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Occasional requests have come in from Culpeper and Baypahannock county farmers for information on weed conjU'ol in • farm ponds. Weeds ere a constant problem to farm pond owners when ponds are improperly constructed and when sufficient fertiliser is not applied.
Correct pond construction for weed control includes removal of dirt around the edge of the pond to eliminate shallow water areas. A minimum depth of two feet is adequate. The slopes on the wet side of the fill should be three to one and on the dry side two to one. The use of a properly in-* stalled overflow* pipe will eliminate wet, swampy areas around the fill and spillway.
One of the safest methods of eliminating weeds is to fertilize the pond well. After fertilization the water in the pond will take on a color or “bloom” which is a cloudiness of the water caused by the presence of millions of plants and animals which are microscopic in size.
The bloom is highly effective in shading out most of the plants submerged in the pond. If various circumstances make weed control impossible by fertilization or other methods, the most practical of all methods is to pull the weeds by hand. Plants such as cattails and spikerush are almost sure to become established around the water line- of old ponds. The weeds should be pulled before they become established in deeper water.
As a last resort, weeds may foe controlled by poisoning the water to reaches submerged plants on spraying chemicals on the leaves of plants above the water.
Clarence Gough recently completed a .6-acre pond at “Echo Hill" near Washington. Mr. Gough expects to construct another pond immediately that will be somewhat larger in surface area.
Fish for stocking both ponds will be made available at a later date through the Culpeper Soil Conservation District. All farmers who have • developed complete plans for soil and water conservation may receive fish through their soil conservation district, in cases where ponds are properly constructed.
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