Veggie filter growing poorly

Mark,

End of summer is attended by a slowing of growth. Your fish should be
enough and to spare...tho' they may be new enough that more sludge needs
to build up. Our plants have slowed down now for the end of
summer...even here in MS.

Jim

mark Bannister wrote:
New pond had been up and running all Summer now, but the veggie filter
is growing rather poorly. (There are some pictures here after the first
planting: http://www.injection-moldings.com/EBPAGE/pond/.)

The first planting was eaten by the fish. Some minor changes and only
the smallest fish can get it now, but growth is not what I expected. The
pond gets 5-6 hours or full afternoon sun. Watercress and a few other
things grow OK, but the cattails and other reed type things all died.
I'm not getting the flourish of growth I had expected
I threw in some potash but no real appearance change. Poor color along
with death seem to be the primary symptoms.
Water parameters are all in normal range, PH stable and in the 7.8
range. All hardness levels are good as well.
On the plus side the filter is doing its job; the water is clear, but it
just looks like crap.
Any thoughts?

Mark B.

Well, Mark,
It could be that it will do better next season and if you have been
getting cooler weather in the evenings now, that will start to slow
down their growth considerably. It is still very warm during the day
here in Colorado Springs, but the evenings are turning cool and I notice
that my cattails are starting to yellow as well as the iris, lilies, and
WH. Last year I tried plants - parrots feather, wh, arrowhead, water
cress, duck week, etc - nothing much happened. This year? Things are
just the opposite. Stuck some plants in the water with a few fertilizer
stakes and for the first time in 3 seasons I have had clear water and
abundant foliage since June. Just give it a bit more time next season.
Don't forget to fertilize at the beginning.
Hope this helps.
W. Dale

mark Bannister wrote:

New pond had been up and running all Summer now, but the veggie filter
is growing rather poorly. (There are some pictures here after the
first planting: http://www.injection-moldings.com/EBPAGE/pond/.)

The first planting was eaten by the fish. Some minor changes and only
the smallest fish can get it now, but growth is not what I expected.
The pond gets 5-6 hours or full afternoon sun. Watercress and a few
other things grow OK, but the cattails and other reed type things all
died. I'm not getting the flourish of growth I had expected
I threw in some potash but no real appearance change. Poor color
along with death seem to be the primary symptoms.
Water parameters are all in normal range, PH stable and in the 7.8
range. All hardness levels are good as well.
On the plus side the filter is doing its job; the water is clear, but
it just looks like crap.
Any thoughts?

Mark B.