What to use

[pondlady]

_mrgreen::12:I am redoing one pond next spring, and I am going to go with soil less plant media. So, I need input on the best ones to use. Some say cat litter an others say gravel ? What say you?:goldfish:

 

[DrDave]

I'm not mrgreen but I can tell you that all I use is the gravel from my driveway in a well ventillated basket or holder. I gently place the gravel around the roots untill there is enough mass there to support the plant.

The nutrients come from the fish and dust that will settle in any outdoor pond. Everything in my ponds grows well and is sometimes hard to keep up with.:icon_mrgreen:

 

[pondlady]

Dh ordered me a bunch of baskets all shapes and sizes. do you line them with anything? Do you top them off with larger rocks to keep the fish from digging around in them?

 

[DrDave]

You want flow through your containers or your roots can rot. That is why I use gravel instead of dirt. Liners would impead the flow that not only cleanses the root structure but brings nutrients to them.

 

[PHYLAL]

I would not think cat litter would be good. Most commercial litters contain all sorts of deodorizers. You can buy simple baked clay with no additives, but in my experience using this in potting soil formulas, it will compact into a solid ball in short time, no (or very little) water flow. I agree, just small gravel.
If you do not have a clean source of gravel, you can buy granite chips from any animal feed store (It is used for chicken scratch). It comes in several sizes.

 

[pondlady]

I have read that pure clay cat litter works good as plant media??? That is why I asked. Hummmmmm guess I have all winter to decide what to use on this. Any more ideas please feel free to guide me in that direction!

 

[DrDave]

If you are going that way, buy Zorb All, sold in auto parts stores. It is used for cleaning grease up from floors and costs about 1/5th the price of cat litter. 50 Lb bags are less than $10. If you have a Smart and Final store nearby, they have it as well.

 

[DrCase]

pea gravel last for ever...and you can top it with larger rocks

 

[DrDave]

It is pretty hard to beat pea gravel. Easy to wash if you need to and cheap.

 

[DrCase]

and natural

 

[pondlady]

Ok you have convinced me pea grave it will be. Thanks for the input.

 

[DrCase]

that why we like you pond lady...you do stuff right....

 

[pondlady]

Man I have made my share of boo boos. So I want to do this right so I don't have to do it again for a long time. Never again would I put shelves in a pond or use garden soil for planting in, Or leave a pump running all winter. Lessons learned. Thanks for the ego boost.

 

[Billkeyups]

In reference to using ventilated baskets and pea gravel for planting. Are you refering to planting water lilies? I have always used pots that contain the soil with no holes for my tropical lilies. $1.29 per bag top soil from Home Depot works well. They grow and bloom best if fertilizer tabs are used twice a month. However, it is a lot of work to pull them up to insert the tabs.

I have never tried ventilated baskets but always wondered if the roots going out into the settlement at the bottom of the pond could gather enough nutrients to allow a tropical lily to bloom. I am in NW FL, does anyone have luck planting lilies this way? It would certainly be easier than inserting fertilizer tabs all summer.

 

[DrDave]

Every water lilly that I have purchased from Home Depot comes in a ventillated basket. It is a kit that you start your plant from scratch with what they provide.