When the water temperature falls below 50 degrees, or whenever the fish start to lose interest in food, feeding should be eliminated.   Not only do goldfish and KOI not need to eat during the winter, it can actually be bad for them to be fed.

Fish depend on certain enzymes and bacteria in their digestive tract to break down fish food.  These enzymes and bacteria thrive in warmer months, but start to decrease substantially when the water temperatures start to drop. 

This means that food can pass through the fish's digestive tract undigested, and potentially cause blockages or start to decay inside the fish.  This can also be promote bacterial infections.  So, for these reasons, do yourself (and your fish) a favor and resist the urge to keep feeding them. 

Although wheat germ foods and special spring / autumn foods are formulated for easy digestion, they should only be fed in semi-cool water temperatures, and should also be stopped in water temperatures below 50 degrees.  The fish have plenty of fat stored up in their body from their summer-long feast to last them through until spring.

The other important element in keeping the fish healthy over the winter is to provide adequate gas exchange in the pond.  This means providing an outlet for toxic gasses to escape as organic pond debris like leaves and plants start to decay. 

This also means allowing a way for oxygen to enter the water for the fish.   This can be done simply by preventing the surface of the water from freezing over completely.   We suggest using a pond deicer to do this.   These are easy to use, just plug it in and drop it in.  Ideally, pond owners would also add an air pump to provide adequate oxygen. 

Some pond owners like to leave their pump / filter running during the winter, but we recommend that the pump and filter be shut off. 

There are two reasons for this.  First, by running the pump, the pond water is actually being made colder to the fish who usually hibernate at the bottom of the pond where the warmer thermal layers are.  By circulating the water, the colder water near the surface is mixed with the relatively warmer water at the bottom, thus making it colder for the fish. 

The other reason we recommend stopping the pump / filter is because it is difficult to do maintenance on the filter in the cold weather, so most people neglect cleaning the filter.  The filter will ultimately clog and put excess strain on the pump.  Or, in the case of external pressurized biological filters, an unexpected power failure can cause the pump to stop and the filter to freeze and crack because it is full of water.

There also seems to be a fair amount of confusion about what to do with the plants in the pond during the winter.  Again, by following several simple steps, pond owners can prepare their plants for optimal recovery in the spring. 

Some plants, however, do not winter over and must be thrown out.  These include any of the floating plants like water hyacinths, water lettuce, floating fern, and any other non-potted floating plants.  Also, even some potted plants like tropical water lilies must be disposed of and replaced in the spring.  

Most potted plants do winter over well, provided they are properly prepared.  We recommend that the pond owner take the time to trim the plants down as much as possible.  This means trimming / cutting any part of the plant that grows up above the rim of the pot.  This part of the plant will only die and decay in the pond in the winter, so it is best just to cut it off.  The roots or plant tuber, which is well insulated in the dirt, should winter over fine if kept below the frost level of the pond. 

For this reason, we also recommend lowering the pots down to the deepest part of the pond during the winter.  If the roots are exposed to extreme cold conditions, they will die and have to be replaced, so they should be at least 18" below the surface of the water.  As an added precaution, we also recommend adding a de-icer to prevent freezing of the plant roots. 

So, by following the steps outlined above, you can be sure that your pond will be ready for spring and all the pond life will be as healthy as possible.

Your lawn is a whole population of plants. While that indicates differing needs for each potential variety of grass – fescue, rye, and bluegrass – we usually treat grasses as a whole. Therefore, we should treat it in the best possible way. Since our goal is a healthy lawn, with uniform height and color, fall is the time to prepare your lawn for a healthy spring.

You must continue to cut your grass until there's been no visible growth for about two weeks. I know it's time to quit mowing when I have no more clippings to remove. Leave grass at least two inches high, but no more than three inches for winter.

This height is optimum for several reasons. Grass cut too short is vulnerable to drying winter winds and, believe it or not, sun. If there's no protecting snow cover, winter sun can be damaging to the grass. Two inches protects the crown, which is the white area visible at ground level that also extends into the root zone.

More than three inches of height can pose problems also. If your lawn is too tall, your grass will lay over on itself. Bent down by snow and wind, it will retain too much moisture and may develop fungus diseases such as snow mold. While too much sun and wind can cause damage, your lawn needs exposure to light and air all winter.

Although top growth has stopped, the root systems of your grasses are still growing. They are sending out rhizomes or tillers: tendril-like roots that will sprout new blades of grass in the spring. A green plant lives about three years and then is replaced by new plants from its own rhizomes.

While this is great in your yard, it brings us to another necessary task: edging your flowerbeds. Once a new grass plant grows where your flowers are, it's a weed. Save yourself some weeding time next spring by edging all your beds now.

Autumn is also the season to fertilize your lawn for the last time; further encouraging those roots. Much leaching of soil nutrients has occurred these past two rainy springs, so fertilizing is even more important than usual. Look for fertilizer high in nitrogen, or a winterizer-type, lower in nitrogen and higher in phosphorus and potassium. Fertilizing now will encourage lush growth next spring.

Since your lawn is still growing below ground, keep the falling leaves raked so they don't pile up and suffocate your grasses' roots. Some of your leaves fall late in the autumn. Give a final good raking, sometimes even after the first snowfall has melted. Leaves lying on your lawn all winter can prevent water from reaching the grass or trap too much moisture, causing grasses to rot and die by spring.

By caring for your lawn in the fall, you can encourage healthy growth in the spring. One last task: take your mower in for maintenance now. Then when everyone else is struggling with long waits for repair, you'll be ready for the first cuts of the season next year.