As pond contractors and installers, our job is to creates beautiful living spaces with water. This includes ponds, fountains and rainwater harvesting. Once the projectis finished, we see the client’s elated face, they reach for a checkbook and make the final payment, and this story has a happy ending.
Is this the end of the story? No. This is simply the end of the chapter. The next chapter begins with, “What are the green plants popping up all over my new paradise?” Weeds!
Electing to do pond maintenance is a money-maker. Part of the maintenance of a pond might be maintaining the plant materials around the pond.
Weeds are a normal part of a landscape. There is no place on the planet where weeds don’t grow. In the old days, picking weeds out by hand was the only way to handle these eyesores. Then came herbicides and pesticides. Then came environmentalists, clamoring that the use of herbicides like Round Up are destroying our environment and us! The current debate on GMO’s has Round up (a selective herbicide by Monsanto) at the center of the debate.
What do we know about Round-up? The active ingredient in Round Up is glyphoshate. Once it comes into plant contact, it is absorbed into the plant and kills it. Round Up contains a surfactant that binds glyphoshate molecules onto plant tissues.
The products marketed and sold under the trademark name are not registered for use in aquatic environments. Does this mean it can or cannot be used around fish ponds? Have you used it around fish ponds in the past?
Is it safe if some of it drifts into fish water? Will it kill fish? Would you personally use it around a clients fish pond, especially a pond stocked with very large, expensive koi?
If you don’t use Round Up around ponds, what do you use as a substitute?
Mike Garcia,
Landscape Design Contractor & certified Pond Builder
Phone: (310) 374-1199
Email : mike@enviroscapela.com
Founder of Enviroscape L.A. Landscaping,
Redondo Beach, Ca 90278
South Bay, California
Landscape Design and Installation of sustainable Low Water Use native Garden Design, Waterfalls, Fountains and Ponds. Drip Irrigation Installation and Rainwater Harvesting Systems. ENVIROSCAPE LA – Your Gardening Guide in the Los Angeles South Bay Area, California
