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Pond sludge removal

gemma.fullergemma.fuller Posts: 3
in Problem solving
we are having to remove our garden pond as with a newly crawling baby we didn’t feel safe having it. We’re making progress but are left with a load of sludge from the bottom. Any suggestions on how to use/dispose of this please? Can we just bury it when filling the pond with hardcore? Thanks for any tips

Posts

  • PosyPosy Isle of Wight.Posts: 3,601
    You could put it on your compost heap or leave it where it is. Why hardcore? Wouldn't soil be better?
  • gemma.fullergemma.fuller Posts: 3
    Thank you. Could I dig is straight in to other flower beds or best to compost it first?

    The remaining hole is very deep in places hence why we though a bit of rubble at the bottom, or should we just fill the whole lot up with soil? Thanks!!
  • DampGardenManDampGardenMan Posts: 1,054
    If you're not planning on reinstating the pond, and if it has a rubber liner, then puncture the liner and fill with soil and then, hey-presto, you've got a bog garden. Which would be baby-proof, though possibly not toddler-proof!

    If you don't want a bog garden, you'll need to remove any liner (or smash it if concrete) else you'll end up with a hole full of wet stinking mud.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Billericay, EssexPosts: 9,852
    The sludge will work wonders on all sorts of plants - don't waste it! 
    It's been at the bottom of your pond for some while so it's already 'composted'. It'll be great for flowers or veg.

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • wild edgeswild edges The north west of south east WalesPosts: 8,839
    Is there any reason why the pond has to go rather than just have a security cover fitted? A rebar mesh is cheap and easy to fit. Pond are such a valuable resource for animals that it would be a shame to lose it permanently.
    Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people
  • ThankthecatThankthecat North DevonPosts: 421
    Sounds like the deed is already done hernond :( We have a pond for wildlife in our garden and when we applied to be foster parents they were perfectly happy for it to stay there as long as we placed a grid of some sort over it. 
  • gemma.fullergemma.fuller Posts: 3
    Unfortunately there was not a solution to securing it, we did investigate. And we hope to reinstate something more secure in the future. The nature benefits were what made us consider for so long
  • JellyfireJellyfire SuffolkPosts: 1,139
    Much as I hate to see any pond removed, with very young children the stress of having to keep an eye out all the time in the garden it’s totally understandable. I’ve waited until our youngest is 5 to put one in this year, and that is proving stressful enough!
  • hogweedhogweed Central ScotlandPosts: 4,053
    Pond sludge can just be tossed on to the borders. No doubt like the rest of us you have a corner of stones, half bricks, general rubble etc. Once the liner has been cut or removed, fill the hole in with whatever you have to hand, and then soil. Just be aware that if you intend to grass it, the area will sink a bit over the first year. 
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
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