addressing signs of such deficiencies before, so I feel
fairly
confident in making this assessment).

I'd like to fertilize the pots with something like Potassium
Nitrate,
but of course, that would gradually make its way into the pond, and
then ---yikes!

I know that water lilly fertilizer (in "pill" form) is used for
totally aquatic plants by burying it in the media, and that the pots
have no holes in the bottom, so the fert is more likely to stay in
the
pots and around the roots . . . but the fish regularly mess with the
stones in the pots of the underwater plants and throw them about, so
I
wonder whether this fertilizer gradually makes it into the general
pond environment.

So I'm confused: How can fertilizer for waterlilly pots be OK, yet
fertilizer for mostly-above-water plants not be OK?

Thanks!