Easy Pond Algae Control The Ecologically Safe Way

Writen by Doug Green

Algae control in ponds is fairly straightforward. If we ignore the initial spring burst of green water that tells us the pond is coming alive, we make the first good step.

However if the green persists, it tells us there is an imbalance in the pond ecology. The solution to that is to fix the imbalance. While some pond keepers would have you chuck in some chemicals, the reality is these are merely band-aids and won't "solve" the problem, they'll only mask it. If you want to solve the problem consider the sources of the problem.

Many ponds have too many fish in them. At one inch of fish per one square foot of pond surface, you can either have three big ones at 10-inch length or 30 little ones at one-inch length. (note that 3 ten-inch fish will likely give you 100 one-inch fish every year) If you have a greatere fish population than this, understand two things are happening. The first is the pool ecology is being upset because of too high a level of fish excreted waste and high fish populations are likely eating the oxygenating plants that deal with this excretion waste material. The real solution is to lower the fish population. I note if you have fish and are feeding them, the other recommendation is to stop feeding or to drastically reduce your feeding. Excess food creates excess waste which in turn creates green pond water.

The second solution is to increase the oxygenating plant level. A rule of thumb for doing this is to add one bunch (10 stems or so) of a floating oxygenator plant such anacharis for every 3 square feet of pond surface. Reducing the fish population and adding the oxygenators will clean up the algae in few days. If you add oxygenators without reducing the fish population, the fish will likely eat the plants and the green pond water will not go away.

Understand there is not magic bullet here. You have to get that ecology in balance and the way to do that is to follow a few simple rules to control fish and plant populations. The two thumb rules above will solve most algae problems.

Doug Green, award winning garden author with 7 books published, answers gardening questions in his free newsletter at http://www.water-gardens-information.com

Waterfalls

Writen by Elizabeth Morgan

Waterfalls are water systems in which water falls from a height into another water body at the base. They may be natural or artificial. Waterfalls are very aesthetically appealing and regarded as tourist spots. Several huge natural waterfalls are responsible for running the entire economies of the settlements around them by attracting tourists. People also construct artificial waterfalls in their backyards or gardens, or even indoors, to avail of their scenic beauty and soothing sounds.

Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest natural waterfall of the world. It falls from a drop of 3,230 feet. The Canaima Natural Park is built around it and it mainly attracts tourists because of Angel Falls. Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River located on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border is about 1 mile in breadth as it falls, making it the widest waterfall in the world. Niagara Falls in America and Canada contains the highest quantity of any waterfall all over the world. All these waterfalls attract millions of people each year, thus building up tremendous foreign exchange for their countries.

In order to partake of some of this beauty, people have begun building waterfalls in their own gardens and backyards. Building artificial waterfalls is an age-old Japanese art, which has now taken many modern twists. Waterfalls are built of rock or stone. There are artificial foam and pumice stones available, which are used for building waterfall cascades. Even copper and slate are used for building waterfalls. Artificial waterfalls need a submersible pump unit and a base for receiving water. The base can be designed as a pond with fishes and aquatic life in it. Waterfalls automatically attract various birds and butterflies, thus adding to their visual appeal.

Indoor waterfalls are also becoming popular. These are made of a variety of materials such as copper, slate, stone and fiberglass, and they may be wall-mounted or tabletop. Water can be made to flow through thin transparent glass sheets and used as a partition for offices or bars. There are infinite possibilities to customize a waterfall.

Hotels build waterfalls around their pools or construct whole waterfall gardens. Different colored bulbs can be placed strategically in the waterfall to give the effect of colored water. Metal tubes and pipes are also effectively used to produce calming reverberating water sounds.

Waterfalls are mainly built for their visual appeal, but some people, especially in Asia, believe in the supernatural powers of a waterfall. Feng Shui and Vaastu experts believe that having a system of flowing water in the house creates dynamism indicative of progress. In fact, in Asia people who can afford to design their living rooms with a waterfall in them.

Waterfalls provides detailed information about waterfalls, indoor waterfalls, waterfall gardens, waterfall ponds and more. Waterfalls is the sister site of Preformed Pond Liners.

Cocoa Trees

Writen by Dorrie Ruplinger

Cocoa trees can grow as tall as fifty feet although they are usually kept pruned and kept much shorter to make it easier to harvest the cocoa bean pods.

The trees reach their maximum productivity when they are thirty to forty years old. A cocoa tree will live approximately sixty years.

The bean pods grow directly off the trunk and thicker main branches of the tree, not off the leaves as many people think. This is because the pods are heavy. The fragile leaf systems of the tree couldn't support the weight of the pods.

A cocoa tree can have up to one hundred thousand baby-pink and white blossoms every year. The blossoms have no scent. The leaves of the tree vary in color. Young leaves can be pale green, lavender, or purple in color. Mature leaves are dark green. The pods start out green but turn yellow or red when ripe, depending on what type of cocoa tree it is.

There are two main types of cocoa trees. There is the native Central American cocoa tree called the Criollo, and a type called Forastero which is grown mostly in West Africa and Brazil. The Forastero trees produces approximately ninety percent of the world's crop of cocoa beans. The beans from the Criollo are more expensive and are used in high quality chocolate.

Cocoa trees like shade so other tropical trees such as banana trees are planted right next to the cocoa trees. These larger trees that provide shade for the cocoa trees are often called "cocoa mother trees."

The cocoa trees start producing cocoa bean pods after three or four years and continue producing pods for approximately another thirty five years. In most areas, harvesting of the cocoa pods is done twice a year. Ripe pods are approximately eight inches long and three to four inches in diameter. The ripe pods are cut by hand in order to protect the younger pods that are still ripening.

After the pods are cut from the tree they are taken to a fermenting area. There the pods are split open to reveal the pulp and cocoa beans. There are up to forty cocoa beans in every pod. The pulp and beans are scooped out of the pod, placed on banana leaves that are usually laid on the ground (fermenting is also done in baskets and also in large sloping boxes), and then covered with more banana leaves. The pods are left to ferment for several days.

As the beans ferment they lose some of their bitterness and change from a lavender or white color to brown. The fermenting process is important because that is when the beans take on the chocolate taste we are accustomed to. During the fermenting process the beans lose some of their moisture. By the time the beans are ready to be packed in bags for shipping, the moisture content in them is somewhere around five to seven percent.

Dorrie Ruplinger is the publisher of http://www.chocolateistheanswer.com which provides information and resources about Door County Wisconsin parks.