I decided it was a good day to clean out two of our three berm veggie
filters. They had not been touched since a little over a year ago.

The first one is a 4 x 4 x 18" unit that thats 45 min to fill. The
water slowly enters at one corner to make a circular (think vortex)
flow. The water exits 270 degrees from the entrance at the top of the
filter. The water celery has totally filled the box.

The second comes after the first and is a 4 x 8 x 18" unit. The water
goes in one end and out the other end, 8 ft away. There is a slight
vortex action in this box as well.

I started with the long filter. After a season, it had about 3 inches
of muck and dead hyacinth in it. Pretty good, I thought. Hyacinth
roots did their thing.

Then I started on the smaller one, into which the water runs first.
The top was entirely covered by water celery, standing 15 inches above
the surface. When I began to pull the celery, The roots were covered
with very thick muck. As I pulled it out, it became clear that the
ENTIRE filter was filled with muck so thick that it was like gravy
rather than water. It was amazing. The first unit got almost all of
the muck from the pond!

My conclusion: thick plant roots really do their thing.

Jim

On Apr 27, 8:12 pm, Phyllis and Jim wrote:
I decided it was a good day to clean out two of our three berm veggie
filters. They had not been touched since a little over a year ago.
My conclusion: thick plant roots really do their thing.

Jim

Hi Jim,
Glad to hear that the water celery is doing it's thing for you. I
remember
when I sent you the sprigs of the plants - I do believe that you
thought
that's not much of a filter. Those plants multiply quite rapidly
don't they :-)

Do you have to thin out the plants? I thin mine severely every year,
of course,
my winter kill is more severe than yours.
Bonnie
NJ

On Apr 27, 8:12 pm, Phyllis and Jim wrote:
I decided it was a good day to clean out two of our three berm veggie
filters. They had not been touched since a little over a year ago.

The first one is a 4 x 4 x 18" unit that thats 45 min to fill. The
water slowly enters at one corner to make a circular (think vortex)
flow. The water exits 270 degrees from the entrance at the top of the
filter. The water celery has totally filled the box.

The second comes after the first and is a 4 x 8 x 18" unit. The water
goes in one end and out the other end, 8 ft away. There is a slight
vortex action in this box as well.

I started with the long filter. After a season, it had about 3 inches
of muck and dead hyacinth in it. Pretty good, I thought. Hyacinth
roots did their thing.

Then I started on the smaller one, into which the water runs first.
The top was entirely covered by water celery, standing 15 inches above
the surface. When I began to pull the celery, The roots were covered
with very thick muck. As I pulled it out, it became clear that the
ENTIRE filter was filled with muck so thick that it was like gravy
rather than water. It was amazing. The first unit got almost all of
the muck from the pond!

My conclusion: thick plant roots really do their thing.

Jim

Wow, and to think I was thinning mine before it had done it's job!
Silly Me. I now have it growing in the ground around the pond(it
'sneaked' out all by itself) but will be digging it up and washing
it's roots and putting it in the upper small pond to turn it into
filter media!!! Yay. Clear Pond, and that's an order!!!
Nan in DE

I think I liked them when they arrived and ran them with hyacinth. I
think you remarked that they would be sort of beat up from transit,
but would come back well. They certainly did!

I was hoping they would grow a lot! They have become a staple of our
system, along with the hyacinth.

You are right, down here they winter well. Frosted back, but not
fully.

Thanks again for the starter pieces.


Jim