Benefits of Watering Your Garden with Pond Water

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium get depleted from soil and need to be added back for optimal plant growth. For that reason they are the most common nutrients in fertilizers. Pond water is full of nitrogen in the form of nitrates, and phosphorous in the form of phosphates which is why your garden will love you for using pond water to water them. 

Not only is it great for your plants to water with pond water but your pond will be healthier and cleaner if you are regularly removing the "waste" water and adding back clean water. Some ponds with a lot of plants may not build up nitrates or phosphates because the plants in the pond are already removing them. A quick water test will tell you whether the nitrates are building and need to be removed. There is no other way to remove nitrates from a pond other than water changes and plants so using pond water in the garden solves two problems in one action. 

The other upside to choosing to water your garden with pond water is that it is an eco friendly and efficient way to enjoy two hobbies that use water without being wasteful.

Getting Calcium From Foods

If any of you are like me you know how important it is to get your daily calcium requirements but can't take a supplement without getting an upset stomach. Don't worry you can still fight against osteoporosis and other conditions associated with calcium deficiency by eating the right foods. Here are some high calcium foods. (Information found at the NIH website listed below)

Top 5 Foods:

1. Yogurt plain low fat 8 oz. 450 mg
2. Mozzarella 1.5 oz. 333 mg 
3. Sardines with bones 3 oz. 325 mg
4. Yogurt fruit low fat 8 oz. 313-384 mg
5. Cheddar cheese 1.5 oz. 307 mg

Top 5 Vegan Foods:

1. Soy milk fortified 8 oz 299 mg
2. Orange juice fortified 6 oz. 261 mg
3. Tofu firm made with calcium sulfate 1/2 cup 253 mg
4. Tofu soft made with calcium sulfate 1/2 cup 138 mg
5. Cereals fortified 1 cup 100-1,000 mg

Top 5 vegetables:

1. Turnip greens fresh boiled 1/2 cup 99 mg
2. Kale 1 cup raw 100 mg cooked 94 mg
3. Chinese cabbage raw 1 cup 74 mg
4. Corn tortilla one 6" diameter 46 mg
5. Broccoli raw 1/2 cup 21 mg

The average adult needs 1,000 mg of calcium a day according to the National Institute of Health.
A longer list of foods can be found at the national institute of health website Here

Pros and Cons of Pressure Washing a Pond

Everyone loves that brand new look that pressure washing can give an old pond. But nobody wants to wake up to floating fish, which can be a side affect of this approach to pond cleaning. Here are few pros and cons to pressure washing.

Pros:

• Looks nice
• Its fast

Cons:

• Loss of healthy bio bed in rocks
• Ammonia spike causing loss of fish
• Excessive stress on fish
• moving fish can cause abrasions leading to infections
• poorly ventilated holding containers can lead to suffocation
• small holding containers can over heat in the summer causing heat stroke 
• holding containers tend to be poorly filtered and over crowded which can cause ammonia burn leading to death 
• Stress of any kind can lead to weakened immune system and vulnerability to parasites and infections (bacterial and fungal)

The safest approach to pond maintenance is keeping the water quality low in nitrates and having a healthy bio bed. The low nitrates will prevent algae growth. Having water plants like lilies will help keep nitrates low along with water changes. There are a few cold water algae eaters too that will help keep algae on rocks short and not overgrown.