WATER GARDEN CALENDAR

Please click on a relevant Month to Find the latest Tips.

Fishkeepers will all be getting itchy fingers, desperate to feed their beloved pets. The tough old goldfish can take anything you throw at them, but the Golden Orfe and especially the Koi Carp just cannot be fed until the temperature of the water is getting permanently above 7°C (45°F). Then between 7°C and 10°C(50°F) only feed low protein food or wheat germ. It is only above 10°C that things really get swinging underwater: oxygenators start seriously oxygenating; bacteria really get down to digesting organic matter and the fish metabolism really kicks into gear. The last thing the fish need in their delicate state, after several months in repose, is a shower of toxic inconsumable fish food from the pool surface that will sink to the bottom to add a work load to the already pressurized balance of the pool environment. Uneaten fish food is probably the biggest the pollutant that regularly gets into the average pool, so this month’s big tip is to arm yourself with a thermometer and a net. The thermometer will give you the go ahead on the right temperature to start feeding. Use a good quality floating fish food that is appropriate for the time of year and feed it in small amounts, only enough that the fish can eat in a minute or two. Any that is uneaten, net it off. For quality fish food call in at Blagdon Water Gardens to survey the huge selection for every requirement.

If you haven’t been inundated with frogspawn this may be a good opportunity to sort out major mechanical problems before the season starts in earnest.

Top tips for the Month

1.If you’ve been dragging out that blanket weed all month and hoiking out oxygenating weed along with it, it may be as well to replant a batch of it. Break of some clean pieces from some over grown stems and push them into baskets in bunches of 5, 25 bunches to a basket and place it on bricks about a foot below the surface. Once it is obviously growing, lower it to 2ft (600cm).
2.You can sort out those marginal plants if they need replanting. No real hurry but get it done before the middle of April. Just empty out the baskets, divide with a knife of spade and replant the portions with healthy growing tips in a good heavy garden loam. Wait a while for the lilies until they are in full growth and the heavier the loam the better for them. Top off with pea shingle. In new ponds they will need a good feed of a slow release pellet each.
3. Keep your eyes peeled for any fish diseases, sores, or things hanging off or on and treat accordingly. Because this is such a huge subject, that’s all I can say for the moment, things will be revealed as time rolls on.
4. Really there isn’t a huge amount for the water gardener to do as long as he or she can spot potential problems before they arise. So basically this just means a watchful eye over your precious creation.