Establishing a Pond to attract wildlife

[Rob Millar]

I am looking to start up a 'natural pond'. It is not meant for fish and is supposed to attract wildlife into the Garden i.e birds, frogs, newts etc.

Are there any do's and donts to doing this, or is it as simple as digging the whole and lining it? Should I add any specific aquatic plants? Im told it should be half in sun, half in shade. Is this correct?

If it makes any difference im in South East England.

Many thanks



Rob Millar

[hendi_alex]

With a pond you have lots of issues like water movement/aeration, accumulation of debis in the water, and other issues that require management. A couple of years ago I opted for an artificial bog. It is done almost like a pond. Dig hole, place liner, add base of sand then add leaf mold, peat, moss and similar water rentive materials. Water the spot regularly enough to keep things moist. With a bog, you do need to place a drain hole at a low end so that water does not accumulate and become stagnant.

My bog is located among my perennial beds and a massive annual bed. The bog contains lots of wetland perennials and adds additional diversity to my large planting area. You would not believe the number of critters that live in, feed on, or visit the area during the summer time. Just normal running of our spinklers give the spot adequate moisture and the fill materials hold the water for a pretty long period even during hot, dry weather.

I definitely give thumbs up for an artificial bog as an interesting way to diversify the yard and to attract many additional insects and animals.
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Eclectic gardening style, drawing from 40 years of interest and experience. Mostly plant in raised beds and containers primarily using intensive gardening techniques.
Alex

[a0c8c]

You'll want to do alot of research into a water pond before starting one. My dad tells me he wishes he waited another month before doing his and researched more. He's had atleast one big problem each year and some small minor ones. Leaks can get bad quickly, getting the wrong pump size can go bad quickly, not cleaning it enough can make it go bad quickly. They require a good amount of work, so if you don't want to spend alot of work the bog idea would work better. Now if you just want to add in a tank, that's a different story, and you might want it a ways from you house, otherwise it can get stagnant quick which breeds bad bacteria and it can be a loving home for mosquitos. I don't like tanks, ponds with pumps and a filter system work much better, and attract more wildlife. Tanks are better for cattle and deer, not much else. Where's it gonna be located?


My dad's tips he gave me:

• Spend 3 months planning
  
• Read more than you think you need to know
  
• Do the math 10 times to make sure you bought a big enough liner
  
• Stick with one sheet of liner if at all possible, sealing seams is way too hard(my dad used two sheets, big mistake).
  
• Cover the bottom with sand(he didn't and has had multiple leaks from different things) Sand helps protect the bottome(Use round soft play box sand)
  
• By a bigger pump than you pond needs, a year form now it won't work near as well.
  
• Build it twice as big as you imagine it, otherwise plants overcrowd to much. My dad really wants to double the size of his now, and it's a pretty good size.
  
• Stick with cheap fish the first year, and yes, you WANT fish. They help keep the pond environment stable.
  
• Get used to wading waist deep in water, diggin out sludge and leaves atleast once a month, if not twice.
  

If I cuold remember the other tips I'll post them, and this weekend I'll snap some picture of my dad's pond.
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Home Gardener from Gonzales, Texas; by way of Austin; by way of Iowa.

[rainbowgardener]

Yes, you must have a pump, a fountain or spitter, a filter. Other wise what you have is a nasty pool of stagnant water full of mosquito larvae.

And yes it does take a fair amount of time, attention, money, maintenance to keep it clean and nice. We have just a small 50 gallon water feature and have been through several pumps in the five or so years we have had it. And we use the net to pull leaves out of it almost daily and flush it frequently.

We like it, but it isn't something to take lightly. We didn't realize going into it how much work it would be.

Shade is good, helps keep the algae from thriving so much.

[applestar]

I'll toss my 2 pennies in.

My two rice paddies were dug in solid subsoil clay. I didn't want to line them -- I found out that the blue-green marl clay we have is actually the preferred clay for clay lined ponds -- people actually buy them prefab'd in slabs to line earth bottom ponds.

From the outset, I wanted them to be natural water features, and I wasn't going to put in any moving water mechanism. I monitored them closely, and when it became obvious that mosquitoes were going to be a problem, I bought feeder goldfish and minnows (12¢ each), and tadpoles. I also put a fish in each of the 4 ceramic pot covers (no drainage holes) planted with one rice plant each and filled with water. After a week, seeing that the water was healthy and capable of supporting them, I added a few more fish in the rice paddies.

In the mean time, my neighbor reported me to the township.

I outlined my projects for sequestering rainwater, for creating a wildlife habitat to meet the NWF Backyard Habitat criteria as well as for a Monarch Watch Monarch Butterfly Waystation, and for growing edible food crops including rice in the backyard garden; then invited the director of the department in question to come tour and evaluate them, and bring the county mosquito control. They came, we chatted and I bombarded them with questions and volunteered information.

In the end, the mosquito inspector reassured the director that everything was in order and that none of his dipping cups showed any evidence of mosquito infestation, and we parted in amicable terms. The township director stayed a while longer, and we discussed various ways to enrich our environment, "go green" and increase residents' awareness and participation. I'm so glad we actually have an intelligent, forward thinking official who is actually TRYING to improve our lives.

To date, the fish are still alive and well in the paddies as well as the containers. At least one tadpole has matured into a frog. Dragonflies are regular visitors.

My big project now is to dig a larger/deeper pond to take the place of the rice paddies which have to be drained and allowed to dry so the rice crop can dry out and be harvested. I'm hoping to make this a clay-lined earthbottom pond as well, although I'm working on a plan to add a small recirculating rill/creek, which may have to be lined -- the proposed creek area has surprisingly fertile soil that will not puddle water as it is, to this one. I'll probably add a solar-powered spitter as well.

[Rob Millar]

Unbeliveably Pukka adivce from everyone.

A big thankyou, thats excellent. I shall research futher and come up with a plan an post it up on here.

Many thanks