Maintaining a Healthy Pond - Seasonal Tasks Autumn

This article explains the yearly tasks required to maintain a healthy water garden or fish pond. Continuing with :-

Autumn

You know its autumn when the air turns cold and the first frost occurs. The plants are looking a little tired and now is the time to cut them back. This is the time to remove dead and dying growth. Remove any seed heads unless you want the plants to seed. The plants in the pond with

leaves under the water should be cut well back and growth removed. Doing this will ensure less chance of decaying vegetation left in the pond that will effect water quality. The spent blooms and leaves of water lilies should also be removed. Ever green plants should only have their dying leaves removed. If you have weak plants that may not survive the frost remove them and stored in a frost free place. The pond must be cleared of all rotting vegetation to ensure that the water quality remains good. Autumn is a very special time of year for a pond keeper as good pond maintenance this time of year will set up your pond or water garden well for the oncoming year.

    The fish should now be fattened because of their feeding during the summer months but will still be fairly mobile especially on warmer days. If they continue to eat the food you give them then continue feeding, ensuring that they eat all of the food you leave them. If they don't them remove any excess food and start to feed them slightly less.

    If you stock any delicate specimens of fish they may need to be removed and stored in an indoor aquarium hopefully you will be aware of this when you purchased the fish. Now that the plants have been cut back there is significantly less shelter in the pond so to assist the fish to provide places to hide insert a series of plastic piping into the pond. This will enable the fish to remain secure from herons and cats.

    Finally cover pond side plants that are not hardy enough with straw. Fit or check any pond netting that you have. During Autumn the pond may freeze and seal off the water surface, preventing oxygen from reaching the unfrozen water. This stops the toxic gasses escaping, this is not critical over short periods as the temperature has already caused the fish to slow down and require less oxygen. The ice can cause damage when it expands. If the pond has sloping sides the ice will be forced upwards. If autumn is particularly cold then you can use a pond heater that will heat a tiny fraction of the surface area, enough to allow oxygen to reach the surface. Never break the ice with a heavy blow as this sends shockwaves through the water that can stun or kill the fish. The best method is hot water placed in a metal can that will gradually melt a small part of the surface. During exceptional cold spell its worth draining some water under the ice as this will act as a form of insulation and still keep some oxygen in touch with the water.

The next seasonal tasks due are in Winter

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