I have two goldfish ponds on my property and winter garden pond maintenance is necessary to prepare the ponds for the coming freezing weather, snow and ice. Since the freeze level in our area (Zone 6) is about 18″, a pond depth of 36″ is adequate for fish to survive in garden ponds during winters.
Winter garden pond maintenance begins in the fall:
1 – Fall is when I begin to remove the plants that have been growing in the garden ponds during the summer. I have water lilies that thrive and also feed the fish. The water lily is a good addition to garden ponds here as they give shelter to the fish from predators, aerate the ponds and the root base will survive the winter. I remove a few at a time until all that is left, by the time foliage is gone, is just enough for a start next spring.
2 – Continuously remove any litter that may fall into the pond. The two garden ponds that I have are located close to large trees and as the leaves begin to fall they seem to congregate in the ponds. Through trial and error (the net covering was the error) I have discovered that raking and cleaning the ponds works best. Occasionally I will remove a fish with the debris so I am careful to look for them and return them to the ponds. My most useful tools are a rake and a pitchfork.
3 – Maintaining adequate water levels is critical to winter garden pond maintenance. Adding water a little at a time will insure adequate levels and not harm the fish. I have forgotten to turn the water off before and “chlorinated to death” all my fish. Learning by trial and error is well remembered!
Winter garden pond maintenance during freezing months:
4 – Here in Zone 6 the winter months create very little maintenance for me. Having done the necessary maintenance in the fall, the main requirement for me is to keep the water levels as high as possible in the ponds. The fish require no food once the water temperature reaches about 50 degrees and are inactive at the bottom of the pond.
5 – I will continue any cleaning necessary as there are “stray” leaves blowing around and decaying leaves will create gases in the pond that will kill the fish when the pond freezes over. Yes, I said freezes over! There is no harm in the pond freezing over for a few days if there is enough depth for the fish to be below the ice, the pond is relatively clean of debris and water levels are maintained.
Conclusion:
I know a woman that puts fancy goldfish in her horse watering tubs to eat the mosquito larva. The fish do quite well all winter. Providing the necessary winter garden pond maintenance is a joy to me. I love the ponds, the plants, the fish and especially the tadpoles in the spring. That is why I have no electrical pumps in my ponds, so the frogs will come. My grandchildren will come in the spring to cup their hands in the water and see how many tadpoles they can hold! Create a garden pond for yourself and enjoy nature’s bounty.
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