Spring Cleaning your Water Garden


 

Seven important steps to get your water garden in ship shape for summer!
 

1. Remove any plant debris or rotting organic matter.
2. If there is an oily film or if the water is black or foul smelling, drain the pond completely.  Remove any silt or debris and wash down the sides – don’t use chemical cleaners, just clean water and rags.  When you’re finished, rinse down the sides, remove any excess water and refill your pond.
3. Check over your plants.  Compost any dead or dying ones and separate and re-pot those that need it.  Normal sterilized potting soil is fine to use with aquatic plants.  Fertilize with specially formulated blends. 
4. Check and service all pumps, fountains, lights and filters.  If you are considering adding a water feature or a filtration system, now is the best time to do it.
5. If fish are present, measure the pH of the water.  Fish can thrive over a relatively wide pH range, so if the reading is between 6.5 – 8.0 there shouldn’t be a problem.  If you keep fish, every second year drain and replace a quarter of the water.  Using a garden hose, add water slowly to avoid any abrupt temperature change.  This is also a good time to add pond conditioner to help ensure healthy fish and plants. 
6. After any heavy cleaning, wait a number of days before re-introducing fish.  While the fish are out, check them for disease or parasites – this is the best time to treat problems if any are found.
7. Don’t introduce non-hardy aquatic plants until late May in most parts of the country as they don’t perform well in either cool weather or cool water!