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Ph.# 731-424-2206

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Water Garden & Pond Maintenance Tips For Fall & Winter | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN

What do I need to do to my Pond in the Fall & Winter?

I get this question a LOT at Carters Nursery Pond & Patio this time of the season. So I publish this checklist every Fall and I hope it helps you.

PLANTS AND DEBRIS:
It’s time to cut back your Aquatic Plants! Remove all the plant debris and organic matter and compost or dispose. Excess organic matter can contribute to increased algae growth. A large amount of leaves collected in the bottom of your pond will decompose and produce tannins. This can be harmful to your fish and reduce water clarity. Leaves and falling debris can also collect in the stream & waterfalls and cause a plant dam. So keep those clear – AND It is very important to keep your skimmer net cleaned out regularly. If you have a lot of tress and don’t net your pond – you may need to check your skimmer DAILY.

Pond netting can be purchased at Carter’s Nursery & can make Fall chores less problematic and will make it easier on you during the winter. This will help make Spring Clean-Outs easier and faster too. – Also a dipper net is a handy tool to have by your pond.

What do I need to do to my Pond in the Fall & Winter? I get this question a LOT at Carters Nursery Pond & Patio this time of the year!

HEALTHY FISH: When water temperatures reach 55 degrees stop feeding your fish or start using Low Temp fish food. (Available at Carter’s Nursery) At these temperatures, their metabolism slows down and eating normal food can make them sick or even cause death. You should always end their feeding cycle with Medicated or Low Temp Fish Food. Medicated and “regular” Fish Food should be finished by the time water temps reach 55 degrees. For an extended feeding time Low Temp can be fed as low as 45 degrees (check bag or ask a sales associate about feeding temps.)

Keep your Koi happy and healthy over the Fall & Winter with Cool Temp Koi Food.

COOL TEMP. WATER TREATMENTS & LOW TEMP BACTERIA treatments should be used until the water temp. reaches 32 degrees. This will keep the bacteria active in your pond and promote healthier water for your fish during a longer period of time. In Spring, as water temps return to 40 degrees you may start the bacteria again. However this will not mean you no-longer need to clean your pond in the Spring because you will still have fish waste and plant debris in your pond that needs to be removed.

Cool Temperature Water Treatments will really help your Water Quality AND they will help keep your fish healthy!

HERE ARE A FEW TIPS TO ADD TO THIS LIST FOR WINTER:

WINTER BEAUTY: Leaving your waterfall running all season is Perfect here in West Tn.! As matter of fact, it will give you some beautiful photo ops! During the fall & winter, birds love to come to your pond to drink fresh water & bathe and in winter months the running water will make some breath taking natural ice formations – So keep your camera handy. * In freezing weather be sure to watch out for ice dams. These can cause your pond to lose some excessive amounts of water. If this happens add water back in to your pond with a hose or bucket to bring your water levels back up.

Birds come all day long to get a drink and even bathe. Try setting up some feeders in your viewing area and watch them flock to the WATER!

ICE SAFETY: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER break the ice by banging on it. It can cause your fish to go into shock! To allow the escape of poisonous gasses, keep a hole open in the ice. This is IMPORTANT!!! It will keep the gases from building up under the ice and suffocating your fish. Keep the hole open by use of a floating De-Icer or by adding warm water from a water hose, bucket or pan of water. (If you use your water hose be sure to drain it when finished-to keep it from freezing and bursting, or keep it in your garage).

If you turn your pond off in a bad freeze, use a floating heater/de-icer to maintain a hole in the ice to exchange gases/oxygen for your fish’s health and well being. You can purchase a floating pond heater at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio.

I hope this helps a bit Have a Great Fall season!

Thanks,

Mark Carter

Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio

Ph# 731-424-2206

www.cartercountry.com

How do I care for my Water Garden this Fall | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee

Fall is upon us! If you have a Koi Pond or a Water Garden there are several things you can do to make seasonal maintenance much more easily managed and to keep your fish happy and healthy…

Soon the water temperature will drop to a point where we will need to switch to a Cool Temperature Koi Food. There are many things to consider going into Fall and Winter | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN

To learn how to properly maintain and care for your Water Feature, join us Saturday, October 12th. for our Annual Pond Maintenance Workshop!

Learn How to –

Properly cut back your Aquatic Plants
Protect your Koi through the Winter Months
Minimize Leaf problems
WHEN to stop feeding your fish and WHEN you can start back
Water Treatments for the colder months
What to do in freezing weather
& more….

We love Fall around here 🙂 Come out and join us at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio for The Fall Fest & Water Garden Workshop & bring the family! | Jackson, Tennessee

Bring your whole family out to Carters Nursery and enjoy the animals with us at our 21st Annual Fall Fest! | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio

The Pumpkin Carving will start by 10am.! I am always blown away by all the cool designs people come up with!

Come join us for the Pumpkin carving! We always have LOTS of fun!

WHAT: The 21st. Annual Fall Workshop and Festival

WHEN: SATURDAY, October 12th. – 9 am. to 2 pm.

WHERE: Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio 2846 Old Medina Rd. Jackson, Tn. 38305

Mark will be cooking lunch at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio’s ‘Outdoor Kitchen’! “I’m firing up the Saffire Grill & The big AOG Grill too. Y’all come on out and have a great time with us on this 21st. Year Anniversary of Fall Fest.! | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN

We will have:

– A Pumpkin carving class & CONTEST!*

– Treats for the kids

– A sale on water gardening products!

– A Sale on Fish and Aquatic Plants!

– Water Gardening experts on hand to answer all of your questions.

– A Petting Zoo for the kids! This is an AWESOME petting Zoo folks, so bring the kids out and Enjoy!

– Lunch from 11:30am.- 1pm.

* The pumpkin carving class is $5.00 per person (includes pumpkin and carving tools). Kids MUST be supervised by a parent to take part in this class. Please call to pre-register for this class as supplies will be limited. For more info call Jo or Sandra at the Nursery 731-424-2206 or e-mail at cartercountry@charter

See y’all Saturday!

PS: Get here 1st thing to take part in the Pond Maintenance Workshop! It fills up quickly…

Mark Carter

Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio

Ph# 731-424-2206

www.cartercountry.com

Summer Pond Maintenance | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee

August 10, 2019, 6:08 am
Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Aquatic Plant Care, Aquatic Plant Fertilizer, Aquatic Plants, Dip Net, Koi Food, Lotus, Marginal Aquatics, Plant Dam, Pond Maintenance, TLC, Trimming Aquatic Plants, Water Garden Maintenance, Water Lilies, Water Quality, Water Quality Issues

My pond has been exceptionally beautiful this season! LOTS of lily blooms, the lotus have been showing out & there is so much lush foliage.

My Water Garden plants have been so beautiful this year! But to keep them looking great they need a little TLC | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee

One of the #1 things to do right now is keep your lilies & lotus fed (fertilized) to keep them performing into late summer and fall. It’s very simple to do! Come by and grab a container of Aquatic Plant Fertilizer Tabs. One of us will show you how to poke em’ down into the root zone of the plant – Done!

AND #2 is to keep your aquatic plant growth in check! All this Hot weather has them growing like weeds 😊

selectively trim marginal aquatics to keep in check and to promote strong compact growth.
remove yellowed unattractive Lilly pads & spent blooms to Promote new growth and bloom.
Keep Waterfalls & streams free and clear of excessive plant growth and debris! A plant dam will cause a leak every time!

Koi Love to be hand fed! If yours aren’t eating from your hand yet, try feeding at the same time daily and have patience, it takes a little while to win them over, but once you do, it will be worth the effort 😊 Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee

– Enjoy your Koi! Feed them quality Koi food, but don’t over feed! Over feeding can cause water quality issues…

A little touch up now will pay dividends for the rest of the season! Get out there and enjoy 😉

Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph.# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com

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Spring Pond Cleaning Checklist | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee

March 12, 2019, 7:46 am
Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Aquatic Plant Care, Beneficial Bacteria, Cool Season Water Treatments, Detox, Fish Health, Fish net, Pond Cleaning, Pond Cleaning Supplies, Spring Pond Maintenance, Water Treatments

It’s time to clean your Pond for the season. Starting the season with a clean ecosystem Pond is a big deal! You can get all the needed supplies at Carters Nursery.

We have all the supplies you need to clean-up and touch up your Water Feature in stock | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN

For the all the DIY’ers out there, here’s a little checklist to help you be ready for Pond Cleaning Season 😊 My experience has taught me that projects of any type benefit from advanced planning. Having all the necessary supplies on hand before you get started always makes it go faster and easier.

HELPFUL TIP: it’s good planning to get your Aquatic Plant fertilizer tabs now, BEFORE draining your pond and then realizing you should have gotten them when you bought your Low Temp Bacteria and Pond Detox. This keeps you from running to the store in the middle of your clean-out (which can mean a whole day of work instead of a half day) and it allows you to fertilize your plants while the pond is drained instead of later when the pond is full again.
Planning ahead a little just means you can spend less time working on your pond and more time ENJOYING it!

1. Fish Nets – Before you drain your pond for the spring clean-out, you’ll need to catch and relocate your fish. Purchasing a good quality net means doing this without injuring your fish during the catch and release.

2. Planting Pots – Spring clean-out is a great time to thin and divide plants that have grown out of bounds or crowded a pot. Make sure you have some aquatic plant pots & aquatic plant soil handy so you can re-pot and share your new plants with other water gardeners.

3. Extra Gravel – After the freeze and thaw of winter, you’ll inevitably find rocks and gravel that have shifted, exposing bare liner. With an extra bag or two of gravel, you can cover exposed liner in a jiffy.

4. Aquatic Plant Fertilizer – Take advantage of the water-free accessibility of water lilies, lotus, and other plants that may need to be fertilized, by having a container of aquatic plant fertilizer tabs on hand when you’re doing your pond clean-out.

5. Container for Plant Debris – Grab an old plastic plant pot or bucket so you can easily dispose of debris that you gather from the pond bottom.

6. Rubber Gloves and Boots – Spring clean-outs can be cold, wet, and messy. Arming yourself with boots and gloves will go a long way toward making this chore much less unpleasant.

7. Fish Container – A large tub or tank will be needed so you can have a roomy place to keep your fish during the clean-out. Use water from the pond to fill the tank and use a small fountain pump to re-circulate the water.

8. Net to Cover the Fish Container – Fish, especially large Koi, jump, and they may very well jump right out of the container that you have set up for them. Be sure to cover it with a net that is pulled tight across the container to prevent them from jumping.

9. Pump and Discharge Pipe – To drain the water out of the pond, you will need a pump and some discharge pipe. It’s OK to use your pond pump, but even better if you have an extra pump to lessen the wear and tare on your pond pump. About 2,000 GPH, depending on the size of your pond, will do the trick.

10. High Pressure Nozzle – Use a pressure nozzle on your garden hose to dislodge debris and algae from the rocks.

11. Pond Detox – Always detox the newly filled pond before you put the fish back in.

12. Expanding Foam – Expanding foam may need a bit of a touch up in some areas. Be prepared with a can of it just in case.

13. New Filter Mats – Filter mats should be replaced approximately every 2-3 years. If you think it might be time, be prepared by purchasing replacements prior to your clean-out.

14. Pruners – Part of a spring clean-out is pruning back dead plant material from the previous season. Make sure you have a good pair of pruners and/or scissors to get the job done.

15. Plastic Rake – You can rake the leaves right out of your pond with a small plastic (child’s) rake. The plastic lessens the chance of damaging the liner and the small size makes it easier to maneuver in tight spots than an adult size rake.

With a little work you will be ready for a Great outdoor season.

Happy Pondering!

Mark Carter

Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio

http://www.cartercountry.com

Ph.# 731-424-2206

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Cutting your Aquatic Plants Back | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee

We just finished up our annual Fall Fest & Pond Maintenance Workshop. We try to help people learn how to take care of their Ponds in an efficient manner. One important way to stay ahead of water quality issues in the Fall & Winter is to cut back the Aquatic Plants before a killing frost does…

What do I need to do to my Pond in the Fall & Winter? I get this question a LOT at Carters Nursery Pond & Patio this time of the year! #1 Cut those aquatic plants back!

Aquatic Plants are a big part of a healthy ecosystem! They absorb all manner of pollution and nutrients from the water and store them in their plant tissues helping to clean and purify the water. BUT, if the plants are allowed to die and decompose in the pond all those nutrients and compounds are released right back into the pond! This will create YUGE Water Quality issues! Algae blooms, Green Water, Bad Smells & Fish Health issues – even fish death 💀!

Yes, you even need to cut back your Lotus plants. AND, sink their containers to a lower depth in your pond to protect them from Winter temps | Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN

Its fairly simple to do, doesn’t take too long & will pay dividends in Water Quality & Fish Health! If you have any questions or need some help, feel free to give me a call at the office – 731-424-2206

Thanks & Happy Pondering 😊

Mark Carter

Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio

Ph# 731-424-2206

www.cartercountry.com