New Wildlife Pond (pics attached)
harvey669
Posts: 10
Good morning everyone. My name is Kris and I’m a new to the forum here. Lived in a flat for 8 years, bought a house last summer, got right into my gardening. Anyway my wife and I loved our wildlife and nature and decided to build a wildlife pond few weeks ago. Duck out a hole, which has there’s different depths, lined it with old carpet underlay, thereafter used a pond liner kit. It’s work in progress at the moment, especially with the rocks and trying to hide the liner (I think the water level can come up a bit) and last weekend we added some lavender, fox glove and verbena to the surrounding border, plants I’ve enjoyed watching butterflies and bees feed from.
I do however have a few questions perhaps some of you could assist with
1) I foolishly didn’t wash my pebbles fully when adding them and it’s left a silt on the underlay. Will this clear or should I remove, clean and start again?
2) we have a grass turf edge to some of the pond and as you’ll see from the photos soil on other flanks. I have tried to use the excess underlay to prevent, when it rains, soil water running into the pond. Is this an issue or am I overthinking it?
3) pond has been going now for 10 days. Water now has a green tinge (second photo and second last photo). Is this normal and will the addition of power plants and a wee fountain help clear it?
I’ve attached some photos to help.
Kind regards
Kris
2
Posts
So long as the pebbles are not limestone, they'll be fine and they don't look like limestone.
Some 'stuff' washing into the pond from the surrounding soil isn't ideal, but shouldn't really be an issue. It's just some extra nutrients that will benefit algae - hence the green tinge to the water. But that will stabilize over the coming months.
The green will annoy you for the first season or two, but it's all part of the maturing process.
After 1, maybe 2 years the water will be clear.
Get lots of oxygenating plants. They will use the nutrients and slowly starve the algae, then the water will clear - but it takes time. I recommend Brooklime and Hornwort as being good for this, but the hornwort will seem to disappear for months, then it reappears and there will be lots.
A little fountain or similar will have no effect. I'm afraid you'll have to be patient and let nature take its course.
You won't find much available in the way of plants until next spring, but have a look at Puddle Plants - of several sites I've ordered from they are the best in my opinion.
A SMALL lily would also provide some shade, but make sure it's a small one or the entire pond will be covered in huge leaves (as I've found out..)
Welcome to the forum
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I think those pebbles will eventually fall into the middle of the pond and be a job to remove. You need to put plants in there and they will root in the natural silt in the bottom.
If it were mine I would empty that water out and remove the pebbles from the edges just leaving some at one end.
You have a nice garden there with plenty of scope to enjoy planting and tending to it.
I can't answer your questions, as I've not had a pond now for many years, but the thread that MikeOxgreen gave the link to covers a lot of it and others may come along with ideas too.
I hope you get many years of enjoyment from the garden and pond.
I know you'll get much pleasure from your new pond. Best of luck with it.
We have a a friend who is providing us with some plants and a type of hay you add to help nutrients? I’ve also read you can add equlizers the likes Envii sell but again I’m of the opinion to just let it do it’s own thing and develop of own accord.
But it will eventually settle into a kind of equilibrium over time. You will be amazed how quickly (and seemingly inexplicably) pond critters will find their way in.