BigStewMan Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Dtel, could you please post some pictures of your pond and your Koi? Thanks in advanceyeah, let's see them cajun koi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted July 20, 2011 Author Share Posted July 20, 2011 Well done and top notch. Looks great. Come build me one...or just write the check, either will do. Thanks Buddy, although I am a little tapped out at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 20, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 20, 2011 Dtel, could you please post some pictures of your pond and your Koi? Thanks in advance I will take some pic's but it's not kept up, were going to redo the whole front garden this fall and take out the pond. I already removed the Koi and put them in the big pond and left just some waterlilies, without the Koi duckweed covered the pond. The only reason I left the waterlilies is because the ponds where there going is not ready yet and I don't feel like redoing the front until it get a little cooler in the fall. I am feeling old and have definitely slowed down. [] We put 10 ponds 20' x 30' out in the yard, there mud bottom, you put about a foot of sand in them and plant the waterlilies to multiply them for local sales, feed stores and aquatic retailers is where we sold most of them. A different color in each pond so in the spring before they bloom we can still know what's in each pond. The sand is so they can be planted, fertilized and removed easier. We only have 4 of the ponds ready to be planted so far, each pond takes 48 yds of sand and 100lbs of lime to start. Last summer I planted 3 of the ponds and had an unexpected problem, crawfish, they ate everything in the ponds, we don't live in the swamp and have not seen any here before then. I think I got rid of them ? The reason were taking out the front pond is I am the only one willing to get in it when plants need to be fertilized or anything need to be done in the pond. Everyone else is scared of snakes and since there was one in the pond at one time in the past I am the only person willing, snakes don't bother me unless there poisonous, then I am a little more careful. We thought we would make the garden different without the pond, maby a Japanese style garden, but no pond, maby a small one to feed a little stream to another little pond but that would be about it. I thought Japanese because we love Japanese maples and have collected about 30, half of them are in pots about 4' wide and should be planted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 This time of year its nice to have a small plot of water to jump into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 20, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 20, 2011 Told you it's ugly, nothings been done to the pond except remove the Koi in a couple of years, no fish duckweed takes over. Never realized I didn't have any pic's of the pond, I just took this one to give some idea. really can't wait to redo it, I want to put some kind of structure for some shade and benches out there, really can't tell until a bunch of plants are removed, some of the garden to the right will stay and fixed up a little. The bigger Japanese Maples will also not be moved like that big green one in the rear of this pic, it's about 15' tall and probably that wide. It's a mess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 20, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 20, 2011 On the side of that green Maple is a little pond about 8'-10' wide that had a short little waterfall into the bigger pond. From there a pump would move the water to a wishing well that had a bio filter and a waterfall out the front into the top smaller pond. There is a arched bridge across the smaller upper pond, I was standing there when I took this pic. This is some red night blooming waterlilies I was talking about earlier, I let them take over because I'm just using the ponds to hold the Lillie's until the other ponds are ready. That big clump of junk on the left side of the pond is where the wishing well is, [:$] we screwed up and planted those tiny climbing roses around it and it took over, you can't see anything but plant now and it's probably 12' tall. Them little suckers have so many thorns you can't hardly put two fingers on a branch without geting stuck. I going to take that out with the front end loader on the tractor ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 21, 2011 This is part of one of the mud/sand bottom ponds I just planted a few days ago, got alot more to go, only did a few of the ones I need to move. I needed to find a place to stick all the plants we had in the greenhouse so I can take it down, tired of looking at it and we don't cover it in the winter anymore anyway. this is about one third of a pond, 9 more out in the yard waiting on my lazy butt. [:|] There kind of in rows, where it looks empty there are little ones planted. Babies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 21, 2011 The koi we kept were more all the different colors you can get, more than special markings so there babies could have any color or combination. These are about 12''-18'' and about as big as they would have grown in that little pond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 21, 2011 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 21, 2011 One in the big pond, there alot harder to see back there because I don't feed them regularly, this one is about 2 -2.5 feet long, they love to eat algae, or cat or dog food they don't really care. "Dumb as a box or rocks " Like JB says, but you can train them to eat out your hands pretty quickly. Kind of hard to get them that close in the bigger pond. This is where they moved, If I feed the more ofter they would come pretty close. My Grandson snagged one over 2 feet buy accident on his spider man fishing pole about a year ago, he was 10, it took him half an hour to get it to the bank so I could unhook it and let go, both the Koi and him were tired, it lived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 21, 2011 Sorry, this is where they moved. Since the Koi moved in most of all that grass and water Hyacinth on the left are gone. I wish we had big rocks in the yard like on Pluto where you live. [H] I do go swimming in there sometimes and have been seen floating on a raft paddling to land to replace an empty bottle with a new cold bottle. I know that's redneck but Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 21, 2011 Sorry JB didn't mean to take over, a pic is easier than trying to explain even at one pic per post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsaint Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 That's really nice work there, All I would do is put a nice dome home in there somewhere. I have been pining for a Monolithic dome and a Koi pod for some time now, off the grid would be even better. Of course now that I'm dreaming add me a 25year atomic battery really long private fiber optic link to the road and a helicopter too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 You guys have some Great looking landscape. The size of the ponds, the look of nature. I don't think I'll show these to SHMBO as I'm afraid she would want to take out 2 year old project and redo everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 You guys have some Great looking landscape. The size of the ponds, the look of nature. I don't think I'll show these to SHMBO as I'm afraid she would want to take out 2 year old project and redo everything. I'm guessing SHMBO means "She Who Must Be Obeyed." If I'm incorrect, what does it mean? JB- You're too quick. You quoted my comment about cranes before I had a chance to edit and correct the spelling. My only defense for the misspelling is my incorrect recollection that the bird is spelled differently from the construction equipment. I confused it with Crain Communication, a local business. I know people who've resorted to putting screens over their ponds to foil the birds. That's problematic for you and impossible for dtel. What's the season for herons on Pluto? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Sorry, this is where they moved. Since the Koi moved in most of all that grass and water Hyacinth on the left are gone. I wish we had big rocks in the yard like on Pluto where you live. I do go swimming in there sometimes and have been seen floating on a raft paddling to land to replace an empty bottle with a new cold bottle. I know that's redneck but Outstanding photo's dtel... thanks for posting.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Sorry JB didn't mean to take over, a pic is easier than trying to explain even at one pic per post. not at all, I appreciate your pictures and experiances. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 You guys have some Great looking landscape. The size of the ponds, the look of nature. I don't think I'll show these to SHMBO as I'm afraid she would want to take out 2 year old project and redo everything. I'm guessing SHMBO means "She Who Must Be Obeyed." If I'm incorrect, what does it mean? JB- You're too quick. You quoted my comment about cranes before I had a chance to edit and correct the spelling. My only defense for the misspelling is my incorrect recollection that the bird is spelled differently from the construction equipment. I confused it with Crain Communication, a local business. I know people who've resorted to putting screens over their ponds to foil the birds. That's problematic for you and impossible for dtel. What's the season for herons on Pluto? Sorry, I mispell words all the time. Well I believe they are in the local park now, which has a 535 acre man made lake called March Creek Lake. I was over there kayaking a few weeks ago and caught sight of an adult. We saw the imature bird last year late September/ early October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted July 21, 2011 Author Share Posted July 21, 2011 Dtel, Your Lillies are very nice. Mine still seems quite shy at this stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted July 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 21, 2011 Mine still seems quite shy at this stage. One thing also is they love heat, warm water and it's been in the mid 90's for a good while down here so they have been growing a little longer. From looking at those pads there not baby plants, they grow fast and the pads get bigger during the season as the plants grow, the leaves can get to about 18" across with enough fertilizer. There are two kinds of waterlilies, tropical and hardy, we only grow tropical because they do fine down here and go dormant in the winter but return in spring. I have seen snow in your yard so Pluto must be colder than us, so possibly your local store sells the hardy variety? The tropicals bloom much more, constantly, once growing you would seen other flowers growing to replace the current blooming flower. A hardy will make a flower and after it dies will start to make another so it blooms slower but also come in a true red color day bloomer which tropicals do not have, there only real red is a night bloomer. All of the variety's the flowers open and close for 3 days then the flower dies, here the day bloomers open about 8 am and close about dark, the night bloomers open about an hour before dark and close around 9 in the morning. Some people will tell you Koi eat waterlilies, the only leaves I have seen them eat are the old leaves that are decaying. They do look like they are eating the leaves but what they are really doing is eating the algae that grows under the bottom side of the leaf from the sun shining through the leaf. Your yard really looks great, I think that pond is the perfect addition for that yard, it fits like it was naturally there, can't beat that. [Y] And it's great to hear the water running also, relaxing, you will tend to sit out back and stare at the moving water and listen, people are just attracted to water for some reason? If you ever get tired of the way the water comes off the fall you can place a small rock or two on the flat part of that last fall, it disrupts the waterflow just enough to change the way it falls and sounds, I use to change it around every once in a while, for no reason really, just playing. At one time we spent so much time out there we put some of the low voltage lights, we used the cheap ones because we didn't want them bright at all, I had pointed a couple of the little spot lights on the waterfall from a good distance where the fall caught just a little light so you could see it at night. Looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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