~ jan wrote:
On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:50:13 EDT, Chris Barnes wrote:

I have a fairly large pond (tear drop shapped - 150 yards x 75 yards)
which seems to be taken over by aquatic plants - mostly lily pads &
hydrilla.


What are some of the better ways of controlling the plants, without
bothering the fish, birds, and other wildlife that use the pond? I have
been told that most people use "Roundup", but that just doesn't sound
very safe to me....

I bet it is nice and clear.

Um, no. In my part of the state, there are NO ponds that are clear.
The soil has way too much clay that stays in suspension all year round.
Plus the pond gets too much runoff so there is a good layer of gooey mud
about 6"-12" thick (probably one reason why the plants grow so well...).


Now if we lived 100 miles west, in the Texas hill country, the bottom of
the ponds would be solid rock. THOSE ponds can be clear (people
actually dive at Lake Travis outside of Austin, down to about 30').

I know there are water plant pesticides (not roundup) but if they didn't
out right kill the plants, they should would make them look sickly and
parts would die and decompose.... and there goes the clear water. Perhaps
you could hire some kids to hand harvest, clearing some areas? ~ jan

Well... it would be long, back breaking work. I would know because I
walked across part of the pond this past weekend. Just walking through
the mud & weed mixture was pretty exhausting. Just fyi - I took a 8'
"cattle panel" (heavy gauge wire fence) and used my tractor to drag it
across the pond. It helped clear out some of the hydrilla, but 30
minutes later you couldn't even tell the path I used through the
lilypads (they simply "re-engulfed" the path).

I suspect it would take a crew of 30 high-school/college aged kids a
good 10-12 hours to make a noticable dent. That's what - 300+
man-hours? Not sure I could afford that, even paying "kid wages"....


Oh, and since it was 100 yesterday, the water isn't exactly "cool". :-O

Which also answer's Reel's comment (I garden myself, but the compost
material wouldn't be worth the effort).

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Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
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