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: Cold Weather, Cool Season Water Treatments, Floating Pond De-icer, Hump Day, Hump Day Koi Fix, Hump Day Koi Story, I ❤️ Koi, Koi Health, Koi History, Waterfall Pumps, Winter, Winter Koi care, Winter Pond Problems, Winter Pond Tips, Winter Ponds, Winter Temperatures
Man it’s COLD! WOW! I walked out to check on my Water Garden a few minutes ago ❄️ Folks, it’s Cold out there! I was at a full trot by the time I made it back to the door 😳 My dogs were even ready to come back in!
Scout and Ranger were both fully dressed, so I don’t think they got as cold as I did 😇 LOL!
Good News! My Water Garden is doing fine! My Koi have assumed the position “Hovering at the bottom” as usual this time of year… So, alls well with the Pond 😊They are just like me, waiting for Spring!
But, I still get a few calls every year when it gets ‘Really Cold’ outside, especially when you see some icing, and it’s almost always the same few questions, with #1 lately (today) being, “Will my Koi be ok in Cold like this’? First, let me say – What a considerate question! People LOVE their pets 😊 So, let me give you the good news… Yes! Your Koi will survive this cold snap and will be just fine!
Koi are cold blooded (Poikilothermic) fish, In the wintertime, their metabolism slows to a crawl. They can usually be found at the bottom of the pond, hovering, ie: treading water. | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson,
Tennessee
There are a few things that you can do to help them through a cold snap! # 1 is – IF your Pond tries to freeze – Keep a hole open in the ice! This should be a preventative measure and hopefully not a reactionary one…
If you turn your ponds pump 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.
There are a LOT of articles on this BLOG that will help you with your Water Garden & Koi! But, to cover today’s question/concerns, Your Koi will be OK 👌🏻
Stay warm! Remember- Spring is Coming!
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Filed under: Family time, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: 101.5 FM, 5 gallon Bucket, 731-423-8101, Floating Pond De-icer, Floating Pond Heater, Friday blog, Friday Radio Report, Friday’s, gardening 101, Gardening answers, gardening questions, Koi Health, Pond Aeration, Spring Planting, Winter Koi care, Winter Planting, Winter Pond Problems, Winter Pond Tips, Winterize Hoses, Winterize Sprinkler Systems
It was a beautiful, cold morning with the 180 Crew at WNWS 101.5 FM this morning! Dan & Sea Bass are ‘Keepin it real’! Lori Nunnery was in the house giving the low down on what’s happening in J Town! Check out more on what’s happening in our great little town at the web site – https://jacksontn.com/tourism/
Lot of enthusiasm for the return of Spring & LOTS of gardening questions –
- Can I plant trees and shrubs now? Yes!
- Can I start a compost now? Yes! Use all those excessive leafs and landscape debris along with kitchen scraps like vegetable peaking, egg shells, coffee grounds, etc.
- What can I do to keep my pond from freezing? Several things can help you. First a floating pond heater is a great tool! It only kicks on when temps fall below freezing and it will keep a hole open in the ice! Also – an aeration unit wil bubble up and keep the surface moving. OR you can use a small pump close to the surface to flash up and keep a hole open.
- When is a good time to amend the soil in my garden? Any time now if the ground is workable.
- Do I have blueberries in stock? YES! 25% off!
- When can I start feeding my Koi again? It’s all about water temperature! Above 50 degrees is the magic #!
This is a true statement! I love my Koi & I’m counting the days till it’s feeding time again!
Sonic Blast of the Past question – Who played Louie Depalma in the TV series Taxi??? The winner gets a $10 gift card! John L. Called in almost immediately with the answer! Interesting fact – Danny Devito is 4’ 10” tall…
Great show! Have a great weekend!
I’m on with the 180 Crew – Dan Reaves & Sea Bass- every Friday from 9-11am Call in with ALL your gardening and Outdoor Lifestyle questions at 731-423-8101.
OR you can TEXT us at 731-277-5155. Listen LIVE at 101.5 WNWS – FM Talk Radio – on your smart phone using your TuneIn app.!
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Filed under: General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Fish Feeding, Hand Feeding Koi, Hump Day, Hump Day Koi Fix, Hump Day Koi Story, I ❤️ Koi, I ❤️ My Job!, Koi Facts, Koi Fix, Koi Health, Koi info, Koi Story, Spring is Coming
We are in the middle of yet another week in our journey towards Spring, and the return to feeding & enjoying our Koi!
Its been COLD this week too… Cold & Wet! I am so ready for a warm up 🌞Here’s a few pics from around the place that I hope will warm your hearts a bit 😊 They do mine!
Click on the link below to see more.
Stay warm!
Spring is Coming!
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Filed under: Family time, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Amur Carp, Big Koi, Carp, Cyprinus rubrofuscus, Hump Day Koi Fix, I ❤️ Koi, Koi, Koi Cave, Koi Facts, Koi Fix, Koi Food, Koi for sale, Koi Health, Koi History, Pond Predators
It’s Wednesday, AKA: Hump Day! The day of the week that I like to blog about Koi. I have spent a lot of time lately blogging about Koi colors & markings and different varieties, etc… Today how about some fun facts… –
Some of my Koi. The Big Sanke in the middle of the pack – right below the Koi with the yellow ‘Ki’ head) is named Jaws 🙂 I got him when he was 15 years old. He lived another 15 years in my Pond and died at the age of 30 or so. A Koi breeder told me thats probably a good average age for a domestic Koi in a backyard Water Garden. | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
10 Cool Koi Facts –
1- Did you know that Koi and Goldfish aren’t the same species? Koi are descendants of common Carp and weren’t selectively bred until the 1800’s.
2- Goldfish were bred for their beauty and were prized by collectors 100’s of years before Koi were developed.
3- Koi were originally used as a food source. They were originally brought to Japan for this sole purpose.
4- Koi get MUCH larger than Goldfish! The largest measured/recorded Koi was 4 feet in length & weighed over 90 pounds! WOW!
WOW! This is a HUGE Koi! Koi can grow up to 48″ in length and weigh over 50+ pounds…
5- Koi can live a LONG time! The oldest recorded Koi was named ‘Hanako’, (pronounced han-nah-koh) which means ‘Flower Maid’ in Japanese. Hanako lived to be 226 years old! WOW!
6- The aquatic plants in your Koi Pond not only look beautiful and provide natural habitat, they help provide much needed SHADE! Koi sunburn badly!
7- Koi LOVE different foods! Try feeding them lettuce, peas, watermelon and oranges!
It’s time to feed the fish 🙂 Try something different. Koi LOVE fresh fruit and veggies too!
8- We love them for their bright,beautiful colors, but, their colors make them a target for predators like Herons and other birds of prey. Install a ‘Fish Cave’ to give them a place to hide from danger.
9- One female Koi can lay as many as 50,000 eggs during a breeding season! Up to 50% can hatch… WOW! That’s a LOT of babies!
10- Koi are intelligent and trainable! You can easily train your koi to eat from your hand and to ring a bell for a treat! Prety Cool!
I LOVE learning more about my finned friends and I hope you do too!
Happy Pondering! and Merry Christmas!🎄
PS: Koi make a wonderful gift! 🎅🏻
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Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Cool Season Koi Food, Cool Temp Koi Food, Fish Feeding, Freezing Temps., Happy Thanksgiving, Hump Day Koi Fix, Koi Fix, Koi Health, Pond Thermometer, Seasonal Water Garden, Water Gardening, Water Gardening's Huge Popularity, Water Temperature
It happens every year… The Fall color comes and goes in quick succession and the long, cold nights force us to discontinue feeding our Finned friends for the season…
We have been feeding Cool Temp Koi Food at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio for a while now, but it’s time to put it up till Spring… | Jackson, TN
Check your thermometer to confirm your water temp., ours has been at 50 deg. F/- for over a week now… Time to stop feeding – for their health! Feeding after the temps drop below that 50 degree threshold is very dangerous for your Koi’s health. Their metabolism slows to a crawl & they just can’t digest fish food…
Every Pond should have a floating Pond thermometer. Our finned friends are cold blooded & water temperature is very important when it comes to seasonal feeding times. You can pick one up at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio if your in need. | Jackson, TN
It’s always sad when we have to end ‘Feeding Time’… But, it’s part of keeping your fish healthy. Enjoy the Holiday Season, because before we know it, Spring will be here again and ‘Feeding Time’ will be back on the daily agenda. 😊
Happy Pondering & Happy Thanksgiving 🦃
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Filed under: General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden | Tags: Carter Country, Carters Nursery, Flying Dragon Koi, Healthy Koi, Hump Day Koi Fix, I ❤️ Koi, Koi Fix, Koi for sale, Koi Health, Koi History, Koi info, Koi Shack, Koi Terminology, Kumonryu, Kumonryu Koi, Matsukawa Bakke, Nine Crested Dragon, Quality Koi, Shusui Koi
The Kumonryu Koi –
Kumonryu are Doitsu (scaleless) koi that have patterns of jet black (sumi) against a white background. The fascinating thing is, their sumi patterns are unstable and move and change with the changing of the seasons! Their sumi can even totally disappear leaving a solid white fish… Or flow together creating a solid black Koi. Good News – IF you don’t like the pattern, just wait a while, it will change 😉
Kumonryu means ‘Nine Crested Dragon’. That’s why they are called the ‘Flying Dragoon Koi’.
The Kumonryu legend tells of a dragon (ryu) that transforms into a cloud and races through the sky. One of the many things that makes this a popular, very rare Koi!
Reading about this breed I found out that the Kumonryu was developed by breeding a Shusui with a Matsukawa Bakke.
I hope you enjoy these little tidbits of info about our favorite ‘Finned Friends’ – The Koi
Happy Pondering! 😊
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Filed under: General Blog Entry's, God Bless America, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Love, Nursery, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden, Waterfalls | Tags: Cool Season Koi Food, Cool Season Water Treatments, Cool Temp Koi Food, Fish Feeding, Fish Food, Fish Health, Koi, Koi Health, Pond Fish, Seasonal Water Garden, Water Gardening, Water Gardening's Huge Popularity, Water Gardens
We have had a long, HOT Summer and have enjoyed feeding our ‘Finned Friends’ every day 😊 But now we are going into the cooler months of the year and one of the most asked questions I get is – “When do I STOP feeding my Koi in the Fall?”
A very important tool to have in your pond is a simple pond thermometer. When temps drop below 60 I start feeding “Low Temp. Fish Food” & some fresh fruits and veggies like peas, oranges, grapefruit & carrots. | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
It’s very important to take your fish into the colder months as healthy & happy as possible! They are cold blooded and their metabolism will soon slow to a crawl! So feeding the right foods now will really help them for their long journey through Fall & Winter.
At 6o degrees I discontinue regular Koi Food for Cool Season Food. I also start giving them some daily treats like fresh or frozen veggies and fruits like (peas, carrots, grapefruit, oranges & melon). These food are a good source of vitamins & minerals and help to ready them for the Winter.
Get your Cool Temp Koi Food at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN After the water temp drops to 55 degrees I slow my feeding down to 1 time per day with just cool temp Koi food. Then after the water has reached 50 degree’s F. (sustained around 10 days time) STOP all feeding until Spring!
This is tough on me… BUT, I know it’s something that I have to do for their overall health. Feeding them when their metabolism is in Winter mode can/will kill them! So even on a warm day when they are literally begging for food – DON’T DO IT!
And don’t forget – keep the skimmer free of leaves & other debris and keep dreaming of Spring 😊 It will be coming before we know it!
Happy Pondering!
