Got to meet some fellow ponders last night

[ididntdoit99]

I am overrun with water lettuce, as usual. So I figured, why not throw an ad up on craigslist and see if anybody else could use this stuff before I just throw it out. The greenhouses around here have a very short supply if this stuff right at the beginning of the season, and if you don't get some right away, you cant find it around here, so maybe someone was looking for some.

So I had a very nice couple come over last night, and they said they had just started their pond and were looking for more plants. I think we ended up spending about an hour out by my pond talking. I was showing them my filtration, talking about plants, my rings for my water lettuce, pretty much everything pond related.

I also asked them how many fish they had (They said they had a pretty large pond 17x25 or something like that, much larger than mine) and they said they only had three goldfish. So I said "hey would you like a koi?" As I had the two koi in my QT tank that I rescued last week. One of them was a white one, and I wasn't too excited about rescuing him (because I already have an all white koi in the pond) So they ended up taking a walmart plastic bag full of lettuce home, and a koi for their pond.

It was very nice meeting some ponders from the area, and hopefully I passed a little knowledge their way. They said they would keep in touch, and I did email them this morning with the link to this site, and told them I would love to come see their pond sometime, and i could probably bring them some water iris too, as mine really need to be split up soon.

 

[sissy]

hey really nice of you and great way to meet and greet and maybe give them some helpful hints and pawn ,I mean start them on there new endeavor . :razz:

 

[ididntdoit99]

I had posted that ad last week, I think Tuesday or something, and nobody had responded, so by the weekend i had pretty much forgot about it. I took probably a 5 gallon bucket and just threw it in the lawn and mulched it up with the lawnmower. So when they emailed me i was like "damn, check back with me in another week" But then I was like heck, i still have tons. All i threw out over the weekend was the stuff floating freely. My 5 rings were still jam packed, so i ended up taking a little bit out of each ring to give to them. The rings will probably fill right back up by the weekend anyway.

I did have another person email me yesterday also, but didn't give me a call last night, so I may have another person come grab some this week yet too.

 

[sissy]

You need a barrel or something to throw the extras in .

 

[ididntdoit99]

I have some in the qt tank also, but I don't need anymore than that. I started with 2, and I still probably have 200 after giving a bunch away and mulching some up.

 

[sissy]

I am going to over winter mine again and tried a fish tank in the basement but found they seem to not like light on there roots and liked the concrete mixing tub I kept them in

 

[ididntdoit99]

I had just thrown some in my aquarium with my tropical fish last winter, but they didn't make it up there, I will probably try some in the basement this year just to see if I can keep them alive. It's kind of ridiculous that I spend money on them every spring, but then am throwing and giving them away 2 months later, even if its only $5-10, that's money I could spend on another plant somewhere else.

 

[Mmathis]

IDIDNT, nice that you got to meet some fellow ponders! I know a couple of people in the garden & plant community -- I need to contact them and see if they know of any ponding groups here in the Shreveport area [one is a Master Gardener, and one is a botanist who works with the LSU Ag. Center]. Hubby is interested on a very basic level [he likes to look at the fish and does actually notice if I've changed anything ], but can see his eyes glass over when I try to explain the WHY's & WHAT's.

....And, I'M BECOMING TOO ADDICTED TO THIS FORUM, so........ need to find some REAL people to talk to LOL!

It's kind of ridiculous that I spend money on them every spring, but then am throwing and giving them away 2 months later, even if its only $5-10, that's money I could spend on another plant somewhere else.

Totally agree! This is my first year, so just getting started, and know I've spent several hundred so far just on plants -- some that will come back, and some that won't. And water lettuce [and hyacinth] are banned here, so who knows if I'll get any again next year. BTW, I have a "worm bed" built into my turtle habitat that I stocked with red wigglers last fall. My water lettuce and everything else I skim from the pond goes in there to feed the little gardenders -- so food for the worms means food for the turtles!

 

[HARO]

Just some info on overwintering water hyacynth; three winters ago I decided to try it in the greenhouse that is our garden centre. I had six plants left over, so I placed them in a 150 gallon tub in September, and fertilized them regularly for six months. The greenhouse is heated all winter, and the clear roof should have let enough light in to keep them alive. Lights are also on for about eight hours a day. By the end of March, I had ONE small survivor (about 4" across), which was sold to some anonymous ponder who probably plunked it into his (still ice-covered) pond as soon as he got it home! Taking into account the total heating bill for about 9 acres of greenhouses, and working from there to the approximate cost to heat our section, I estimate the cost of that one survivor to be somewhere in the range of $15,000 to $16,000!!!! At $4.00, that anonymous ponder got one HELL of a bargain!
John

 

[ididntdoit99]

lol, that's pretty good, I was thinking about the probably $125 I mulched up with my lawnmower this weekend by just dumping them in the yard. but It's the middle of the season, and I wasn't really worried about making money off of the plants anyway, just figured I'd help anyone that wanted them before I threw them away.

If I try to keep some alive, it will just be in the basement so i dont have to worry about heating, but it probably will still probably cost me more to run a couple of lights all winter than it will to just buy a couple in the spring and start over. Aww well, I'll try it anyway and see if i can do it.

 

[sissy]

I kept them in my basement for about 5 or 6 years now in the concrete mixing tub and water lettuce and hyacinth have all made it with minimal care .I found they really don't like a lot of light and not much fertilizer .I keep on one cfl bulb and refresh there water a little every 2 weeks or so because it evaporates and thats it no heat down there but basement is well insulated and the largest amount of light they get from the window .I did try a large fish tank I have in front of a window but think they did not like the light on there roots.I have the light on a wireless switch that I can turn them on when it is cloudy out so i don;t have to go down there if i don't feel like it .I have no inside entrance to the basement as i did not want one .

 

[j.w]

Neat 99 and I seen where they joined up here already. Nice of you to give them the fish too!

 

[sissy]

uh oh now they are going to see the bad boy side of 99 LOL :razz: be good .

 

[ididntdoit99]

uh oh now they are going to see the bad boy side of 99 LOL :razz: be good .

This is kind of a funny story, On facebook, i have a friend who is a job recruiter, and had recently posted a job for an engineer, so i figured id send them my resume and check it out. Well they emailed me back right away and wanted me to come in for an interview.


So this morning, i went into this interview, very small company, only 14 people, and they need some help with process control, and solid modeling. Of course I'm all clean and got the long sleeves on (covering up my tattoos) and I'm sitting in the interview with three guys, and we are just talking about the company. The one guys says "we have a great group of guys here in the shop, very experienced, but a little rough around the edges, you sit out at break with them, you might here a couple of f'bombs"

And the other guys says "don't you worry about Adam, I checked out his facebook page, he will fit right in here"

I have heard stories about potential employers checking that stuff out, and even people not getting a job because of what was on their social media pages, but I have been working at my current job for quite a while, and never experienced it first person.

It was fine though, they were great guys, I told them "yes, I'm all business when i need to be, but outside of here, its a whole different game. I like my drinks.

 

[addy1]

lol I have like nothing on my face book page, no time or desire to mess with it. Yep they use it to mess up marriages, divorce proof, loss of jobs, can be dangerous to really post on there.