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Aloha! Please check out our newly updated website: www.thefishshack.com

Organic pond liner??

I've seen a lot of blog postings about "organic" certification for aquaponics, specifically pond liners. However, I can't find the scientific reasons for most of the opinions I see posted. There's disscution about plastics and rubber but almost nothing on traditional surfaces such as fiberglass, concrete and of course, clay[ fired or in place]. I suppose that ponds dug in ground at an organic farm would automatically be considered "organic", then again as you dig deeper in the substrate does that open an entirley new "can of worms"?

Cool waterlily picture

I just thought this was a cool picture. This is Nymphaea 'Albert Greenberg'. It was probably my camera, but the colors came out really nifty!

Our lotus are starting to bloom!

Here at the Fish Shack, our spring lotus tubers are starting to send up flower buds. So exciting! We usually get our tubers in the very early spring. Whatever doesn't sell by May 1st, gets planted out here at the shop. Well... the ones we've planted out here at the shop are starting to send out buds and some have even flowered!

Wakins! A type of pond comet

We *rarely* get wakin goldfish in. RARELY. Maybe 1-2 times per YEAR. But they are soooo cool when they're here. A wakin has a regular, long comet goldfish body, but has a short, fancy double-tail like a ryukin or lionhead. Check 'em out:

Nymphaea immutabilis babies

We were graced with 6 immutabilis bulbs a while back. We planted them all out and 3 actually did something. Here's a picture of our young immutabilis throwing out their first blooms:

Oddball waterlily at The Fish Shack

The other day, we had one of our waterlilies go crazy at the shop. It's Nymphaea 'Ostara'. Ostara's tend to go a little nutty and I'm not sure what causes it. Maybe it's the heat here in Kahului, maybe something in it's "genetic code" causes it to go crazy? We're not sure, but whatever it is, it makes for interesting conversation.

The leaves grow into a funny shape. But the oddest thing is that the flowers come out "conjoined"! I wonder if "twinning" in plants is a common thing??

Lotus on Maui

Lotus have to grow LOTS of roots before the grow vegetation. That's why we have found it very important to plant the lotus tubers directly in dirt at the bottom of the container and never in a standard pot. All the times we've planted the tubers in pots, they grow for about 1 month and then become pot-bound and DIE.

While your lotus are growing, you may see some brown leaves. That does NOT mean it is dying. Just let those leaves go and soon the roots will be pushing up new foliage.

Maui Water Lily Gardeners

Things are really growing at full-speed now here at the Fish Shack! The water lilies, the lotus and yes, of course... the algae. Thsi is when all "water gardeners" actually get to garden! Just like weeding, the timely removal of detritus from your pond helps keep the hair/string algae away. Also, a nice acidifier (correctly used) can be a summer-time friend.

Immutabilis - Australian Water Lily - Albert de Lestang

We just re-potted our big "Albert de Lestang" Immutabilis (the Australian waterlily). It got super huge and then started to get pot-bound, so we repotted it. It's bouncing back nicely! We hope to put this out at one of the resort ponds we're going to be taking care of starting in July.

Winter in Hawaii.....sorta

Lotus & Lillies

My dad is complaining that his lillies are not growing quick enough. It's amazing how this time of year, lots of people are buying pond fertilizer. That's because even though we live in Hawaii, it still gets cooler this time of year. Mom says "It's important not to burn your plants with fertilizer early in the season." Smaller lillies are just a fact of life this time of year. But don't worry, by the time April is over, they'll be back in overdrive. Oh yeah, my dad is sitting here saying " Tell them about the lotus, tell them about the lotus!!!" They got a bundle of tubers from Florida. So, lotus peoples come and get it.

Feel free to come in, the dragonflies will greet you!!!!!!

Fish Shack's New Blogger

Hey, I'm Danann and my parents are making me write a blog about their store because they don't want to. Well, I'm new at this, so I'll try my best. Ummm, maybe before i start posting, you might want to know me first:

I am a bubbly, like a fountain, I love to draw and write.
I aslo love my dogs. I'm always (maybe not always but most of the time) willing to help.

So if you have questions just comment on the post you have questions about.

Well, see ya soon,
Danann a.k.a. Pond Girl

Mele Kalikimaka

Finally, it is now cool enough to really get some things done in the pond. Starting new plants, moving fish, some of you even preparing for your koi to spawn. Last springs koi are by now headed for market and it will soon be time to shop for baby koi. Look for good quality Japanese koi at the Fish Shack soon.

Also with cooler water temps, you may feed a little extra Pond Premium Koi feed. Remember Maui koi don't hibernate like their mainland cousins, actually they need to put on weight for the spawn. If you're serious about breeding koi, it's probably time to switch to Super Koi now to get the most from your females.

Lotus fanciers, lotus will soon be available along in Febuary. Victoria waterlilies to follow a little later in the season.

As always, we have a bumper crop of tropical waterlilies to dress up the pond for the holidays.

Happy Holidays from all of us at the Fish Shack, Maui's Waterlily Farm.

Oh and don't forget our pond cleaning service!

Aloha, Dennis and Luana Mitchell

Late-Summer lotus tubers available!

FYI ---

We have a few "Green Maiden" lotus tubers available and ready for planting. And also a very nice batch of Shubunkins!

Enduring summer's heat

Hello Maui!

August can be the most difficult month for water gardening. On one hand, amazing blooms are appearing all over the surface of the water. Most of them are welcomed. Some of them are floating algae blooms. The pond that is usually quite manageable during most of the year, can truely present challenges at this time. But this is no time to do a whole pond clean-out, especially those of you with large, specimen-sized koi. Warm temperatures mean lower oxygen levels and increased stress when they are handled. But this IS a good time to be leafing and vacuuming your pond.

maui ponds -july reminders

hey peeps , lotus are in full swing here at the fish shack maui we are begining limited root sales monday 7/6/09 also our tropical lilys are absoluotley beautiful .Our red stemed thalia are 6' tall only $25 . Keep in mind this time of year you should be fertilizing lotus [nelumbo] and waterlily's[nymphaea] monthly. Depending on your situation addition water changes are also called for . We have a limited number of victoria waterlilly's[longwood hybrid]$129.

Aquatic marginal plants on Maui

Smile damselfly

What a cute little guy! We have tons of dragonflies and damselflies that frequent our waterlily holding ponds at the baseyard.

More waterliles for sale here on Maui

Waterlilies on Maui

Yes! We sell waterlilies here on Maui!

We bring in our waterlilies from Luster Aquatic Nursery in Florida. The owner, Craig Presnell is a world-famous, award-winning waterlily hybridizer. We are SOOOOO fortunate to have his beautiful lilies for sale here on Maui.

Here are some pictures of just SOME of the gorgeous waterlilies we have for sale: