O ver 40 members cele-brated th close of a

successful year at the No-

vember 18th meeting.

Volunteers were recognized with awards and a writing pen engraved with Eastern Iowa Pond Society Inc. “Happy Pondering” for their participation in the Pond Expo, Pond Tour,

EASTERN IOWA POND SOCIETY,

INC

Visit us at www.eips.org

April , 2008

Beneath The SurfaceBeneath The SurfaceBeneath The SurfaceBeneath The Surface

2008 Officers:

President

Monica Morley

319/294-4866

mespringcove@aol.com

Vice President

Dave Bell

319/351-8487

Secretary/Treasurer

Jackie Allsup

319/934-3665

Cedarserviceja@aol.com

Volunteers

Editor

Monica Morley

319/294-4866

mespringcove@aol.com

Co-Editor - Maria Hamilton

Webmaster

Josh Spece

319/334-6593 josh@inthecountrygardenand

gifts.com

Librarian

Herman & Rosie Michel

319/366-1789

conner173@mchsi.com

A Compendium of Facts, Fancy, Tidbits, Tips

Thursday, April 10th Thursday, April 10th Thursday, April 10th Thursday, April 10th Monica & Gil Morley / Elena Murillo ’ s homeMonica & Gil Morley / Elena Murillo ’ s homeMonica & Gil Morley / Elena Murillo ’ s homeMonica & Gil Morley / Elena Murillo ’ s home

6702 Spring Cove CT. NE6702 Spring Cove CT. NE6702 Spring Cove CT. NE6702 Spring Cove CT. NE Cedar Rapids IA 52402 294Cedar Rapids IA 52402 294Cedar Rapids IA 52402 294Cedar Rapids IA 52402 294----4866486648664866

Dinner 6:00 pm * Speaker At 7:00 meeting followsDinner 6:00 pm * Speaker At 7:00 meeting followsDinner 6:00 pm * Speaker At 7:00 meeting followsDinner 6:00 pm * Speaker At 7:00 meeting follows Speaker: Chuck Porto Speaker: Chuck Porto Speaker: Chuck Porto Speaker: Chuck Porto ---- 7:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm

Iowa City Landscaping & Garden Center Retail Manager

H is hort ic u lt ura l roots began as a ch i ld w ork ing in h is f am i ly 's W es t D es Moines

garden w here they c ul tivated 1. 5 ac res and s o ld v eget ables out of t he ir garage and t o v arious rest aurant s. In January of 2003, C huck bec am e t he host of the

KXIC Sat urday Law n & Garden Show ( AM 800 ) , a loc al c a ll - in gardening in for -

m at ion s how. Chuc k lives in Iow a Topic:Topic:Topic:Topic:

“A Garden For All Seasons – Shrubs and Small Trees for Multi-season Interest”.

Bring your chairs….. for slide show in the garage

Saturday April 26th at 6:30 pm Bob & Stephanie Geers 3615 Honey Hill Dr SE

Cedar Rapids IA 52403 363-2448

Speaker Laura Krouse

Laura Krouse raises vegetables and crops on a small farm near Mt. Vernon. She has installed several soil conservation and water quality im-provement practices on her farm, including a 4-acre pond and a 3-acre upland wetland and restored prairie. She is the chair of the Linn Soil and Water Con-

servation District. Topic: Rain Gardens

Bring your chairs…….

Minutes—March 22, 2008 Page 2

Meeting was called to order at 2:00 pm by President, Monica Morley. Hosts were Greg and Martha Bickal. Monica thanked the Bickal’s for opening their home to 35 pond members and one visitor. • The treasurer’s report was given by Monica, in Jackie’s absence: Income—Membership: $ 40.00 Expenses: $143.36 Total Account: $4,587.80 • New members present: Jim & Sylvia Blood and Anthony Patti • Monica reported contacting several businesses asking for discounts. She has received confirmation that

Iowa City Landscaping and Garden Center in Iowa City and Earl May Garden Center on the NE side of Cedar Rapids will give 10% discount to members. (See page 7 for details)

• Monica contacted Oakes Daylilies and they provided copies of their 2008 catalogs, which were passed out. If you would like one, please see Monica. Monica has purchased lilies in the past from this com-pany.

• Monica referred to a past idea from members of a picnic without a meeting. She has reserved Noel-ridge Park Pavillion by the duck pond for Saturday, August 30. Jamie Beyer will be speaking. This social event is open to the Waterloo club and Central Iowa club. Event is also open to past members. (Further details on Page 4)

• Reminder: Membership renewal deadline is April 1. • Monica reporting receiving Kirkwood’s request for a $500 scholarship. She will turn the request over

to the treasurer/secretary to hold, along with other suggestions, for dispersing of pond proceeds. Rose Milden opened discussion regarding Kirkwood’s request for payment now so it could be listed in the school’s catalog. Monica explained that any dispersement would have to wait until after the pond tour and was dependent on the proceeds from the tour. She urged members to bring any ideas to the group.

• Committee Reports: Commercial Relations: Bob Geer reported a good response from contributors of prizes. He has prepared thank you post cards (see below) which will be given with each prize and asked that the recipient mail it to the vendor with their thanks. This is a great way to encourage con-tinued support from the various vendors. Programs: Larry Thompson asked if there was interest in having Rick Patterson from the Indian Creek Nature Center speak at a meeting. The response was positive and Larry will contact Rick.

• Monica introduced Greg, who spoke about Pond Filtration. It was a very informative presentation and Greg provided handouts. After his talk, members were given the opportunity to ask questions and to visit his Koi house and ponds. Greg mentioned that his ponds were not up and running and he was planning on remodeling his ponds, which would include putting in bottom drains. Greg mentioned he would be placing an order for drain domes for $16 each. Anyone interested should contact him.

• Vice President, Dave Bell, lead the 3P’s (Plants, Products, Problems) 15-minute discussion. Among things discussed, new member, Jim Blood, asked about white algae, and happily found out that it was carpet algae and was considered a good thing. He had been considering draining his pond to get rid of it.

• Prizes were awarded to the following: Sylvia Blood, Larry Thompson, Kerry Shaner, Jim Blood, Gil Morley, Joe Holtzman, Carl Unkel, Roberta Ward, Bob Kontz, Roy Gaddis, Dave Kunkle, Mia Bickal, Janice Bell, Robert Ward, and Gary Huner-dosse. • Monica wished everyone a Happy Easter the meeting was adjourned at 4:10 pm.

Submitted by Maria Hamilton Co-Editor

Page 3

LECTURES at Cedar Rapids Public

Library 500 1st Street SE •

Creative Gardening Series

Visualizing Changes in Your Landscape Tuesday • APRIL 1 • 6:30pm–8:00pm Professional Gardener and author Janet Macunovich Growing Perennials in Cold Climates Tuesday • APRIL 8 • 6:30pm–8:00pm Michael L. Heger, author and owner of Amber-gate Gardens will pre-sent.

Shrubs for Cold Cli-mates: Beyond Burn-ingbush Tuesday •APRIL 15 • 6:30pm–8:00pm Join Glenn Herold, Pro-fessor of Horticulture at Illinois Central College for this lecture

Dave Frieden checks out materials Greg uses as Karen Frienden listens for more tips that Greg had to offer.

The club members receiving lots of information on filtration

Greg shows his invention, Bio Rope, that he uses. He said it is much lighter than the lava rock that some members still use.

Member ,Greg Bickal, talks about filtration

Vice President ,Dave Bell, starts the 15-minute open discussion he calls the 3 P’s, Problems, Plants, and Prod-ucts. New addition to the meetings.

From March 22nd meeting

Looking for a Special Fish?

David Zahn from Moline will take orders for any type of Japanese fish. David was a ven-dor at the 2007 Pond Expo. Call him for de-tails… 309/797-1640.

Page 4

Special Event Potluck PicnicSpecial Event Potluck PicnicSpecial Event Potluck PicnicSpecial Event Potluck Picnic Guest Speaker member Jamie Beyer Guest Speaker member Jamie Beyer Guest Speaker member Jamie Beyer Guest Speaker member Jamie Beyer

Saturday, August 30, 2008Saturday, August 30, 2008Saturday, August 30, 2008Saturday, August 30, 2008

Jamie is a Lifetime Master Gardener from the Ames/Boone area and is founder and immediate Past President of the Cen-tral Iowa Water Garden Association. Water gardening has been a passion of Jamie's for over 45 years and, currently, he has three 10,000 gallon ponds and one 27,000 gallon pond which contains many kinds of water plants and fish. He com-bines this experience with his Master's Degree in Fish and Wildlife Biology to become uniquely qualified to be one of the Midwest's foremost experts on the subject. His broad back-ground of fisheries, dynamics of water, wildlife ecology, and horticulture gives him impressive credentials. Jamie frequently speaks and writes on all aspects of water features and water gardening to gardeners in the Midwest. In addition, he also has a consulting/installation business, called Midwest Waterscapes, which he works as a water garden, fountain and pond consultant/installer to people that want extra help. Jamie has considerable experience installing ponds, diagnosing water garden problems, teaching classes and helping do-it-yourselfers, do it right. Since the late 80's, he has been involved with the design and installation of over 700 water gardens and features.

Jamie and co-author Veronica Fowler, wrote the Ortho Book "All About Garden Pools and Fountains". Over a half million copies of the book has been sold since it's publication.

Topic FISH & WILDLIFE OF WATER GARDENS

Mark your calendar

Don’t miss this exciting event…. Saturday, August 30, 2008

5:00 pm to 10:00 pm Noelridge Park Pavillion/Cedar Rapids IA

Member Deb Kontz Top 5 Picks On Koi Health…………Just for fun

April Birthdays

Eileen Serbousek April 17th

If you would like your birthday printed in the newsletter, e-mail us at me-springcove@aol.com or sign in with the Hospitality Committee: Elena Murillo or Gil Morley.

Page 5

1. Do not expire at a meeting or in the vicinity of ponders. You will be dissected. And then everyone will see your guts. 2. If you are dissected, everyone will know your diet. and analyze your fat content. Double gross. Again, you have been warned. 3. Parrots or large tropical birds in your indoor fish wintering area help your fish survive. I've seen proof. As a bonus, they can help YOU survive by warning when strange ponders are in the vicinity. Or pelicans too, I suppose. 4. Many ponders are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to fish nutri-tion. Composition, compounds, supplements ...hey wait... weren't we missing a few members last meeting? Maybe a little TOO knowledgeable. Can any-one spell s-o-y-l-e-n-t g-r-e-e-n? Mm-hm. Just the right algea content too. Let's see if they ever "show" again....! The members, I mean. 5. My water is pretty clear and my fish look alive. That's a pretty good day for me. With more meetings and information, however, I hope to someday join the ranks of members who have a fish the size of which swallowed Pinno-chio. At least the action sized one.

Looking for Ponds for the 2008 Pond and Garden Tour

If you are inter-ested in participat-ing in the 2008 Pond and Garden Tour let us know…….. A few things to keep in mind, are your walkways safe for the public (senior citizens) to walk. Do you have an entryway to enter and one to exit. Do you have good parking. At a later date the Pond Tour Com-mittee will set up a time to come out and view your pond. You also must be a current

2008 Member.

Any questions contact

Monica Morley

Hosta of the Month by Josh Spece

‘First Frost’

Page 6

What’s Up…….What’s Up…….What’s Up…….What’s Up…….

A sad Good Bye to our fellow fish buddies who have passed on to peaceful waters.

Our fish sympathy to: Jackie Allsup

Joe Olsen Becki Lynch

Robert & Roberta Ward Karen & David Frieden Hugh & Kathi Albrecht

Joe Hall

Ode to My Fish Unknown Author

O, w et pets, never have I

yet been so fortunate to get companions such as you.

Unlike my cats, you do not

scratch, nor prey on small fow l, nor at midnight yow l.

You may not purr nor w arm

my knees, but it's for sure you know how to please.

You are quiet as the fog; not so for my dog. He jumps

and w ill drool, and acts

much the fool. You may not fetch, nor happily greet me,

but it's not a stretch to say

that you love me. You are beauty in motion, and free-

dom in form; your life's but

an ocean and mine to death foresw orn. But never w ill I

be alone, as long as you are

at my home.

Congratulations

To Members,

Carol & Dennis Sindelar, who won Runner-up Best of Show with some Electric Yellows and a Borlyi (cichid) at the EIAA Fish

Show at Noelridge Easter Weekend

With spring just around the corner, frost is the last thing any gardener wants to hear about. Try to look past the name, though, be-cause Hosta ‘First Frost’ is a real winner! Being a sport of ‘Halcyon’, ‘First Frost’ has some stel-lar relatives including one of my all time favorites – ‘June’. ‘First Frost’ greets us in the spring with a rich, buttery-yellow edge and a strong blue center. Like its parent, the blue coloring is among the best of any hosta and it holds the color most of the season. By early June, the gold margin fades to creamy white. In either combi-nation, the margin and center colors always offer a striking contrast. The good leaf substance keeps ‘First Frost’ looking fresh until the first frost of autumn. This hosta grows steadily into a 30” wide mound that has lavender flowers in July. Hosta ‘First Frost’ is one kind of frost I welcome in my garden! Josh Spece is a long time member of EIPS.

Iowa Koi and Watergarden

1055 46th St.

Des Moines, IA 50311 515.277.2508

www.iakoi.com under construction

Owners Julie Leonard and her hus-band will have high quality koi. As well as food, supplies, test kits, Koi hobby books and magazines. Along with a veterinarian Koi

health assessments.

Page 7 10% Discount

10% discount on pond plants and water gardening supplies (includes fountains & water

bowls).

Must show your 2008 membership card at time of

purchase.

520 Hwy 1 West

Iowa City IA 52246

www.iowacitylandscaping.com

10% on regular priced vegetable and garden plants. Also pond products. Must show current 08 membership

card at time of purchase.

5155 Northland Ave NE Cedar Rapids IA (only)

Member Josh Spece’s busi-ness In the Country Garden & Gits offers a discount to members. You must show your current membership card at time of purchase.

2392 240th St

Independence IA 50644

I have contacted sev-eral business in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City area. Requesting membership dis-counts . As of this time we have acquired 3 additional business along with In the Country Garden and Gifts. Please support all of them by making purchases from them using your member-ship card to receive the 10% discount. Monica Morley/President

Thank you goes out to Oaks Daylilies for sending 2008 catalogs for our members. I have purchased day-lilies and had great success. Upon my re-quest they sent the catalogs. Please sup-port them. Check out their web site also. www.oakesdaylilies.com Catalogs available at the meetings until gone.

Monica/President

New member Tony Patti’s business,

AJ’s Copper Garden, is located at 3146 Hwy 6 Trail Homestead, IA 52236 and also has a Gallery located

at 4303 220 Trail Amana, IA, He designs sculptures with copper,

brass and stainless steel, mounted on steel posts, so they will last a life-

time, even outdoors. Check out his website: AJsCopperGarden.com

Page 8

The good news is, it ’s finally Spring! The bad news is, as the ice is melting off our ponds, many of us are finding our beloved pets are dead or very sick. Phone calls are coming in; “What do I do now?” Now if you’ve lost all your fish Just walk away….sadly just wait till it gets warmer before you mess with it. There’s not much to be gained by going out there when water temps are still in the low 40’s to catch pneumonia messing in the cold water. When it’s warmed up enough to play in the water and you feel like you can stand to again work on the pond, without filling it up with dirt, you can then go out and first give it a thorough evaluation. Let’s try to figure out why the fish died? Was it a water quality problem? Did I allow the ammonia to increase and the pH to decrease by not doing water changes? Is there a lot of debris in the bottom? Did I fail to keep a hole open or an aerator running? Did I not keep the snow shoveled off all winter? Is the pond raised above the ground, which allows the water to get too cold, or is the pond too shallow for fish? Or, do you feel like possibly one fish died early on, causing the water to deteriorate and causing the other fish to die? It’s important to try to figure out what went wrong, so we can actually fix the problem. Whether it is owner/operator failure or Mother Nature, we can’t fix something if we don’t realize the problem. It may be an appropriate time to realize, this fish keeping stuff takes some work. There are no pets on earth that can go 4-5 months without any type of care at all. Sadly, we must realize our fishy friends can not go unattended for a whole winter either. If we’re not going to bring them in, then maybe we need to realize we are going to have to shovel snow once in a while or run a hose from the house. I can hear it now: “I did the same thing this winter as last!” There is no denying this winter was especially cold and snowy. Ice preceded snow and it just never let up. We may have even thought the snow on our ponds was a “good insulator”. That’s a wrong line of thought for many reasons. Regardless the reason, we must move forward to save the remaining fish if there are any.

As you might guess, getting all dead fish out as quickly as possible is imperative, especially if you still have some live f ish. You’ll need to test your water. Most likely that will tell you why your fish are dead, but not always. Most people are finding ammonia off the charts. Some are experiencing low pH, some POs (pond owner) are not. If you’re finding high ammonia and still have some live fish, you need to immediately get it treated and bound, then start water replacements, Simply drop in a sump pump to get some of the water out and run a hose from an inside faucet, if you have to. Use straight cold water from the tap. (Be sure to treat for chlorine if needed.) Do a series of water changes over the next few days to dilute the icky water out and rebuild your gH and pH levels if necessary. Your surviving fish will appreciate the new re-freshed waters. You’ll need to examine the rema ining fish to decide their condition. If they are covered with fungus or heavy slime coats or are display signs of pineconeing, you might want to consider bringing them inside to warm them up and treat them. Pond side heavy salt dips are also a good treatment for ailing fish. (.6% salt bath for 30 minutes and them return to the pond..6%= 6teaspoons per gallon) If the remain-ing fish aren’t doing too badly, then continue with your usual Spring routine. Now that winter is over, we can consider raising the salt level up to .3% (added over a 3 day period , .3% = 3lbs per 100 gal) for a cou-ple weeks or so during the Spring to help deter parasites and help your fish’s osmotic systems adjust to the warming water. Adding products like Koizyme can help keep the pathogenic bacteria down in your pond. With dead fish, your pond may be full of these nasty bugs, that will cause ulcers and other problems with your winter stressed fish. If you examine the gills on your dead fish, if they are tattered and white and fun-gusy looking you already have major water problems and more stringent measures may need to be taken to save any fish at all.

Once water parameters are stabilized, we can keep a better eye on its quality and just as soon as it gets warm enough to actually work out there, vacuum the bottoms, clean filers, and get things running again. (Remember to always clean filters before turning them on again)

With a little extra care, our ponds can again support a thriving fish community. With thor-ough evaluations and a little honesty about pond conditions and stocking levels, we can continue to enjoy our fishy friends for many years to come.

Dead Fish….Now What?? -Jackie Allsup, KHA

Eastern Iowa Pond Society—Membership Application 2008

To become a member of the Eastern Iowa Pond Society, complete this form and mail it along with your dues to :

Eastern Iowa Pond Society 206 n. 3rd ST PO BOX 148

QUASQUETON IA 52326 Dues are $10.00 per calendar year. Make checks payable to: Eastern Iowa Pond Society ________ New membership _________ Renewal Name: Address: Phone Number: E-mail address: Newsletters will be mailed to all members. Dues will be $10.00 per family, payable November of previous year and delinquent April 1st of each year. These dues entitle a mem-ber to participation in all activities and receive a monthly newsletter.

TENTATIVE 2008 Meeting Schedule

Times determined by the Host/Hostess

Programs will be updated as available along with the times of the meetings.

May 8th Dave & Karen Frieden Becki Lynch/Ornamental Grasses May 24th Carl Unkel 5:00pm/Potluck June 12th Jeff Garner & Kerry Shaner 6:30 Rich Patterson/Indian Creek Nature Center 7:00 June 28th Pre-Pond Tour July 13th Pond Tour July 26th Roberta & Robert Ward Photo Contest August 14th Jo & Gary Hunerdosse 7:00pm August 23rd Hugh & Kathi Albrecht 7:00pm August 30th Social Picnic Event/Noelridge Park Pavillion Jamie Beyer 5:00 pm September 11th Becki Lynch September 27th Bob & Deb Kontz/Jamie Beyer October 25th Herman & Rosie Michel TBD Recognition Night

Our Mission Statement We are committed to providing a social atmosphere for members dedicated to sharing and learning the pleasure of water gardening. We are a non-profit organization. Membership of this association shall be open to any individual without regard to race, creed, national origin or Sex, who shall render membership dues as specified in the governing documents. History The Eastern Iowa Pond Society was established by Sharon Weiss in 1996 to encourage and promote water gardening and ponds. Meetings Meetings are held at different members homes the second Thursday at 7:00PM and the fourth Saturday in April, May. June. July, August and September. During Feb., March, October and Nov.

WWW.EIPS.ORG

Visions

Eastern Iowa Pond

Society Inc.

meetings are held once a month on a Saturday. No meetings are held in December or January. Yearly Planning A plan-the-year meeting is held on a February afternoon at a central location to ham-mer out strategies on how the club will conduct business and to plan activities for the upcoming year. Activities A yearly Pond Tour event involves se-lected members opening their ponds to the public. Speakers, demonstrations, field trips, plant and fish swap, pot luck, and club projects are all activities that happen during the year. Dues Dues will be $10.00 per family, payable November of previous year and delinquent April 1st of each year. These dues entitle a member to participation in all activities and receive a monthly newsletter.

Eastern Iowa Pond Society Inc.

Box 148 206 N 3rd St

Quasqueton, IA 52326 Non profit organization