Spring is approaching; make sure your pond is ready.

I hope you had a nice winter; ours was much milder than normal. I must say it is nice to start to see longer days and the approach of Spring is quite welcome.

The Pond Report deals with all every pond owner on an individual basis, for example, here is a recent email:

Dear Joseph,

My typical strategy for a 2 acre pond would be to start seeding the pond with natural beneficial bacteria as soon as the ice was gone and the aerators had started operating. Also start immediately with a dye treatment to start limiting the sunlight that penetrates to the pond bottom.

Then, when any algae blooms do occur as a result of nutrient load from rainstorms or extreme warm weather, do spot-treatments with a non-chemical algaecide which involves broadcasting the granules directly on to any algae mats that form around the edge of the pond.

There are some herbicides that could be used but I always try to avoid any chemical product unless absolutely necessary.Sor for a treatment program I would suggest:

1. Dry natural bacteria with barley straw sold in 25 pound pails of 50 x 1/2lb soluble pouches. Total for season between 50 and 100 pounds.
10lbs of dry natural bacteria in April. Then follow up with 2 pounds per week.Increase to 3-4 pounds per week during extreme hot weather if required.

2. Pond/lake dye. Total for season betwwen 9 and 12 quarts. Add 3 quarts to start and follow up with 2 quarts every month.

3. Granular algaecide. Between 50 and 100 pounds over season.This is applied as a spot treatment when required. The amount required depends on a variety of factors, it comes in 50lb bags as it is applied liberally when needed.

Ideally the goal is to try and reduce any product needs to the bare minimum over time. These dosages should be considered as a baseline that can be reduced yearly as the pond reaches a proper balance. Every year can have "surprises" and there are many other products with chemicals that can quickly improve any issues that arise. The recommendations I am giving are based on the most environmentally friendly products that can be added as they do not harm fish, frogs, birds, plants people or pets.

I hope this helps.

Jay Mianda
The Pond Report

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