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Frog-friendly backyard

Maintenance

Once a pond becomes a balanced unit, annual care and maintenance should be minimal. If there is excess nutrient release from organic matter or fertilizer your pond water may lose clarity and become foul. In this case you should remove the sources when known. Excess organic matter such as fallen leaves, needles and dead stalks should be removed in the spring and/or fall to prolong the period between major cleanings. A good way to keep falling leaves out of your pond in the fall is to place a protective screen over it. The screen should be made up of fine nylon so that it will not trap amphibians or fish. Fertilizer use should be avoided on backyards with ponds, and compost heaps should be placed at a distance from the pond.

Liner repairs

Existing concrete ponds that have cracked during the winter can be repaired by placing a sheet of flexible pond liner over the dried and cleaned concrete surface. A number of nurseries carry a liquid E.P.D.M. liner which is an epoxy. Liquid E.P.D.M. is painted onto a clean pond surface and hardens to take the exact shape of the pond.

A patching kit should be available for each type of flexible pond liner, but check with local nurseries before you make a liner purchase.

Control of algae

All ponds will have algae and this is a natural component of all wetlands. Algae, attached to rocks and the sides of your pond, provide most of your pond's oxygen and are the most important food source for tadpoles. However, green water is caused by microscopic algae living in the water column. You

cannot create a "balanced" wetland in a few days. Your pond will require time to reach its own internal balance and for nutrients, which may create algae, to be used up by all the plants. Do not use algicides as they are only a short term cure and can harm aquatic organisms. Oxygenating plants sub merged in your pond help to keep the nutrient cycle balanced. They compete with algae for nitrogen and other nutrients in the water, thus decreasing the amount of algae in your pond. Emergent or floating leafed plants also take up nutrients and reduce light penetration into your pond and to the algae. The extra cover provided by the floating leafed plants may reduce evaporation and the temperature of your pond.

Algal blooms often occur in the spring due to nutrient runoff and the lack of shading from plants. As previously mentioned you can try and prevent nutrients from entering the pond. Otherwise you will have to wait until plant growth shades the pond, retarding algal growth, or until nutrients are used up by the rooted plants. During this time you can remove the excess algae by lifting it out with a rake or by placing a stick in the middle of the algae mass and twirling it unto the stick. Before placing the excess algae into your compost pile, make sure there are no amphibian eggs or tadpoles caught in it! The algae can be flushed in a bucket of water first to prevent this from occurring. Removing excess organic material from the bottom of the pond at the end of the growing season may help to reduce the amount of nutrients available for algal growth the next spring. Make sure at this time, that you are not throwing out the green frog tadpoles.

In the fall all tropical plants must be moved indoors for the winter. If your pond is at least two metres deep, then you can move hardy potted plants into deeper parts of the pond so that their roots are below the frost line.

Mosquitoes

Bt are Bacillus bacteria that are added to your pond and ingested by soft bodied invertebrates. The bacteria interfere with digestion and the insect larva dies. Although specific to invertebrates like mosquitos, some have expressed concern over the impact of BT on beneficial aquatic insects (such as dragonfly and caddisfly larvae), and even amphibian tadpoles.

Female mosquitos tend to avoid shaded or flowing water preferring stagnant backwaters. Bacillus bacteria can be used if control is necessary, but realize that mosquitoes are just as likely to be produced in pop cans, old tires, hollow stumps and buckets. In Ontario it is probably better to continue to live with the problem than to try to control it. Certainly encourage birds and bats to roost in your garden and accept a natural balance of predator and prey.



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