LAKE FUNGUS

[Romy Beeck]

I'm a rookie gardener.But a few years back I took some dead weeds from the lake and put them around my tomato plants and I had very good tomatos that year.I'm just wondering if I took the soil from the water and put it on my garden and let the sun try it out and them work it later with my garden tractor if that would give me a better garden this year. I sure hope someone on this newsgroup can help me. I have a 100 feet of lake frontage. By the way I live in wisconsin

[WiGard]

I am also in the land of ice and snow. Which lake?

Lake weeds work great in the garden and compost heap.

Silty shouldn't be a problem since most of our best farmland can be found in river deltas, river bottomlands and where rivers have flooded.

Before getting too carried away, I would recommend a soil test. There are two labs in Wisconsin:

Madison Lab Soil Testing Plant Analysis ICP Mass Spectrometry

Marshfield Lab Forage Testing Soil Testing Waste Analysis

is the web address.

Tests are cheap. You simply collect and submit samples according to the instructional materials that come in the kit. There is a provision to state your type of garden. The report comes back in 1-2 weeks with recommendations.

These are the ones to ask about adding river or lake soil to gardens.

The secret to any garden soil is amendments. If the soil is too sandy, add organic material. If it is too clayey, add organic materials. Sand is not the best way to rejuvenate or improve soil.

If you like to fish, add a few bluegill or carp to your garden/composter. Great fertilizer but also an attractant for racoons, skunk, cats, etc.

Another source for info is your county extension agent. Every Wisconsin county has one. The info is free and reliable.

Each county offers a master gardening program as well.

[Kevin Cutlip]

Aquatic "weeds" make great fertilizer... I own a pond company and as part of the maintenance package it involves netting out the pond and pruning the aquatic plants...If the customer does not want the "muck" then it goes to my gardens at home....Miracle Gro al la Ma Nature.....Thinning out water hyacinth is the mac daddy. In the spring I use my pond water that is going through an algae bloom and spray it on my seed trays.....