My water garden journal

[Joshaeus]

Perhaps if you were to bend the edges of the screen covering downwards it could not hurt anyone? Maybe even curve them under in a rolled up way.

Perhaps. The lid situation will definitely need thought next year, especially since I will likely keep fish in it next year.

EDIT: Maybe I could use 1/4 inch hardware cloth, fold it around the boundary of the water garden, and tie it in place with one of those bungee cords usually used for trash cans?

 

[j.w]

Maybe even a plastic screen or netting type will do?

 

[Joshaeus]

Today has not been a great day for me, but one thing HAS gone quite right...the water garden. Behold!

Less than two months after I got this lily in the mail, barely alive, it bloomed! Clearly I am doing something right this time (I credit the heater, though I've also been fertilizing liberally). This is an Indiana lily, so the flower should become steadily more red over the next two days. What appears to be a second flower bud is visible near the crown, but I cannot see the bottom well enough to be sure (due to the heaps of plant matter at the surface); it would likely be doing more, but this has been a VERY dreary summer (it has been cloudy and rainy 70% of the past few weeks). Here is a closeup of the flower...enjoy and thanks for looking!

 

[addy1]

Very nice!

 

[Joshaeus]

Very nice!

Thanks! This has been so successful that I think I am going to have a larger 40 gallon water garden next year, potentially with a second small water lily (perhaps a tropical lily?) or even a marginal plant (assuming I could find a way to include one without opening the water garden to invasion by warm blooded predators). For now, the heater is set to the low 70's fahrenheit, but I am getting an inkbird controller later this month and I will use it to gain more control over the heater, allowing me to gradually reduce the water temperature in fall to coax this lily into dormancy (and to allow me to set the heater to a lower temperature than the 68 degree minimum it normally has, thus allowing me to set up the water garden again in early April with the heater set in the low 60's). When do you think I should get the water lily dormant by? Would late October/early November be too late?

 

[Joshaeus]

Hi everyone! As expected, the flower is markedly more red today;

However, there is something concerning about the water garden...many of the water lily pads were showing clearish patches or had rotted right off their stems, forcing me to remove about half the pads (I also removed a lot of the frogbit, much of which also looked clear...hopefully for different reasons). Any suggestions about what may be going on? The water lily is still growing, with several new pads currently growing through the water column and even a new flower bud beginning to form at the crown of the plant. Here is a picture of the water garden after I thinned it out;

EDIT: The discarded water lily pad at the bottom of the second picture shows precisely the clear spots I am asking about.

 

[addy1]

Nice red! take a better pic of the pad alone if you can

 

[Joshaeus]

Nice red! take a better pic of the pad alone if you can

Thanks! Unfortunately that pad has been on the hot concrete patio for hours by now and I threw all the other pads into the woods...if any more pads show similar symptoms I will get a picture.

 

[TheFishGuy]

love it! cant wait for more updates and I also cant wait to see the 40 gallon

 

[Joshaeus]

love it! cant wait for more updates and I also cant wait to see the 40 gallon

Thanks! It is going to be set up next year, and before that time arrives I need to figure out a lid (and ideally some way to incorporate a marginal plant without exposing the water garden to mammalian predators).

 

[TheFishGuy]

Thanks! It is going to be set up next year, and before that time arrives I need to figure out a lid (and ideally some way to incorporate a marginal plant without exposing the water garden to mammalian predators).

awsome! may I suggest this pond liner: https://www.homedepot.com/p/BECKETT-35-gal-Plastic-Pond-Liner-PP1035/202206168#ratings-and-reviews

I used to have it set up as a mini pond, and it was really high quality! ( I would offer to send the lienr via mail to you, but shipping costs would be unimaginable for something that big....


if you watch this youtube vid, it shows someone converting it into a mini pond:

hope that helps!

 

[Joshaeus]

Thanks! I was wondering whether that particular liner could support itself above ground. I live near a protected forest, though, so how would I keep raccoons, neighborhood cats, or other largish predators out of such a shallow container?

 

[TheFishGuy]

Thanks! I was wondering whether that particular liner could support itself above ground. I live near a protected forest, though, so how would I keep raccoons, neighborhood cats, or other largish predators out of such a shallow container?

I would say that if you use some screen material, and make cutouts for marginal plants then you should be good

 

[AlyssaFish]

awsome! may I suggest this pond liner: https://www.homedepot.com/p/BECKETT-35-gal-Plastic-Pond-Liner-PP1035/202206168#ratings-and-reviews

I used to have it set up as a mini pond, and it was really high quality! ( I would offer to send the lienr via mail to you, but shipping costs would be unimaginable for something that big....


if you watch this youtube vid, it shows someone converting it into a mini pond:

hope that helps!

I have one of these. Threw it in my pond and sat in it like a boat.It actually held my weight and was a lot of fun paddling around. XD

 

[TheFishGuy]

I have one of these. Threw it in my pond and sat in it like a boat.It actually held my weight and was a lot of fun paddling around. XD

oh wow, just wow