Using hoops to hold plants in center of pond
catherinet
12 years ago
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annedickinson
12 years agobuyorsell888
12 years agoRelated Discussions
!st Experimental Pond Planting Questions
Comments (17)Hi Sounds like you're giving up the idea of having plants?? The answer is if there is moisture there will be algae lol. Only sure way to keep it out of water is to use chemicals even that only works for a short time . A well planted ,well aged pool with moving water will have the least especially if located in shade. This also limits what plants will grow well. A fountain like you describe will probably have the least but will require maintenence. No problem if you have no fish or plants?? It is possible to keep a very healthy pool in full sun with fantastic plants and flowers and fish without chemicals. Takes time and patience to arrive at the "balanced" water garden. catherinet. Was going to reply Walmart until my wife reminded me that it was not here in 1982 lol I bought the replacement tarp at Walmart in the automotive section. Looks just like the original but now you've got me wondering if it is?? lol. The package has no brand, made for WM in china lol gary...See MorePond construction - allow for plant pockets, plant in gravel?
Comments (6)Hi Have tried many different ways over the years and IMO plain old pots sitting on the bottom is the most versatile. Here's what I like about it. Can quickly and easily change the media for individual plants, can fertilize just one plant and use different types. Can be removed to vacuum the bottom. If plant A is shadowing plant B too much can easily move it. Can easily change the depth the plant is growing by sitting it on another pot. Water lilies in particular I can get bigger,more and more robust flowers . For example Blue Goddess. Growing in straight cat litter with fruit tree spikes. 14 inch flowers standing two feet out of the water.24 inch pads. Same plant in same media for two years . 12 inch flowers Growing in mud on bottom . 10 inch flowers much more prone to offset rather than flower. IME the number one reason lol INVASIVE most water plants are this way and plain old pots gives you the most control. gary...See MoreGarden centers with pond plants?
Comments (4)First, try going through the phone book in your area and looking for nurseries and garden centers. Many of them have some surprisingly good quality plants for sale, even this late in the season. If that doesn't work, I use two internet sources exclusively --- www.aquariumplants.com www.watergarden.com Don't let the name on aquariumplants.com put you off. They have a wonderful selection of pond plants and some of the best, healthy, robust water lilies I have ever seen anywhere. Both places offer nice description of the plants' requirements, so you'll know how big they get, whether they're hardy or tropical etc. I've included the link below to one. The other, you'll need to copy and paste. Here is a link that might be useful: aquariumplants...See MorePlanning a hoop house
Comments (52)OK, update. Hoops are 13'1" center to center, looks like 1 1/8" (OD) galvanized pipe. Couldn't get a good measurement of height or total length the way they're stacked, but I could barely reach the purlin when it was assembled so I will assume that even if they are "squished" so they're a little taller than 6' 6.5" (6'7" allowing for OD), the pipe was probably standard length for top rail - is that 21 or 22ft? Then of course they were set in "receivers" buried in the ground, with a bell end sticking up above the baseboards they were clamped to, so the ends of the hoops were about 6" off the ground (like B option above). I want to set them up even higher (buy new pipe to drive into the ground, use the old ones to connect them inside the sidewalls?), really like 2ft sidewalls so I can get over 8ft tall in the middle and have *some* room on the sides for crops. Also, I want to put the hip boards high enough to put gutters and downspouts on to try to put a couple of rainbarrels up for irrigation. Sherwood - when you say use fence posts to raise them up, you mean steel T-posts or cedar fence posts? I'm assuming every hoop. Here's the problem - I have (I think) 96 hoops that were originally placed 3ft apart, using what I'm sure is CCA treated lumber. I could replace the lumber with new (ACQ or CAB - saw some on Craigslist, right here in town, guy is checking what it is for me, but he's got some 6x6x8ft posts and 19 2x8x8ft planks - that would give me 76ft in length if I used them as baseboards) - but still wouldn't be "organic" (not that I'm going for certification). Probably would have to replace all the fasteners anyway, lots of the clamps look white, not sure how long galvanized lasts even with CCA. Area where I have cleared is about 48x76, small rise to south but I don't think it blocks much sun (and I'm not growing 4 seasons), I can place it far enough away that I think I can catch southerly breezes (and it's a convenient place to put a tank if I want to pump into it - that's another story since GAP says not to use pond water). BUT... the land slopes from west to east, maybe a couple of feet over the 48ft width. Area is more level going N-S, with an existing swale to the north. Another rise (long ledge) running to the north, wooded, and wooded to the East (why I don't want to go farther than 48ft E-W, plus it drops off more sharply past that), but clear to the West. Prevailing winds are from the south here in the summer, according to expert in HT design at workshop I took a month ago. So what's the best orientation and size? 1 (or eventually 2) 76ft long tunnels running N-S (I don't think that's really best, maybe 1 but easternmost one would get shaded and ventilation affected by western one and not best use of prevailing winds), 2 (or eventually more since there's room, but endwalls are more expensive) tunnels running E-W (but have to build up sidewalls to level them on east end, plant taller crops on east?, same problem with shading from southernmost tunnel(s), ventilation affected?)? Also looks like Farmtek's standard greenhouse film comes only in 24ft or 32ft wide rolls, so no burying edges with 24ft, lots of waste with 32ft if I try for 2ft tall sidewalls? Will 24ft wide work if I plan on rolling up sides anyway, and stack hay bales against the sides during colder months (again, just looking to extend the season a month or so in each direction)? IF we put the houses running N-S, we could make them shorter than 76ft and then move them since the area is more or less level in that direction. Don't know if that really matters since I'm not sure how many different types of crops I'd be growing, but if going N-S for another reason, I'd probably use Jay's design and make it/them movable for flexibility in the future....See Morecatherinet
12 years agosleeplessinftwayne
12 years agocatherinet
12 years agogardengimp
12 years agobasilbird
12 years agofrankielynnsie
12 years ago
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annedickinson