John Rutz wrote:


Tony Brennan wrote:

Thanks for the tip - went to the website but couldn't log in ... they
need a
ZIP code from me so they can "direct me to my nearest store" ... don't
have
a ZIP code I'm afraid. Guess I'll try to contact my local Canadian
Tire or
Home Hardware sounds like something they would have. :~)
Thanks
"BenignVanilla" m
wrote in
message ...

"Tony Brennan" wrote in message
...

Thanks for that ... excuse my English ignorance ... but what is a weed
whacker? :-)


snip

Ack...How can I describe it...uh...here...

http://tinyurl.com/dypm

BV.





try weed eater I think thats the same in canadian english ;-)


How about a String Trimmer, heh.

--
Bonnie
NJ
http://home.earthlink.net/~maebe43/

"Tony Brennan" wrote in message
...
Thanks for the tip - went to the website but couldn't log in ... they need
a
ZIP code from me so they can "direct me to my nearest store" ... don't
have
a ZIP code I'm afraid. Guess I'll try to contact my local Canadian Tire
or
Home Hardware sounds like something they would have. :~)
snip

Sorry about that...If you'd like type in 21043, which will show you my local
store. A weed wacker is also called a weed eater, string trimmer, liner
trimmer, etc. They come in gas and electric varieties. Mine is a gas powered
unit. Picture a pole about 5 feet long. At one end is a gas engine and a
handle that you hold. A trigger is there to let you throttle the motor. A
drive draft runs down the handle to a spindle that spins at high speed.
Attached to the spindle are either a spool of nylon wire, or sometimes solid
blades. YOu can then walk upright trimming weeds, grass and small plants.

It's a lawn mower...on a steeeeek.

BV.

On Wed, 04 Jun 2003 12:58:31 GMT, "Tony Brennan"
wrote:

Grateful for any help on the problem of control cattails. I have a heap of
them round the edge of my pond (natural) but I'm worried about them taking
over. They seem to be spreading toward the middle.
Tony

Not sure where this information came from, could be in The Pond Doctor by
Helen Nash or from the days when she wrote articles for magazines. Anyway,
supposedly come fall/winter when the cattails have dried, if you cut them
below the waterline the water will enter the reed and drown/rot the roots.
~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

Won't work - I had cattails growing in my pond in a 5 gal pot in 27" of
water that I cut off just above the mud every fall and they came back like
crazy every spring - I had to pull the pot every other year and cut the
rootstock back to one stem - I would never grow them without a container if
possible - too invasive
Gale :~)


Not sure where this information came from, could be in The Pond Doctor by
Helen Nash or from the days when she wrote articles for magazines. Anyway,
supposedly come fall/winter when the cattails have dried, if you cut them
below the waterline the water will enter the reed and drown/rot the roots.
~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

Hi Tony:
They will take over, at least around all edges first, then extending more
and into deeper depths as bottom fills up with debris and mulm.
I put in 2 ponds (1/2 acre in size). 1st one back in 1982, 2nd one the
following year or so.
The one I kept after, located by my home, has zero cattails. I planted
marginals (water iris) around the edges and have not had to pull a cattail
out in years.
The back pond I deliberately let go completely "natural", and of course it
has loads of cattails.
The only way that will reliably work to rid yourself of cattails at this
point is to have your pond pumped down, and the sides redone (not a bad idea
if you have an older non-tended pond anyway!). Usually bulldozers are the
best equipment to redo the pond's sides.
When cleaning the sides , they steepen the banks and can easily remove
several feet in depth, which will take care of your cattails completely.
Have the removed dirt and cattail rhizomes dumped somewhere away from the
pond.
You will now have a slightly bigger, and much cleaner pond.
Then keep after the cattails when you see them. When young they are very
easy to pull out by hand. I usually wait until they are about 6 inches in
height, then the rhizomes come out easily, and completely intact.
If you plant marginals such as water irises, etc, along the edge of your
pond, they will crowd the banks, and yet behave themselves nicely, (not
spreading into deep water) and offer various colored blooms each spring as a
bonus..
I too would not use chemicals, and to be frank, I don't think they would
work to completely eliminate the cattails, unless you put in a very large
dose.
Cattails are hard to kill once established in clumps.
Happy ponding,
Greg


"Tony Brennan" wrote in message
...
Grateful for any help on the problem of control cattails. I have a heap of
them round the edge of my pond (natural) but I'm worried about them taking

over. They seem to be spreading toward the middle.
Tony

This works in water four feet and greater depths. It is iffy in
shallow water.

"Gale Pearce" wrote:

Won't work - I had cattails growing in my pond in a 5 gal pot in 27" of
water that I cut off just above the mud every fall and they came back like
crazy every spring - I had to pull the pot every other year and cut the
rootstock back to one stem - I would never grow them without a container if
possible - too invasive
Gale :~)


Not sure where this information came from, could be in The Pond Doctor by
Helen Nash or from the days when she wrote articles for magazines. Anyway,
supposedly come fall/winter when the cattails have dried, if you cut them
below the waterline the water will enter the reed and drown/rot the roots.
~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

That's all cat tails do, fill ponds in, they are a one way trip.
Assuming its the invasive native typha latifolia, its a very
aggressive and destructive plant, long term.
Some say the most vicious herbicides can clear them off a pond (along
with everything else in the pond) Others say even that doesn't do it
completely

Outside of never allowing plants as invasive as that to start in the
first place, you could try wading in the pool and ripping every root
out one by one. That's about all you can do....

Regards, Andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html

"Tony Brennan" wrote in message ...
Grateful for any help on the problem of control cattails. I have a heap of
them round the edge of my pond (natural) but I'm worried about them taking
over. They seem to be spreading toward the middle.
Tony

That's all cat tails do, fill ponds in, they are a one way trip.
I have had cat tails in my pond and along it
for many years, with no problem at all. They are planted in large lotus pots,
so they can not escape. I check them often to make sure they don't jump the
pots, and so far so good after 4 or 5 years Jerri

http://www.fringeweb.com/Ponds/JerrisPond