Shall I start

[blackrose]

I have nothing much to do at home with daughter off to school so I'm contemplating starting my pond, but to tell the truth I'm nervous just incase I dig it all out and it's a disaster, one ruined lawn. I could get someone in to help but have always been the type to do things myself so that I can stand back and say "thats mine" just the way I am.
But on this occasion I'm asking should I crack on or get help.

[Deleted]

No - I would wait until spring.

[blackrose]

I'm getting itchy feet though, thats the trouble with me, when I get an idea like this I won't rest till it's done, I go hell bent in getting things out of the way. My whole garden started out of a moment of boredom, I had just stopped smoking and was pacing the new blank garden and one of those lightbulb things came into my head and the next thing I know I had dug up a large piece of lawn with nothing to put in it, for a moment I wondered what have I done.
You have said wait till spring, Thanks Rita but I can bet you my last dollar it'll be dug out by Friday ;D

[Deleted]

Well if you are bored and the weather is OK then why not start.
My concern was if you have a lot of very cold icy weather then digging will be really difficult. Have you thought of what to do with the spoils?

[Spruance]

Rita has made a very good point there CB. You may be able to distribute some of the surplus soil around your garden, but I suspect that you are probably going to need a skip to get rid of the rest.

Another good reason for waiting would be to avoid damaging your lawn. Even if you put walking boards down it's still going to make quite a mess if you start now.

[blackrose]

Ground will be ok as we have no snow nor frost lately and with a farm just two minutes away I've got plent of old fertiliser bags to take the spoils down to recycling center, I don't need it in my garden for anything.
CB

[blackrose]

Cheers for that, I do have a few tarpaline sheets that I put down for the spoils, then bag it and take it away to recycling center which is just 3 minutes in the car, handy place where I live, on edge of country side yet still in the town.
CB

[sweetleaf]

I used a large tarp to put the soil on and distibuted the spoil around the borders, how about creating a raised bed at the same time for the spoil? A new pond, and a new bed.....bonus! The deep soil will not be very fertile though, and may need some "help".
I know what you mean about wanting to get on with it, but mine waited till march, and I live in the midlands where it isnt quite so cold.
At the end of the day, its your garden, and you will order things your way which is only right, and proper. ;D
PS
Yours is a new house isnt it..be ready for a few surprises under there! Builders are famous for burying their rubbish.

[blackrose]

Hi Sweetie, actually the soil in these gardens is great as just a little over a year ago it was farmland with years of cow sh*t going in to the ground, I think this is why anything I have planted has taken really well and quickly, tons of worms as well.

I used to run about in these fields as a youngster, never thought I'd be living here.

[Plocket]

I agree with Sweetleaf - why not add another dimension to your garden by creating a raised bed?

As for creating the pond, I think you should do it yourself. You'll be so much more satisfied at the end of the job.

[blackrose]

Thanks Plocket, I think I will do it myself and as for another raised bed, I've no plans for that at the moment, still need some garden for the wee ones pool in summer
What I aim to do in summer is get plenty planter scattered around to give colour, can get old kasks from local distilleries and cut them in half, line them and use them as planters, I also have a large one in the front drive, no grass at front it's all driveway.

[sweetleaf]

How about a planter like Plockets (LP`s) at the front, only bigger? Somewhere for a bit of summer colour?

[blackrose]

This is what I have out the front at the moment, needs to be worked on in spring though.
Picture taken two minutes ago.

[madonplants]

Don't start digging without a plan sorted out either in your head or better still on paper. Stick to it. Have you decided on shape and size, yet? There is no harm in starting now, just 'better' to wait until the spring. I can't remember if I dug any of my ponds at this time of the year, but I always think, what do pond building firms do, when it is not the IDEAL time to do it? Do they go broke for 3 months of the year. Spring is a good time of the year to start a pond as when you are finished aquatic dealers will have a good selection of plants in to chose from, unless you envisage taking three months to dig it!! You can start buying fish then after the weather warms up.
At the end of the day it is up to you, but have a plan and stick to it!

Keith

[Deleted]

I agree with Keith - draw up a plan, consider where to site your pond - not under a tree as any leaves falling in will pollute the water. Think about how much or how little sun the pond will get too. You also need to consider how easy it would be to get power to your pond, if at some time in the future you decide to add a pump or filter.

[blackrose]

Well, the itchy feet did get the better of me and at 1pm I set about with the spade and other tools. Only stopping for a couple of beers and a coffee. During the digging it looked larger than it actually is, it's only a small pond which is good enough for my garden.
Still needs a lot done to it, back filling, plants more stone and a general tidy up of the surround, but this is what I acheived this afternoon, photos taken just as it started to get dark.









Be kind, don't laugh. Pleeeaase

[sweetleaf]

Blimey that was quick! Whats under the liner? It always looks a bit "new" before you get your plants in. Your beach area is nicely sloped, good for wildlife, ;D

I bet the kiddies were surprised!

[Deleted]

Goodness CB that was quick
How deep is it and what is under the liner?

[Plocket]

Gordon Bennett CB you don't hang about do you? It looks great - where did you get the stones from?

[blackrose]

It's about 2-3 ft deep at the deepest end, with a gentle slope towards the shallow beach area. I still have to rearange the stone and add more in, back fill the gaps, add plants when the local GC starts to stock up again, pebbles to go onto beach area. All before the Small fish go in around april may, by that time it should have settled enough.

Under the liner is a folded tarpalin to give protection from any stones I missed.

All the soil and turf bagged and ready to go to recycling center.

[Spruance]

Blooming heck CB! I was expecting to see the beginnings of a hole not the finished article. ;D

Have you ever thought about doing gardening work as a sideline?

I have to say it does actually look very nice.

We'll have to call you Billy Whizz from now on!

[Deleted]

It would be best to get some plants established before adding any fish CB - they will feel vulnerable without somewhere to hide

[blackrose]

I will post more photos as I get more done, there's still a bit to be done there. The stones need to be re-arranged and gaps backfilled with maybe some seeds thrown in just give a more natural look. The beach area to be built up more with pebbles.

I was considering adding stones to the bottom of the pond creating shelter for future families that move in (beasties) is that a wise idea??

My mate works at a local stone cutters and thats where I get the stone from, it's all the scrap that they can't use, all the stone used in my garden has come from there "free of cost" so I think I'm pretty lucky to have such resources at hand.

[madonplants]

That was quick, I have these borders that need dug, are you free?
With the size of pond you have dug, I would be worried about predation from birds with any fish you may get, unless you take steps to guard against it. The slope is great for wildlife to get out if need be, but it is a perfect platform for birds, not just herons to get at the fish. Do you really want fish or will wildlife be enough? If so you have done a good job. This is why most people say either build a wildlife pond or a fish pond. Did you make a plan and stick to it or just start digging? On my pebble beach two houses/gardens ago, I put a few large boulders amongst the smaller pebbles so they were under water by about half, which gave a place for the birds to settle before they 'went in' for a bath. Is it a PVC liner? If so keep the water level up to stop the liner deteriating in the sunlight and frost. Yes the sun can do this even in the winter. The stones in the bottom, would be a good idea for frogs/newts and their offspring etc, but may make cleaning a problem, especially if you end up having fish. In our last house, the pond that was there had lots of small rocks in and when we moved I brought them with us to go into (if we stay) a small wildlife pond I will build this year. If we move they will go with us as they are quite good ones.
Well done though. Might be worth a visit to a few G/C or aquatic dealers as you never know some may have some water plants to go in. It is not a bad time to put lillies in, if you can get them, as you don't have to worry about lowering them down gradually over a few days. Some may have oxygenating weed as well, you never know. I saw one a few weeks ago and they still had quite a collection of plants, straggly looking but still plants!!
Well done though, I bet you are knackered now though!

Speak later.

Keith

[Deleted]

Did you include a planting shelf too CB?
If you know someone with an established pond ask for some mud from the bottom of it, to seed your pond into life
What type of fish are you going to put into your pond?

[blackrose]

Thanks MOPs and Rita,
Mad, it did actually turn out a little shorter than initially planned but the depth of 2.5-3ft is there with the gentle slope running towards the beach area. No plan on paper but had taken notes in my head from the advice on these boards and followed a drawing and photos also from here. It is just small fish like sticklebacks that will be added and if poss one or two tadpoles when they are on the go.

Rita, yes there is a planting shelf at about a foot deep all the way round from the beach to beach area. I plan to add all plants stones etc before collecting fish which will probably be around April May time.

Today I will tidy up the edges and back fill gaps add more stone to finish off and top up water level, bulk up beach area and provide small platform on beach for birds to sit "and test water with big toe ;D) prior to bathing.

Will get daylight pics this afternoon.

[madonplants]

blackrose said:

Thanks MOPs and Rita,
Mad, it did actually turn out a little shorter than initially planned but the depth of 2.5-3ft is there with the gentle slope running towards the beach area. No plan on paper but had taken notes in my head from the advice on these boards and followed a drawing and photos also from here. It is just small fish like sticklebacks that will be added and if poss one or two tadpoles when they are on the go.

Rita, yes there is a planting shelf at about a foot deep all the way round from the beach to beach area. I plan to add all plants stones etc before collecting fish which will probably be around April May time.

Today I will tidy up the edges and back fill gaps add more stone to finish off and top up water level, bulk up beach area and provide small platform on beach for birds to sit "and test water with big toe ;D) prior to bathing.

Will get daylight pics this afternoon.

Sticklebacks will be alright, the three spined ones. If you can, allow the frogs to come to your pond, as on average only 4 frogs grow to full size for every 1000 eggs laid. Are you going to try a G/C for some out of season plants? Lillies will be down, so as suggested before, you don't need to go through the lowering down process. Put this in before any rocks. Make sure though you get one for the size of pond, not too vigorous. You might be lucky with some oxy weed, you never know. Give the water though a few days to allow any chemicals to disperse, like chlorine, because even plants may react.
It's started off alright though.
How do you insert photos on here as I would love to put pics of the one I spoke about?
Not done it before. Probably easy right!!

Keith

[andy]

Looks good m8....my pond took 3 months to build !!!!!

Just one thing....where you have the "beach" area, i'd be inclined to place a dozen or more big pebbles....just like the ones you'd find on Brighton beach for example. This will give the beasties a bit of sanctuary and allow the birds to come and stand on them.
Place them so you create small "rockpool" type areas.

Edit....just thinking of fish.....if you can't get hold of or don't want sticklebacks, most aquatic shops will sell golden minnows or bitterling. Both are ornamental versions of native fish and stay very small. A small shoal of about half a dozen golden rudd would look awesome too.

HTH

[madonplants]

andy said:

Looks good m8....my pond took 3 months to build !!!!!

Just one thing....where you have the "beach" area, i'd be inclined to place a dozen or more big pebbles....just like the ones you'd find on Brighton beach for example. This will give the beasties a bit of sanctuary and allow the birds to come and stand on them.Place them so you create small "rockpool" type areas.

Edit....just thinking of fish.....if you can't get hold of or don't want sticklebacks, most aquatic shops will sell golden minnows or bitterling. Both are ornamental versions of native fish and stay very small. A small shoal of about half a dozen golden rudd would look awesome too.

HTH

I wanted to say the same sort of thing but thought a picture would tell it better, just don't know how to.
Also I wouldn't suggest anything in a wildlife pond except the three spined stickleback, especially, sorry Andy, golden rudd, they breed like rabbits!!

Keith

P.s. what size is the pond overall, Christiebhoy?

[sleepysunday]

When I built my pond I made a ledge to take engineering bricks around the edge which the edging slabs rested on. This hid the liner, and provided an additional habitat for wildlife behind the bricks. The bricks have a gap behind them of about 1", and a gap between them of about 1", and the all have 3 holes through them as well.