Paul Franklin wrote:
My new homestead has a pond. I'd guess about a quarter acre and 5-6
feet deep in the center. I'm educating myself about maintenance but
am looking for wisdom from any experienced pond owners our there.

It has a fountain aerator, and at least at the end of last year did
not appear to have any major algae issues. There were a few areas of
green glop, but most of the surface was clear. It's home to the usual
frogs, turtles, some fish, a mallard couple, and is visited by the
occasional Great Blue Heron (which is awesome!)

I'm in NE Ohio. My specific question has to do with the cattails that
line part of the bank. It appears the stalks have died off over the
winter, and I wonder if it's best to cut them off at the waterline
before the new growth sprouts up. My thinking is this will avoid
adding a bunch of organic matter to the pond that might contribute to
algae.

I'd appreciate your thoughts and any other advice on pond maintenance.


Think duck ****, turtle ****, heron ****, fish ****, toad ****, and possibly
mastadon **** leaching up from below. There's plenty of organic matter.

But, we live in an information-rich society. "cattail + pruning" yields over
19,000 hits on Google.

Interestingly, you may need an environmental impact statement and a federal
inspection, license, and permission (which won't be granted) to fiddle with
a wetlands.