Some koi keepers are under the sad impression that plants are in the pond merely as fish food and are considered a necessary evil. I share the belief with others that plants augment a pond and create a balanced eco-system. For that reason, and for the benefit of others like me, we’re including in our newsletter a section on plants each month. I’ll start it out but I’ll gladly hand the baton to whoever will run with it.

This month, since we have no Lily Pad Editor yet, I’ll write about something with which I’ve had experience - growing plants without using soil.

Most, if not all, water plants can get the nutrients they need from the water and through plant foods. Soil can introduce harmful bacteria and parasites into a pond. It becomes less necessary to take the risk of introducing harmful elements by using soil.

I experimented last season with elephant ears (yes, I use the common name for plants) and impatiens. I was "blown away" by the results. The ears on the elephants were 3 times as big than those from the same sized corm planted in the ground only a few feet away. The impatiens were healthier and more colorful than their sisters in the flower beds - each plant averaging about 2 feet in diameter by the end of the summer.

In what I call "my pond", which is the first built of the five we have at home, we have a waterfall lined with river rock that’s more of a stream with steps. The water is pumped from the pond, through the biological filters and into the waterfall for it’s journey back to the pond. I was lazy, didn’t want to mess with "potting" the remaining elephant ear corms and simply stuck a couple between the rocks. Within a few weeks we had our first "ear". This whet my appetite. I had a few impatiens left. I knew Icouldn’t just stick them on the rocks because the root balls were so delicate. I grabbed a pair of pantyhose that should have been thrown away 3 uses earlier and cut sections out of the legs. I tied one end of the section into a knot, stuck the root ball inside and twist-tied the top of the section around the base of the plant. I positioned the plants on the wet rocks and that was all there was to it! I can’t take credit for the pantyhose trick. A friend told me to try it — and darned if I can remember who it was. I have probably the world’s lousiest memory and all my friends know this so I know I’ll be forgiven for not mentioning his/her name.