In article ,
Derek Broughton wrote:
You don't. I probably wouldn't do that in a little barrel either.
Bare-root planting is for ponds with healthy fish populations. The fish
produce the fertilizer, and the plants get it more easily if they're not
in soil.

State of the art 1904 thinking. Innes would agree with you. But we've
come a long way since then and proper plant nutrition needs much much more
tha fish waste. They will *grow* to be sure, but they will grow much much
better with proper food.

Oh, crap (literally).

Your opinion, while interesting, has been disproved. In the past fifteen
years we've figured out how to make those heavily planted crystal clear
tanks full of fast growing plants like only the dutch used to do. IN
a nutshell what was missing was the things NOT in fish poop. Innes also
contended "fish fertilize plants" and ferilization was "a noble but
foolish experiment". He was wrong, as we've learned, but he did write that
in the 1899-1904 timeframe when he wrote his pond and then aquarium book.

I had a not very heavily populated 5000 gallon pond.
My deep lilies would, every year, develop sufficient foliage to lift the
tubers a foot or two off the bottom of the pond. We're talking about 18"
or longer tubers, with 100sq.ft. of pads, and dozens of blooms. If I could
have made them grow better with "food" I'd have to have been nuts to do it!

Ok, so you think you're nuts, but the point still stands. With proper
feeding they'll do *better*.

Do you actually have a pond Richard? I _know_ you're an aquarium expert,
but I seriously doubt your pond experience. Compost is NOT a good idea for
a planted _fish_ pond.

I wrote about my pond in some back issue of TFH a few years back. I Was thinking
of doing a few more which is why I'm here.

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