FEBRARY MEETING REVIEW

The meeting opened and Dan welcomed everyone. He announced that 2004 dues need to be paid. The monthly raffle was held. New member, Kara D. won a book titled “Watergardening” and Sue H. won a “How to Build a Pond” video. Dan announced that he is looking for speakers for future meetings. If anyone has any ideas or know of anyone that would like to speak, please contact Dan. The meeting was turned over to Clyde, the pond tour chairman. He announced that he is looking for ponds across the entire Valley instead of just the west Valley. A decision needed to be made regarding the tour donation this year. Suggestions were taken including the Phoenix Zoo, San Pedro Nature Preserve, Wild at Heart Raptor Rehab, Desert Botanical Garden and Boyce Thompson Arboretum. When a Red Tail Hawk began circling overhead, it was deemed an omen!! A vote was taken and Wild at Heart Raptor Rehab won! Ed gave the treasurer’s report and Dianne announced that she would look into ordering a supply of polo shirts with pockets. Teri reported that no new books were received this month, but there are lots available to check out. hoto contest. There will be 6 categories with both first and second place winners. The photos will be voted on at the July meeting and will then be used to create a calendar. Dan requested that pond photos be submitted to Lydia to post on the website. The meeting was then turned over to Sylvia of The Lily Pond. She answered many questions. She discussed string algae. We have the perfect weather conditions for filamentous algae right now. The products sold to fight green water algae don’t work on string algae. One of the more effective strategies is barley straw. It is effective for some ponds and not for others – it is unknown why. Sylvia suspects that pond owners underestimate their gallonage and don’t use enough of the straw. She said that Spring is the time to fertilize, divide and repot. Also remember to do regular water changes. Don’t just add water to the pond. Take water out and replace it. This gets rid of some of the minerals and particles that remain after evaporation. Once a hardy lily has 3-4 leaves, it is time to fertilize. Once it is actively growing, it is OK to divide. Sylvia talked about UV clarifiers. They cause algae to clump together making particles large enough to be filtered out by a biological filter. She suggests replacing the UV bulb every 8 to 12 months. Sylvia says when deciding the size of the components of a new pond, first figure the gallons, then the filter size, then the UV size and finally the pump size. As usual Sylvia was very informative and helpful.