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When to clear pond

AllyblueeyesAllyblueeyes Posts: 389
in Wildlife gardening
Advice again please.  We’ve got a very small wildlife pond in the garden and every year we are lucky to have so many frogs.  Our neighbour recently put up a new fence and had to cut down a tree in the process.  That and with normal falling leaves has caused our little pond to be full of leaf debris.  We are keen to clean it out but wondered whether this was a good time or not?  There isn’t any frogspawn .... we never have any but always have tons of frogs??  Any advice would be welcome.  Thank you in advance. Ally x 
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  • GemmaJFGemmaJF Posts: 2,286
    Usually the advice is in the Autumn. As you have a bit of special case and there is no spawn or tadpoles, it would probably make sense now. A lot of people pile the material next to the pond for a few days. It gives a chance for creepy crawlies to find their way out of the waste material and back into the pond.
  • AllyblueeyesAllyblueeyes Posts: 389
    GemmaJF said:
    Usually the advice is in the Autumn. As you have a bit of special case and there is no spawn or tadpoles, it would probably make sense now. A lot of people pile the material next to the pond for a few days. It gives a chance for creepy crawlies to find their way out of the waste material and back into the pond.
    Thank you @GemmaJF.  We’ll do that right now 👍 Ally x 
  • mrtjformanmrtjforman Posts: 331
    edited April 2020
    a plastic mesh chicken fence roll held in place with some bamboo or plastic plant canes is really useful to prevent leaves falling into the pond every year.
    It will still need occasional cleaning but it keeps the main debris out making things much easier. Have a think about it once you have cleaned out your pond cause it's smelly mucky work so the less you need to do it the better.

    Leave a small gap for frogs
  • AllyblueeyesAllyblueeyes Posts: 389
    mrtjforman said:
    a plastic mesh chicken fence roll held in place with some bamboo or plastic plant canes is really useful to prevent leaves falling into the pond every year.
    It will still need occasional cleaning but it keeps the main debris out making things much easier. Have a think about it once you have cleaned out your pond cause it's smelly mucky work so the less you need to do it the better.

    Leave a small gap for frogs
    Thank you .... we’ll definitely take your advice come the Autumn! 👍   

  • FairygirlFairygirl west central ScotlandPosts: 48,940
    I've just had to do mine, as I was needing to amend the level at one end,and I was also making the front edge larger. I decanted everything, including Mr Froggy, into a couple of large trugs and other containers, until I could do the work. I then got it refilled after a couple of days, and saw Mr Froggy plop back in from his temporary home almost immediately  :)
    As @mrtjforman says - it's fairly easy to make a simple mesh screen for putting across it in autumn, which will help keep the bulk of any foliage out   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....


  • AllyblueeyesAllyblueeyes Posts: 389
    Fairygirl said:
    I've just had to do mine, as I was needing to amend the level at one end,and I was also making the front edge larger. I decanted everything, including Mr Froggy, into a couple of large trugs and other containers, until I could do the work. I then got it refilled after a couple of days, and saw Mr Froggy plop back in from his temporary home almost immediately  :)
    As @mrtjforman says - it's fairly easy to make a simple mesh screen for putting across it in autumn, which will help keep the bulk of any foliage out   :)
    Thanks fairy girl.... we’ve got plenty of plastic coated mesh so I’ve no idea why we hadn’t thought of doing that before 🤦🏼‍♀️ X 
  • FairygirlFairygirl west central ScotlandPosts: 48,940
    Freddo appeared yesterday for a chat too  :)


    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....


  • AllyblueeyesAllyblueeyes Posts: 389
    Fairygirl said:
    Freddo appeared yesterday for a chat too  :)


    Oh!  Your pond is a little clearer than mine @Fairygirl!!   I think I know what today’s project is going to be!  Freddo looks very at home x 
  • FairygirlFairygirl west central ScotlandPosts: 48,940
    It's only clear because I've been doing the renovation. It isn't normally as pristine  :D
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....


  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,735
    We did our pond yesterday, a horrible mess of tangled roots, very mucky job.  It's looks pitiful now, but in a month or two we know it will look great.  Keep a lookout for Damselfly and Dragonfly larvae.  We have a tiny pond, but have loads of them.  They're a bit scare to look at, especially when you find one crawling on your hand, but totally harmless.

    It's a good idea to divide any plants at the same time, especially if they are congested in pots.  You can also buy special aquatic fertiliser for things like Water Lily's.
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