Using clay kitty litter.

[Pond skipper]

Ok, so it seems like many of you are saying clay unscented non clumping Kitty litter is the way to go for planting In baskets on the pond bottom. So I got some and it’s quite dusty, do you all wash it first before putting it in the pots or will that make it useless?

 

[j.w]

The dust will cloud the water but no big deal as it will dissipate eventually and won't hurt anything. I never wash mine, just wait for it to go away. The fish like to dig in it and disperse in here and there. I say oh well it's their home and if they like it that way on the pond bottom then so be it

 

[Pond skipper]

Thanks for the speedy reply. Was just going to start washing it but I’ll just put it in now with a couple of tomato fertilizer spikes and see what happens!

 

[JRS]

I pot my plant and then give it a rinse with pond water to get the worst of the dust off before putting it in the pond.

 

[addy1]

I just fill the pot put in the water. The dust does not bother me

 

[GBBUDD]

i don't remember seeing or hearing anyone say they used a basket. Cheap oil pan tubs and mason trough , but don't remember baskets

 

[j.w]

Maybe this kind? I have a few but don't use them anymore.

 

[bagsmom]

I have used the aquatic potting bags. They have worked well because they can squish and conform to fit between rocks and such. Makes it easier to hide them. For lilies, I just use the oil pans or utility tubs. The clay dust totally clouds the water for a little while and then disappears!

 

[GBBUDD]

Those baskets with my koi would never work every time a root got close to the edge of the basket they would be tearing away at the basket pushing on it and after a couple days the kitty litter nuggets are mush so every time it's disturbed it lets off more into the water clouding it up. Heck I have to put 2to 4 inch rocks on the top to keep the koi from digging at the roots.

 

[Lisak1]

I use kitty litter in my planted pots, but one trick I've started doing is getting it wet outside the pond and letting the pot sit for a bit int he sun. The litter will start to dissolve a bit and then become a bit more firm. When I would put the pots into the pond freshly planted with dry litter, I felt like too much dust was flowing everywhere and my tubers liked to try to float away.

I like the fabric bags, too, but be aware that plant roots will go through the bag eventually and they will break down. I've used these for plants that I intended to leave in place once they were established. The bag eventually becomes part of the root ball.

 

[GBBUDD]

I was contemplating learning how to use the sewing machine and use some non woven 8 oz fabric . The ONLY thing I hate about my pond is seeing planting pots. Though once the lilies get going it's hard to see them from outside the pond.

 

[Pond skipper]

Thank you all, for some reason I didn’t get notified of all these replies. I did see the first couple though. I just ended up trying the Kitty litter out in one basket in which I planted two water lilies I dug up from a lake. I put the litter in a bucket first and rinsed it to get rid of most of the dust this also compacted it and made it heavier so when I poured it into the basket and added the plants it didn’t float up or come loose when I sank the basket. Hardly any clouding of the water around the basket and all seems well. Thanks again for the ideas

 

[YShahar]

I've been using kitty litter to line gaps in rocks in my stream build. After planting in it, I add river pebbles to make it look a bit nicer. I do usually rinse it a bit first, using a fish net to hold it, just because it makes less of a mess that way.

 

[Pond skipper]

Wow!! That sounds like a great idea! Does the classy kind of solidify and get denser to help direct water too? Does moss Grier on it?

 

[SarahT]

I was contemplating learning how to use the sewing machine and use some non woven 8 oz fabric . The ONLY thing I hate about my pond is seeing planting pots. Though once the lilies get going it's hard to see them from outside the pond.

What type of fabric; why non-woven? Just curious; I sew a lot and might be up for helping figure this out with you, depending on how complicated (i.e. whether I can do it!)