Ultra Newbie

[islandgirl]

Just installed our very first pond. It is a preformed 145 gallon - yep - a "pondlet".
We installed one at my elementary school in a partnership with a state museum (UTOTES program - using the outdoors to teach experiential science).
My husband and I decided to put one in our yard after the area was dug up when the septic drain field was replaced.
We are not doing the electric pumps, waterfalls, fish route - too much hassle where we live (salt air and racoons). We are using Mosquito Dunks for mosquito control.

So, open to any and all advice. We have marginal plants, 2 water lettuce, 1 waterlily (shocked at the expense at our local garden center) and 2 water hyacinth (have since learned that will take over very quickly).

The dragonflies have made their appearance and 1 laid eggs over the weekend.

I'm extremely excited and love to go check out our little pond.

 

[sissy]

well welcome and sounds like you are going the natural route and believe me in awhile you will find all kinds of critters visiting ,The written invitation has gone out by the smell of water .Butterflies do need shallow muddy areas to go and birds just want shallow areas to drink .Bees will visit the muddy shallow areas also .

 

[j.w]

islandgirl
Neat that you are able to do that for the kids at the school so they can see a little wildlife pond in action

 

[don't ask]

welcome islandgirl

 

[addy1]

welcome glad you joined! even pondlets are welcome here lol

 

[islandgirl]

islandgirl
Neat that you are able to do that for the kids at the school so they can see a little wildlife pond in action

j.w. It is very neat. We established an Outdoor Classroom at our school a couple of years ago. The teachers wanted a water feature so we put in the pond. The 5th graders helped install it with the Museum staff - very cool. We also have a Butterfly Garden and are in the process of establishing a Sensory Garden. I would love to see the students/teachers utlizing it more but baby steps! (I teach art so it is easier for me to pop outside with my students and observe nature)

 

[islandgirl]

well welcome and sounds like you are going the natural route and believe me in awhile you will find all kinds of critters visiting ,The written invitation has gone out by the smell of water .Butterflies do need shallow muddy areas to go and birds just want shallow areas to drink .Bees will visit the muddy shallow areas also .

I can't wait!!!!!

 

[islandgirl]

welcome glad you joined! even pondlets are welcome here lol

Thank you!!! I've checked out the other forums/pics, etc, - wow - the ponds (and knowledge) are most impressive!!!!

 

[pecan]

Great job at school and at home!!! Welcome!!!

 

[rebelangel_3733]

Welcome!

 

[capewind]

Welcome! Fishless water gardens can be really beautiful, no matter how small. Another nice plant that may work out for you is elephant ear. Lots of different varieties, and while they can get pretty big, with the other plants you mentioned, well, it is one of my favorites LOL...

Not sure what would be wrong with the salt air tho... it would be more of an issue for plants than filters and fish??? I'm coastal too, sorry for the questions:-(

Geri

 

[sissy]

I got some mini elephant ears at florida hill nursery .com and they are really cheap and the mini ones so far are about 12 inches tall .

 

[capewind]

I love them LOL. Ours are just babies too... only 8 - 12" now, but they have doubled in size in the last couple of weeks. We have one that is all green, one that has a red viened green leaf, and then a blackish maroon one (think it is called Black Magic)... cant wait for them to get big... unfortunately, they are just an annual here, so need to make an inside home for them this year...

Geri

 

[addy1]

With the taro/elephant ears, you can keep the in wet soil over winter or trim off the leaves and roots from the bulb then let it dry. Store in a box in a cool dark area. In the spring pull out and stick in the ground.

I did it both ways, the ones kept alive all winter are not much bigger than the ones that I dried and put out in the spring. Mine are not doing as well as they did last year, but they are growing.

 

[capewind]

We have a bunch of plastic kiddie pools, so I was thinking to put them in the basement in a pool, and just throw a grow light over them on a timer. Hubby already transplanted them into 5 gallon pots... would love to let them continue to grow over the winter. Wanted to do this last year with some of the water hyacinths, but had a killing frost by surprise and lost them:-( Seeing how far a start of 250 water hyacinths didnt get, I am guessing first thing next spring we need a headstart of 500 of them.