Saturday, November 12 6:00 PM –?

at Botanica’s Lotus Hall

(701 N. Amidon)

ELECTIONS & AUCTION

This month’s meeting will feature elections for Vice-President and Secretary. These positions are currently held by Wanita Wright and Susan Kandt. We will also have our annual auction event. The garden clubs of the Wichita Area Garden Council will join us.

Proceeds will go to Botanica. Please bring a main dish and a

side or dessert. Paper plates and plastic forks are provided, but you are also welcome to bring your own plates and service.

Drinks will be provided.

UPCOMING EVENTS Nov 4-5: Orchid Show & Sale Nov 11: KPS Auction Nov 23: Thanksgiving Nov 24: Illuminations begins at Botanica Dec 2: KPS Holiday Party Jan 6: KPS Meeting Feb 3: KPS Meeting Mar 3: KPS Meeting

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

Don McClanahan Jeff & Brenda Anderson

Pat Gonzales

President: Mike Kandt 838-6681, koikat@cox.net

Vice-President: Wanita Wright, 733-6626, wrightd9@aol.com Treasurer: Larry Determann 945-0017, ksscouter@cox.net Secretary: Susan Kandt, 838-6681, koikat@cox.net Newsletter Editor: Mike Kandt 838-6681, koikat@cox.net Webmaster: Wayne Determann, wdetermann@gmail.com

FROM THE PRESIDENT By Mike Kandt The days are getting shorter, and last month we barely had time to eat and hear the great presentation on bees before darkness fell. But Wes Wolken of American Bee Keeping and Removal did a great job of telling us all about keeping these wonderful insects and collecting honey. He made the presentation in the Hong’s Landscape bee hive area so we could see the hives that Hong’s keeps. Too bad darkness had to cut off the many questions. Also in October, we rebuilt a crumbled stone wall and a small waterfall at the Kansas Wildlife Exhibit in Riverside Park. We have not yet painted the concrete pools in that exhibit yet due to some delays in getting other work done. Hopefully, that will happen before bad weather arrives. A big thanks again to those KPS members who helped with this project. Our November meeting will be the auction at Botanica. Note that this is moved to one week later -- November 11. We are inviting all garden clubs and the public to join us. The format will be a “bucket” auction and a silent auction. All proceeds will benefit Botanica. Bring items you wish to donate to the auction. If you want to drop off some items early, a KPS member will be at Botanica after 4:00 pm that day to receive items. No live animals, please, and limit the live plants to a few. Handcrafted items are welcome. This is a great time to start on your Christmas list for your family and gardening friends. Please plan to come with your checkbook and support Botanica. Read more about the auction in Deborah’s article. At this meeting we will also vote for President (currently held by me) and Treasurer (currently held by Larry Determann). We both have agreed to continue if you choose. If you have a desire to help out in one of these offices, let me know. You won’t hurt our feelings, and we always welcome new ideas and leadership. The day after Thanksgiving, Botanica will begin their holiday event – Illuminations. Every year, things get a little bigger and better. And don’t forget to see Santa! I look forward to seeing you at our auction. Just remember to bid high and often and bring cash or checks; we are not set up to do credit cards.

November 2017

ADVERTISING RATES Business Card Size Ad (about 2" x 3 ½"): $15 per 3-month period; $50 per year Quarter-Page Ad (about 3 ½" x 4 ½"): $30 per 3-month period; $100 per year Half-Page Ad (about 5" x 7 ½"): $60 per 3-month period; $200 per year Full-Page Ad (8 ½” x 11"): $400 per year

SWAP SHOP If you have articles, plants or fish to sell or give away, let me know at 838-6681 or koikat@cox.net

If you are thinking about getting rid of some of your koi, it is best to wait until spring. By the end of the month, fish will likely be “hibernating” for the winter. It is best not to disturb and stress them in this condition. I’m sure there will be plenty of people who want fish in the spring.

WATER PLANTS

(From Encyclopedia of Water Garden Plants by Gregg & Sue Speichert.)

Water Spinach

Ipomoea aquatica

Water spinach – known by a number of names, including kong xin cai, in Asian groceries – is an Oriental vegetable. The young shoots of this aquatic are often used in stir-fry dishes. It has 3-inch white flowers in late spring or early summer and again in early fall when the weather cools and the days become shorter. This native of tropical regions of Asia is considered a noxious weed in warmer

climates for its ability to grow very rapidly out on the water surface. Do not plant this in sites that are connected to natural bodies of water – it must not be allowed to spread. It grows fast to help shade a pond and can tolerate koi predation.

It grows 8-10 inches high in sun to part shade and has a running, floating spread. When rooted to the bottom, it grows in water 4-18 inches deep; in deeper water it forms floating mats. Hardy in zones 9-11. In colder climates bring in new shoots and grow the plant in a bowl of warm water in a sunny room, or plant the new shoots in pots. I like hanging baskets in a sunny window. It almost stops growing in winter when days are short, then resumes when days get longer in March. It can be easily propagated from stem cuttings, which root quickly from the leaf nodes. Mealy bugs and spider mites may attack in winter but simply submerge for a few days to control.

PREPARING FOR WINTER – PART 2

By Mike Kandt Okay, fall is starting to get serious now. Leaves are falling (at least from some trees), and our first frost looms at the end of this week. We’re procrastinating netting our pond, but we really need to get it done. Susan’s cleaning leaves from the skimmer twice a day or more. I know I published the Winterizing Checklist last month, but there are a few things that warrant additional emphasis. Fish Feeding: When the AVERAGE water temperature drops below 55 degrees, stop feeding high-protein food and switch to low-protein food. So what is low-protein food? Most manufacturers will call it “Spring and Fall” food. Generally, it has a protein content of 32% or less. Anything over that I am calling “high”-protein – usually 38% and above. We usually feed generic Cheerios as a low-protein food. It is cheap and easy to digest. If we have some left in the fall, we can use it in the spring. When the average water temperature drops below 50 degrees, you should stop feeding totally. Even though they will tell you they are hungry, it is best to resist. They will be okay. Move the airstone on your aerator off the bottom and up onto a shelf in the pond. This helps prevent destratification of the pond water. The ground will try to warm the water and the cold air will try to cool it. The deepest parts of the pond, farthest away from the cool air, will stay slightly warmer. Moving the airstone up will cut down on the pond circulation and keep that warmer water at the bottom. That’s why fish always hug the bottom in the winter. Cold water holds oxygen better than warm water, so the aerator is less critical in the winter, but it does provide a great way to keep a hole in the ice. Any “hardy” plants that will be damaged by freezing should be dropped to the bottom of the pond before winter and then raised in the spring. This includes hardy water lilies, lotus, thalia, and others. Certain hardy marginal plants can take the freezing in Kansas. These include water iris, lizard tail, water bamboo, variegated sweet flag, and water celery, to name a few. Tropical pond plants should be brought indoors or dried out and kept in a non-freezing place such as the garage. Certain plants do well as indoor house plants, such as umbrella palm and spider lily. Don’t even try to over-winter water hyacinth or lettuce. It takes too much energy for heat and light. You might as well buy new ones in the spring. If you don’t net your pond, try to scoop out as many leaves as you can. But leaving a few leaves is not bad. This provides a place for frogs and other things like dragonfly larvae to burrow in and over-winter. Well, I need to get back to hauling plants back into the house and tucking things away before winter hits. So take advantage of the nice days.

Did you know… Always add declorinator and chloramine treatment to your pond BEFORE adding the water, to avoid possible damage from the water getting to your fish’s gills before being treated. ………………..wcw

The KOI CHRONICLES By Wanita Wright

KOI HERPES VIRUS Koi Herpes Virus is often referred to as KHV. It is a fast-spreading disease and can literally kill most of the fish in your pond in under a week. Sound extreme? Definitely. And, hopefully, no one that any of us knows will ever experience it. But since we have been discussing isolation methods, I thought it best we become aware of this dangerous virus. It’s really the cyprinid herpesvirus 3(CyHV-3), with the first recognized case identified in the United Kingdom in 1996. It has attacked koi and common carp in every country excluding Australia (their laws prohibit any importation of koi). It is closely related to carp pox virus (Cyprinid herpesvirus 1, CyHV1), and goldfish hematopoietic necrosis virus (Cyprinid herpesvirus 2, CyHV2). The most common signs from the active viral infection are severe gill lesions which exhibit as gill mottling with red and white patches (the white patches are due to necrosis death of the gill tissue), sunken eyes, pale patches on the skin, and possibly anorexia. Behaviorally, affected fish often remain near the surface, swim lethargically and uncoordinated, and exhibit respiratory distress due to dead gill tissue. Mortality rates can run from 80 - 100%. Any surviving fish are quite likely to be carriers and may infect newly acquired koi or goldfish by shedding the virus. The virus is spread by direct contact with infected fish, contact with fluids of infected fish, and contact with water, mud or other organic matter that have come into contact with contaminated systems. The disease has devastated the carp aquaculture population around the world and seriously affected the koi trade. All out-of-country koi shipped to the U.S. are placed in quarantine for several days upon arrival. Each shipment is tested for KHV before being shipped and again during quarantine before being delivered to the final U.S destination. There is no cure currently, although the AKCA (Associated Koi Clubs of America) is financing research that is looking for a cure. With that said, I know of no instances of outbreak in the Midwest. What can you do to ensure that your fish do not contact this virus? First, buy from a reputable dealer or an individual who you know has not experienced an outbreak. Second, use an isolation system when you get new fish. The isolation treatment is set out below. Third, be aware of where your plants have been. Fourth, use disinfected nets, and do not pour water from other ponds into your pond. Fifth, DON’T panic. An isolated fish or two that is ill does NOT indicate KHV – KHV would attack all your fish at once. KHV (Koi Herpes Virus) treatment – • After transport allow a rest period of 1-2 weeks. • Then raise the tank temperature over 2-3 days up to 78-80 degrees (trigger temp for KHV is 75 degrees)

(300 watt heater needed for 100 gallons) • Stop feeding and maintain this temperature for about 3 weeks. The stress from discontinued feeding

weakens the immune system and can sometimes trigger the disease. • Scrape the koi and examine the slides for parasites; check the gills • Return the temperature to ambient temperature, let the koi rest and feed the koi for 2 weeks. • Raise the temperature to 80 degrees for 3-5 days, add

aeration and continue feeding. • Return tank temperature to ambient, let the koi rest and

feed them for a week. • Finally, raise the tank temperature to 90 degrees for 2

days. • If the koi display no disease during these cycles, they

are considered ready to mingle with current stock.

Wanita

KPS AUCTION IN NOVEMBER

By Deborah Gafvert

Greetings, Kansas Pond Society! Plans are currently underway for the annual KPS/Garden Council auction, 100% of which benefits Botanica, Saturday, November 11, at Botanica. Auction proceeds in the past three years, during which time KPS collaborated with Garden Council, nearly doubled past auctions when KPS was alone. TEAM-together each accomplishes more! . So we consider this a highly successful collaboration! I (Deborah) will be at Botanica at 4pm to accept donations. Auction items and baskets may be dropped off any time after 4pm , then come back for delicious potluck dinner at 6:30, auction following, concluding 8:30-ish. Bring cash or checks for bucket auction tickets and silent auction purchases. This event is free and open to general public. The clubs have in the past provided very wonderful gift baskets. Gift baskets again are very welcome. Other requested items include but are not limited to gift certificates from area vendors we patronize, new or gently-used garden/pond themed items, everything from giftable plants, candles, art, books, garden/pond/yard equipment/supplies, decor like statuary, lanterns, chimes etc, garden-concept clothing and jewelry, earthy handcrafts like hypertufa and art ceramics, art glass, stained glass, earthy music, garden-type holiday items -- you name it, as long as it is in good shape and is garden/nature/pond themed. Items that are giftable do really well. Every year we try to learn from the prior in order to be a little more organized. I will need a lot of helpers beginning at 4pm to greet, accept, and stage auction items. If you know in advance you can help, email me to let me know;it will greatly relieve some anxiety on my part. But feel free to just show up if it works out at the last minute. No help will be refused!!! AND really, the most important part: we really, really need shoppers.! Past experience tells us we will have great stuff at a very nice value. Come prepared to stock up for the holidays and bring friends, especially friends who need things! Tell people it's all for Botanica! Just one last word: please no living creatures -fish, birds, bunnies, etc. We have also learned that garden plants do not do well at this time. Save those for our plant exchange in May. Houseplants do not do well at this event unless they are artfully put together in a giftable way, like succulent gardens or holiday-themed amaryllis, poinsettia, etc. Questions/comments? My contact info: Deborah Gafvert: dsgafvert@gmail.com. Hoping to see many of you November 11 for an even bigger event than last year!! FISH TALES by Susan Kandt

FALL HAS FELL (well, sorta)

Leaves are falling. They aren’t turning colors all that much, mind you, but falling they are. Everybody’s confused. Is this fall or not? Just about the time I drag out a sweatshirt and jeans on a chilly morning and get in the car to go somewhere, the temperature suddenly soars up into the high 80’s and I’m turning on the car’s air conditioner. Our HVAC system here at home was getting whiplash from going from cool to heat and back to cool again, so I finally just turned the thing off, ignored my allergies, opened up all the windows, and decided to wait for the weather to make up its mind. But if we think WE’RE confused, imagine how the trees must feel. As I write this, it’s almost Halloween and I can count the number of red and yellow leaves I’ve seen in my neighborhood. Maybe it will have changed by the time you read this, but right now? It just looks dusty, beige, and blah outside. I’m telling myself that since we had such a long, glorious spring, maybe summer is demanding equal time and digging in its heels for awhile. But the trees didn’t get the memo, so every time it cools down a tad, I’m out there skimming leaves out of the pond and skimmer like crazy and yelling at Mike that we need to net the pond RIGHT NOW!! Then, of course, the temp shoots up to near 90, the wind subsides, and the leaves quit falling. And voila! Just like that, in the space of a heartbeat – it’s summer again. I know we should just give it up and go ahead and net, but I’m really enjoying the pond right now and I hate to do it until we have to. The koi are ravenous, the new little guys we bought this summer and last have suddenly

caught on to how this whole feeding thing works, and I’m enjoying watching everybody snarf down food like it’s the apocalypse and starvation is nigh (which is highly possible; see last month’s column). I’ve gone through more fish food this summer than I think I went through the past two summers combined. Oh, and of course the rain that threatened to flood the basement in the spring has now split town and left us high and dry. Guess it’s directing all its energy elsewhere – somewhere like poor Puerto Rico. (A mere flooded basement probably sounds like paradise to those folks.) So despite the fact that the weather gurus are predicting a whole ½” of rain today, I just went out and started sprinklers. Everything is dry as parchment out there, and I’ve got 30 or so hostas in pots that don’t believe said gurus and are screaming for a drink. And, of course, 10 minutes after I started the sprinklers and sat back down to continue this whine fest, it started sprinkling. “Ha!” said I, shaking my fist at the open window. “You’re not fooling me! I’ve been sucked in by this game before. The minute I go out and turn off the sprinklers, the rain will magically stop. I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t LAST night.” So, grumbling all the while, I go back to typing. And guess what? Suddenly, the skies darken and the rain opens up for real. I can practically hear Mother Nature cackling through the window. So I open the door, let in two cats who were begging to go out 10 minutes ago, grab an umbrella, and stomp back outdoors to turn off the sprinklers. I shake my fist at Ma Nature for good measure, prop the umbrella against the wall by the door, and come back in. And I kid you not – the second I sit down at the computer and resume typing, the rain stops, the sun comes out, and both cats are meowing to go out again. Ah, Kansas weather. You know what they say: If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. Then wait five minutes again. Then wait five more minutes. And lo and behold: within 20 minutes you’ve experienced pretty much everything Kansas has to offer in the way of weather. I’m thoroughly convinced that Ma Nature particularly enjoys playing with Kansas. I’m not sure why. I think she gets a big kick out of messing with farmers. I mean, talk about a tempting target. In the spring, we either get so much rain the crops drown or so little they don’t grow. Then there’s those pesky tornadoes and hail, which can mutilate crops no end. Followed by summer, where we get NO rain, and the crops threaten to dry up and die. I really have to admire those people who farm for a living in Kansas. They’re either the most insane optimists on the planet or just too stubborn to let Mother Nature win. And it’s raining again. Let the cats in. It’s 2:30 in the p.m. but dark, so turn on the lights. Start typing again. Oops. The sun just came out. Turn off the lights. Let the cats out. And oh yeah. It just dropped eight degrees, so change from shorts back into jeans. But all whining aside, here’s the good news. While I was out trudging through the yard on my sprinkler run, umbrella in hand, I noticed our new little maple tree that we planted a couple of years ago suddenly has some stunningly vivid red leaves on it. And the pear tree seemed to be turning orange while I watched. Is it finally, no-fooling autumn in Kansas? Or just Mother Nature having a giggle before she springs a 90-degree tomorrow on us? Whatever. I’m enjoying it while it lasts. And although we got precious little rain, it was enough to dust everything off, and suddenly everything looks a whole lot less beige and blah. I may be able to count the reds and yellows out there on the fingers of one hand, but it looks hopeful. In the meantime, I’m keeping those fingers crossed that real Kansas fall is – well, falling at last. Just a reminder: Our KPS auction is the second Saturday in November. Bring some goodies to sell, and just as importantly, bring yourselves to buy. All proceeds go to Botanica, and a good time is always had by all. Hey, if having fun bidding against each other isn’t enough to tempt you, there’s always the food. Come on, you KNOW we do food like nobody else. It’s raining again. Time to let some cats in. See you at the auction.

Susan

Kansas Pond Society 5615 N. Sullivan Wichita, KS 67204