I want to do this in my back yard. Did you dig it yourself? Did you use a liner or compaction method ? What plants did you use to aerate? What would you have done differently if you could have?
this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2023
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Permaculture
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Yeah I dug it myself with just a pickaxe and shovel. Never again hahaha. Next time ill hire a small digger lol.
I used an EPDM liner.
Too much plants to cover tbh and I dont know all the English names for them. Just use a lot of plants, you cannot use too much.
If I had to do it again Id hire a digger machine and make it bigger. Perhaps use a stronger edge to prevent the edges from sagging inside? Although they have since overgrown and you cant see it anyway:)
It makes me think of hoards of mosquitoes breeding in there. It's pretty tho.
It's interesting how so many people say that. Somehow we all think about the mosquitoes that come into a pond like this, but we dont think about the frogs, newts and other predators that come too.
I can assure you that I've not seen an increase in mosquitos since I've made this pond a few years go. Rather a decline, since there are at least a hundred frogs in there, plus newts and fish. All love to eat mosquito(larvae).
That's because many people have zero experience living near such pond! It's amazing.
Is there any circulation of the water?
Are you using aeration or a pump to create some flow?
I've considered creating something like this, but am concerned that it will more or less fill itself in with leaves/detritus over time. A neighbor did similar and while it's true there are plenty of frogs, it looks like that pond has lost maybe half of it's total water volume over five years.
We do live in a heavily forested area so external vegetation does fall/blow in more that it might in a typical open field.
There is no aeration or pump. The amount of plants keep it filtered. Once a year, usually halfway or near the end of summer, I jump in the pond and remove about 3/4th of all the plant material. That way you remove a lot of nitrates from the water and prevent algae(blooming) or other problems.
Good to know
Thanks!
Looks amazing!
That's awesome. What part of the world are you in?
Netherlands!
How lovely! I love pond creatures like frogs and newts. Do you see any snakes around?
It looks like a very relaxing place. Is there a liner in there to keep the water from draining? Do you have to add water?
Yeah, EPDM liner so I only have to compensate for evaporation during hot summer days
Looks good, no more grass to mow.