"Elaine T" wrote in message
. ..
San Diego Joe wrote:
"CanadianCowboy" wrote:


Hello all,

since this is my first time introducing live plants to the pond,
I wanted to know what can be used instead of soil for plants to grow in.
I believe the soil will muck up the clarity of the pond.
I was given some plants that love to grow in water but need some kind of
soil or media to grow in.

Any suggestions ?


I use plain old cat litter. It's very cheap and doesn't float away. Just be
sure you get stuff that is just the clay, ie: not deodorizers.

Where do you find it? I'm in San Diego too and have yet to find cat litter
without deodorizers or antibacterials.

TIA!

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

Pure, unadulterated cat litter is simply betonite. You can buy bentonite at any
drilling supply or pump equiptment dealer. In your case, you should have a
local, free supply of it, because bentonite occurs in the Otay Bentonite
Deposit, in San Diego County. Now all you have to do is find out where it crops
out in your area, get permission from the land owner, and have a bucket and
shovel handy. The easiest way to find bentonite in your area would be to
contact the U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Survey, your county extension, and ask
for a free copy of the parts 1 and 2 (whichever you part of the county in which
you live) of the county soil survey, and ask them to help you locate
bentonite-rich soils on the map shown in the survey). Once you've done this,
you can do a little drving to find out where the best location is to collect
however much you need.