Kitty Litter

I will, but I don't believe I have ever seen a "red" bag of litter. Perhaps we don't get it here at my local store. But I will keep checking for it. Thanks again for the photo, Jeri!

Hi Becky,

Just spoke with the manager of your Wal Mart, the one
on Highway One (have a great phone plan) and she said the
Special Kitty brand kitty litter on a pallet in the store right now.

Now while I would assume it should
be on the pet supplies aisle, it may be close by or even in another
area, but since two people got on the phone and confirmed it
was indeed in the store, you might ask someone exactly where
the pallet is. Sounds like our store. They often have things that belong
on the other side of the store in the freezer aisle. LOL

Hope this helps,
KM

Karen - WOW! YOU are awesome! Goodness, I can't believe you actually called to find this out for me! I shall be making a trip today to get a bag! Thank you, thank you!!!

You are most welcome. :-)

Ain't DGer's great!

I will try this kitty litter tonite. OK maybe not tonite, the skies just opened up and it doesn't look like a lot of outdoor stuff is gonna go on tonite.

The aquatic planting media is expensive!!!! It will really be worth a try as far as price goes. I use black landscape fabric in the bottom & sides of my pots to help hold the aquatic media in the pots. I also use the black netting stuff for ponds/plants over the tops with zip ties to keep the fish out. It takes a little longer to repot but I don't have a big mess in the pond.

My DH had a fish gig that he wasn't using, it's about 12'-16' long and I found that is a great way to get pots in and out of the pond by myself, I don't have to get in every time, I can hook the strings and pull them out from the outside. I use really heavy(108# test) braided fishing line to tie (corner to corner) to the pots and then use the gig to raise and lower them. You can see the fishing line until it gets algae on it but I figure it will be worth it, I hate having to wait until someone has time to babysit me while I am in the pond to trim leaves and all that stuff.

We use this kitty litter at the vet clinic I work at and yes if the cats pee ALOT you get some mush, but usually it stays intact, but we change the pans daily and sometimes 2 times daily.

On the osmocoat y'all, you can take some cheap knee-hi pantyhose, cut them half and you have 4 mini baggies (tie off the open ends) from one pair to put your osmocoat in. You can do up a bunch and just have them handy.

LOL, never attempt to use the cheap kitty litter for what it is intended for! What a mess if kitties use it! Thankfully, the wisdom of the DG-ers has found a fantastic use for a useless product. I've been using it for years for my aquatic plants, and they're still healthy and happy.
:)

Is the kitty litter okay to use with a water Lotus?

I need to repot mine because the pot it is in is leaking somewhere and the new pot is much bigger (which is probably better for this plant).

Lotus on March 29, 2007 freshly repotted in 24' container in WM kitty litter. It is just breaking dormancy

Same lotus on June 30, 2007. Looks OK to me.

Oh my stars! I've gotta get some Lotus! Snapple, yours it just gorgeous!

Beautiful!

Thanks, Snapple45! Yours is beautiful. What cultivar is it? And are you doing anything to get it to bloom? Fertilizer? Here is mine in a pot far too small. It is a Momo Botan being grown from a small tuber.

Thank you all! The cultivar is 'Mrs. Perry D. Slocum'. I put one season long Laguna fertilizer stake in the tub. I found out that Laguna fertilizer stakes are just Osmocote packed in a perforated tube. So, I guess, you could just make up some bundles of Osmocote and tuck them into the planting medium. The downside is the tub size and getting it in and out of the pond for repotting. I have to get into the pond and push it up the side to my husband who grabs it all the while trying not to tip out the kitty litter. Not my favorite thing to do in March. Brrrrrrr! Next spring I am going for the 36 inch tub. DH thinks I should try burying a stock tank in the ground next to the pond and grow the Lotus in there. Incidentally the lotus tuber roots have escaped over the sides of this tub and are running around looking for a foothold! It's a rubber bottomed pond with a rock here and there. It won't be taking root anywhere, but it illustrates how invasive Lotus can be in the right situation.

Awesome!

I'm trying a new pot for the pond plants this year, specifically because of the weight. It's called an accelerator, and they use it in tree nurseries so that the roots don't gird the pots. The sides are perforated, so some kitty litter does spill out, but so does the water when we pick up the pots. And the roots of the plants will eventually grow out the sides of the pots. I hope it works, because my husband and son refuse to haul the big tubs of tropical plants out of the pond anymore - and I can't do it. I'm going to put a plastic kiddie pool or cattle trough in the greenhouse to hold the lilies (that I got from the TWL co-op) over the winter.

Diane - I've been looking at kiddy pools lately, too. Inexpensive, all sizes, and perfect depths for Lotus and bog plants. Even water lilies would do well in them! What a perfect place to overwinter them in a greenhouse. I wish I had room for a greenhouse. But luckily, it doesn't get that cold here in zone 9b/10a! But I still am thinking about converting an area of my yard for a kiddy pool to add more Lotus. Maybe that's what I'll do next year if we do another coop with TWL and include Lotus plants! :-)

Moodene and I have already discussed the co-op for next year. We plan to do it early enough to include the lotus.

That's great! I hope I see it and get in on it! I don't frequent the coop forum that much. I just saw a reference to this past coop on the Water Gardening forum. That's how I found out about it! You both did an outstanding job with that coop and I am very happy with my purchases from TWL! (I wish someone had to time to notify me when you do the next one, in case I don't hear about it!)

If I remember, I will!

Oh thanks! That would be so nice of you! :-)

If that 'accelerator" pot doesn't disintegrate from constant immersion it sounds like an answered prayer. Keep us posted, please.

It's plastic, with just the sides perforated. The plastic should hold up. Nursery Supplies, Inc. makes them

Oh wow! Gotta find those pots! I'm wondering if there is any reason why I couldn't just put a couple of perforations in the tub I have? It would make it a whole lot easier to handle. I'm thinking about getting in the pond with a very sharp knife and giving it a try. On second thought that sounds more like an emergency room trip waiting to happen. As it is I'm a bit of a frequent flyer.

Here's the website:
http://www.nurserysupplies.com/products/accelerator/accelerator.php
I buy them through Griffins Greenhouse Supply, but they may sell direct. I bought the #10 and the #15. The downside is that they don't have a big selection in sizes, but the #15 took 25lbs of kitty litter, with room left over.

Many thanks dbsmith2. - I'm hot on the trail. I'm going to ask a big grower here locally, with whom I have a business relationship for municipal tree planting, if they might get them for me. These are absolutely ideal for heavy water plants. Goodness I luv DG. - And DG'rs.

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