permaculture

[Victor Guest <vic@daena.eepo.com.au>]

Cattails are, to my belief, wild. They are all over the Valley here. They
can quickly fill up ponds and have to be dug out with a backhoe. From what
you said earlier, I thought you knew of a natural means of control.

Barbara

We do have an algae problem as well, but are about 1 1/2 miles from the
national forest. The water is as clean as it gets. We can't figure it out. I
even had algae under the ice on my pond this winter. And it's now in all our
irrigation ditches. 

At 02:14 AM 3/11/98, you wrote:
>>VIC
>>
>>How can I find out about vegetation that keeps cattails out? We have a
>>continuing problem here with our ponds and cattails. Could you give me a
>>lead for follow-up?
>
>I have read about reed bed technology, which is about taking artificial
>fertilisers out of streams etc. by putting the water into shallow ponds, 
>which have plants in them which grab the phosphorous etc. and when the water
>re-enters the stream it is cleaned of the nutrients which generate things 
>like algae (toxic bloom). In the Tyre ponds we put around gardens etc there 
>are water plants which will produce nitogen for the garden. They are also
> there for frogs which will eat slugs and snails etc. etc.
>I am guessing at what Cattails are but if they don't grow in natural streams
>then it suggests artificial nutrients may be the culprit. Permaculture 
>principals suggest putting an element into the enviroment which is useable
>and has added benifits as mulch, fertiliser, and changes the water so that 
>cattails wont grow in the pure water.
>Regards,
>          Vic
>--
>Victor Guest   V.G.Guest                       Perth, Western Australia
>victor.guest@eepo.com.au                 1 Annato Street Greenwood 6024 
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