Hi everyone. I am considering using various containers...whatever I can get my hands on and look good...to use for water gardens because most of the plants I grow love water, and this would actually be easier for me than having most of them in the ground. What is everyone else using....I want it as simple as possible...and do you use the mosquito dunks, and do they work well, or is there something else I can add to the water to keep the mosquitos from laying their eggs in the water? How often do you need to add the dunks? Sorry for all of the questions, but I've never had a water garden before, and I want to make sure I research it enough before doing it so I don't waste my time and money. Any help and info anyone could share with me would be greatly appreciated. Happy gardening!!!
Water garden containers?
I use mosquito dunks in my lotus bogs and they do work. I add more about once a month. You can add mosquitofish (gambusia) instead and they will take care of mosquito larva. Goldfish would be good too, as long as the water didn't get too hot.
I put 2 goldfish in my first barrel pond, and they do a great job at eating mosquito larvae and eggs from other unwanted creatures that like to spawn in my pond (i.e. Cuban treefrogs). However, the goldfish got big (6") and make a lot of waste, so I had to add a fountain and a filter to keep the water aerated and clean. The goldfish have also eaten most of the different kinds of plants I have tried in there.
This year I added 2 more container ponds, to which I added rosy red minnows. I found them cheap at Petco. They won't get very big, and also eat the mosquito larvae. So far, they are doing just fine without any extra filtration or aeration, and they don't seem to mind the warm water here in Orlando. I think they're much lower maintenance than goldfish!
Hi branka and tbkelley...this is the first opportunity I've had to answer since I put this post on here.
Been very busy with work. That's good to know that the mosquito dunks work, and I am going to look for some of those other fish you recommended. I like the idea of the Rosy Minnows. I need low maintenace, and they sound like the fish for me. They stay small, and doesn't seem like they would make so much waste. I hope I can get to a couple of small ones soon because my I will be very busy starting next week, and will not have time to fiddle with anything for a long time. I'm going to start with my Aroids in the water, and will add more pond plants later, because it'll be a lot easier to keep water in a container than try and keep everything watered when it's in the ground, and hubby is not a gardener, so w/o me giving the TLC, they'll die....LOL. Thanks for the advice, and I'll definitely look into the Rosy Minnows and Gambusia fish. How large do the Gambusia fish get? About the same as a Goldfish? Just curious. Have a wonderful day!
I haven't counted recently but we have probably 5 dozen WC Gardens.
It's probably the easiest and , to me anyway, most rewarding type of container gardening we do.
VERY little set-up, cost, maintenance w/ a quick reward.
I use anything that will hold water for the vessel.
We have a half dozen 5 gallon S/S Iced Tea dispensers w/ various Aroids and WP's in them.
Giant mixing bowls, canning pots, tea pots, stock pots, full barrels, 1/2 barrels, etc., even my Grandmothers old pressure cooker are all pulled into the mix.
A good place to find used vessels is a Thrift Store..... Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.
They go very cheaply and there's usually a goodly amount to choose from.
Also Farm Stores for VERY sturdy buckets, troughs and such.
We use Horse Feed Buckets in our full barrels (put a cinder block on end in the bottom and set the Bucket on top) and bought a damaged 200 gallon Rubbermaid watering trough for 50 bucks.
For mosquito control we use feeder goldfish (buck a dozen), mosquito-fish and dunks.
The Gam's will only get about 1" long tops,
think Guppies w/o the fancy tail and paint job.
If you have access to electric and can afford them definitely look into small pumps. The little ones are just fine for WGC's and should be coming on Fall close-out sale pretty soon.
They're not required but that running water sound........
Here's a shot from Spring of one of our 1/2 barrels.
The water is pouring from a S/S vase we picked up for 25 cents at a garage sale. The pump 5 bucks at a close-out at HD.
The small containers (and not so small) can be brought easily into the home, come Winter, for year round enjoyment.
We keep full sized 7' papyrus in buckets under lights in the living room!
Ric
Wow! Thanks for all the tips. I want to use a very large planting container, you know the size a large tree would come in. I was wondering if I had to line it with something, or how would I seal-up the holes to keep the water in? I like how creative you are. You have some great ideas. I think some neighbors, not too far up the road, are getting rid of a bathroom sink, and I was going to pick it up, close the drain and apply some caulk to it, dig a shallow hole in the ground, and fill it with water for one of my gardens. I think you are right when you say this sort of gardening is probably one of the easiest, and could very well be one of the most enjoyable, because the plants would almost always seem to be fresh and keep growing. How do you feed your Aroids? Are all of yours in pots, just sitting in the water, or are they "loose" in the water? I have some Black Magic growing in water right now that I dug-up from a friend a few months ago, and they're doing better than the ones in the ground. I know you can grow them in ponds, so I figured they would be happy growing just like this, and they seem to be doing well. We finally received some rain over the weekend, thank God, and it helped saved many of my plants. I'm going to start seriously looking for my containers for some water gardens because I am eager to get them going. I would love to make some of them with a fountain in them because the sound of running water is so soothing and relaxing, esp. after a long day at work. Thanks for all the input. I'd love to see more pics, if you'd have some, and hear anything else you might like to share about your experiences with water gardening.
grayse2 I have heard of people using old plastic swimming pools (dig and put in ground) to plant bog plants in. I use the cheap plastic buckets with handles from the Dollar store for my small pond plants. I just fill with cheap kitty litter for soil, push in a couple of pond tabs for fertilizer and plant my water lillies, etc in that. These are easy to lower into the water and get in and out for cleaning. Hope this helps a little. Some of the ideas you've already gotten are great. Jenny
Hi Jenny....where do I find these "pond tabs"? Are they like food spikes? I didn't know you could use kitty litter? Who woulda thunk? I never even thought of the those containers at the Dollar store. What a great idea! Looks like I need to do some shopping :o). I'm eager to get one going, and will try to do that this week, if I can find the time do so. Water gardening seems to be the best way to go, for right now, anyways. Thanks for the tips!
The very cheap kitty litter with no perfumes (not the clumping kind) will work without clouding up your water. Pond tabs are like plant spikes made especially for pond plants. (can buy at home depot or Lowes in the water plant area or order online) If you have lots of fish you may not need them, but I always add a couple poked way down in the bucket when I first plant. When you get the buckets try to get the blue or green colored ones since they don't look so obvious. Mine are submerged about 3 feet down and with the plant leaves you really can't see them but the good part is the handle for lifting up and out when you are cleaning the pond or checking the plants. I even have my pickerel rush in a tall pickle (5 gal) bucket that is only about 6 inches below the water. I just put some small river rocks on top of the kitty litter to keep the fish from disturbing it. The main thing is to get the very cheapest kitty litter that is just clay with no perfumes or additives. Ponding can be so expensive so we have to do what makes it easy for us. Glad you can use the suggestions. Jenny
While potting up a few plants this morning, I came across my first container that is soon to become a water pond. I use to make gift baskets, and last year, I took one of those gray, metal, oblong pans, and they have handles....kind like a mini tub....and put a men's basket together with "guy things" for watching football, that sort of thing, and one of them did not have a hole in it, so this is going to be my first one. It's pretty small, but it's a place to start. In one way, it's hard to start thinking along different lines as far as this type of gardening, when I've only done soil gardening for so long, but I'll get the hang of it, and when my first one is done, I'll take a pic of it so you can see what I've done, okay. I think it'll be fun. Thanks for the info, if helps a lot. Grayse
Jenny...well, I made my first water garden today, and I think it's kinda lame, but it'll help save some of my plants, anyways. I'll get better the more I do it. I'll take a pic of it, once I download some other pics I have on my camera, and post it here so you can see it. It was fun putting it together, now I just need more containers, and preferrably a lot larger ones, too. My plants are pretty good sized already, and the smaller containers do not work as well, but good enough for right now. My adopted-Dad might be able to get me a fiberglass satellite dish that I can use to make a water garden out of.
Now THAT would be totally awesome, and I know EXACTLY where I would put it, too! Right in my front yard, between the Sycamore and Wild Cherry tree, and it would make a nice picture for everyone driving by, too. I have some Crinums in a bucket of water, and they are getting ready to bloom. I'll take pics once they bloom so you can see what they look like. Growing plants in water is the way to go, that is for sure. I just have to use something to keep the mosquito larvae at bay because of the Wes Nile Virus that's out there.
grayse can't believe you have criniums blooming in water. get pics soon jenny
Hey Jenny...here is a pic of the Crinum's I was telling you about....you know something, though, these might actually be a Swamp Lily, too. I got it from a good friend of mine in town, and now that I think about it, I don't remember what the name of it is and I could be wrong about this....judge for yourself, and let me know your thoughts, okay
Jenny...I forgot to tell you: you can't tell in this picture because of the camera, but this flower has these beautiful dark, burgandy tendrils or stamens, maybe, that protrude from the middle of the flower. You know, the more I look at this, this has got to be a Swamp Lily. Can't be a Crinum, although I do have Crinum's, too.
Well, now I want some of that Swamp Lily! That is really neat. I have what I think is a crinium that has a bloom very similar to that but my leaves are huge and strap like (kind of like amaryllis leaves). It just finished blooming and was really gorgeous this year. I have it all around a huge oak tree. It took me about 4 years to get it all around the tree. Jenny
The funny thing about Swamp Lilies, Crinum's, and Hymenocallis', they can all have the same kind of leaves, but are all different. Hymenocallis' leaves, usually, are very long, up to 4', and droop onto the ground, but there is a variety that has more of the strap-like leaves like the Amaryllis. The swamp lily's leaves are very strap-like, but they will not droop over too much, or bend, they stay more straight.
I just love them. I have a different variety growing in the ground, and they bloomed and bloomed and bloomed for me this year like no one's business, and I just enjoy them so much. My Hymenocallis 'Ellen Bosenquet's' were just gorgeous this year. I know someone who has a neighbor who has, if my memory serves me correctly, about 500 of the Ellen B's growing in their yard!!! I would love to see that! What a sight that must be. I'm sure it stops traffic! The swamp lilies grow wild here, and it's cool to see them blooming while driving, esp. when we are riding our motorcycle.
Hi Henry and other posters, thanks for wealth of info. Henry, since you use just a bout anything for a water garden and I would like to do the same, I have a question. What do you do to keep the water clean...empty it every so often, I assume??????? I just came home from a goodwill store with a very big fish tank (round clear glass type) which came with a large baggie of turq. colored tank stones. can these be used in a water garden? How often do you have to empty water and clean the container? please recommend a few easy to care water plants for beginners and any other tips you may have. thanks so much. jeani4
jeani4,
That gravel will be fine but I personally prefer natural looking gravel.
Just my choice though.
I've seen spectacular results w/ colored gravel.
If you don't put any fish in the containers they can go all season w/ just topping up the water.
To keep mosquito's at bay you must use a Mosquito Dunk.
They can get pricey over a season.
Since I have so many containers I use Bacillus thuringiensis or BTI in a powder form.
Most Aquatic Plants are easy to grow.
Do you have a lot of sun?
Want flowers or just interesting foliage?
Will you want to over-winter indoors, outdoors or just dispose of them?
Ric
I have used various containers for water gardening but have had a hard time keeping fish alive in the really small ones. The first pictrure is a 4' x 8' pond made out of landscape timbers and a liner. Very easy to make. I dug a down about a foot and stacked the timbers about 15" high. Got a small pump and use a frog spitter.
This message was edited Feb 11, 2005 10:58 PM
Here is some the koi I had in it.
This is an old iron bathtub . It gets too hot for koi or goldfish but minnows would probably live it. I used mosquito dunks in it.
I love that bathtub.
During the late 60's I worked for a used plumbing place.
Would you believe we took dozens of those to the scrap yard.
You couldn't give them away.
Errrr..........lol
lol! Now they sell them unfinished on the Internet for 1000.00. We are such a disposable society I wonder what will be the antiques from our time. Someday I am going to remodel one of my bathrooms and put it in there. In the meantime figured the garden would be a good place to store. it.
Hi Henryr10, Hi Ric: Thanks for all of the info for a water garden. I took notes like crazy. I'd like small plants that flower and stay small and would also like something for height and interest. Just do not know what to look for so I really appreciate any suggestions you have. I guess you'd say I have some sun or filtered light on my deck. I would probably have to dispose of them one the summer is gone as I have no place to winter them over. Do you have any suggestions where I can buy reasonable beginner water plants. Also, are they planted in the kitty litter or do I leave them in the little containers they come in. Again, I thank you for your help. jeani4