Total Pond Clean Out

Your plants are starting to yellow and your fish are less active. Your pond is signaling you that it is time to winterize.

Some items you should have available:
Shop Vac, plastic snow shovel, floor scrubber
5 Gallon bucket, pot of sand or soil, fish net
Pruners, wheelbarrow
De-chlorinator, sea salt, protect-ease
Netting, boards

1. Scoop out pond water into 5 gallon bucket to be used later for fish.
2. Start pumping water out of pond. If you have a bio-filter open the flush valve. Water can be run onto lawn or garden.
3. Take out floaters and add to your compost pile. Other tender plants should be moved inside.
4. All hardy marginals, lilies and oxygenators should be cut back to stone - one exception is cattails - they should not be cut back.
5. As water level goes down, floor scrubber to clean sides. This is easier when liner is wet.
6.Catch fish and frogs and put them in buckets.
7. When you get down to muck, use the snow shovel to remove to wheelbarrow.
8. A shop vac will get the last of the bottom stuff.
9. Cut back plants on bottom of pond leaving spaces between pots for fish to snuggle in.
10. Put pot(s) of soil on bottom for frogs to over-winter in.
11. Put 5 gallon buckets with fish in them back in the pond.
12. Start to fill pond. Before water goes over the 5 gallon buckets, add de chlorinator and salt and/ or protect-ease
13. Take fish buckets out. Leave pump in at the deepest part (at least two feet). Continue to fill.
14. Put net over pond. "Tent" liner so that leaves don' t weight it down and get into the water.