Gluggie,
“Help PonDoc, my pond has weeds and I cannot afford to fix it!” Ha! Mother Nature provides all. Money is the least of your problems. Weeds come from nutrients. As you know, they flow down-hill. Often yards are constructed around ponds and fertilized. This fertilizer flows into the pond and the weeds are fed (floating leaf on pictured pond). Or your incoming water from your neighbors has a lot of nutrients.
To block fertilizer entering the pond, you need to create a buffer zone or riparian between the land and water. I recommend using sedge and willow both of which are easily found in the environment. Do not degrade the environment to gain plants, do it responsibility.
If your neighbors have unintentionally fed nutrients into your water, this too is your responsibility. An old sage told me that he had his problems and his neighbors had theirs. If you get their water and you don’t like it, it is your responsibility to care for it. You can. Likewise use a buffer of plants to restore the water.
Exactly, it costs nothing but labor to restore water. You need not have an income, just the inclination. You can improve water faster by using an aerator and purchasing plants and this money should be budgeted if you can afford it. You will have a nicer environment and a healthier pond when the water is restored.
Froggie, becoming aware of the problem is the most difficult because the solution isn’t. Herbicides do not work because they do not address the basic problem. Without this awareness, you will get on the herbicide treadmill. All you need is to realize it flows down-hill.
PonDoc from the pond
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