Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Too late for seeding an empty pond?

It's December here in West Central Missouri, my 1/4 accre pond has been dugout for about a month now. I felt it was too late to lay out grass seed at the time, but my brother says I need to do something to preserve the exposed soil at the pond site. We have been getting frost a few times a week for the last few weeks so I think the generic contractors grass seed mix would have been a waste of money. The following photo shows the pond. Full pool will approach where the grass already exists within a foot or two. I am not too worried about the majority of the perimeter show here...



The next photo of the dam area is my main concern. There is the 3 foot of freeboard and the entire top of the dam that is exposed to the seasons rain and snow...



All the exposed dirt is good clay and some small loose rock, not exactly the best of conditions for germination. The pond will fill up with one good rain event (4 to 6") as I have an excessive watershed (about 25 acres). Maybe some winter wheat at least on the emergency overflow?

Is there something I can do this late in the season or am I going to have to rely on a gentle mother nature?

If you get a few warm days you may get some germination from annual rye. Cover it about 1/4 inch deep.

Winter wheat will grow down to 38°F. Get something, anything on there to prevent erosion!!!!

+1 IME Every rain you get without having adequate erosion control in place results in a portion of the $s you spent digging your pond being wasted as eroded soil starts filling it in. IMO an erosion control plan, and high priority assigned to implementing it, should be part of every pond design/construction.

FWIW I can't think of anything better than winter wheat either in your situation. It is a short term solution though. I would make sure I get seed for permanent cover of your choice down at the same time. The permanent cover seed will germinate when the temps rise in the spring.


I'm not a pro, just my 1 cent

for the cost I would seed it. very cheap if it prevents just some washing. agree with Bill D. might ask on Missouri whitetail site those guys know a lot about food plots.

Winter wheat, buck oats and annual rye, asap

Thanks folks,

I will call the MFA today and get some prices on the seed. I don't think I will put down the final cover seeds until next year as the dirt man will be returning to work over the back side of the dam next spring which will thoroughly destroy the top side seedlings. I can see putting some grass seed down on the pond side of the dam however, as the equipment should not need to go there. I'll get as much of the pond side seeded as I can afford and go from there.

Thanks a bunch!

I put down some winter wheat seed about this time last year and didn't get much germination until March; it made decent ground cover in the spring, and the fescue and bermuda grasses gradually took over. Winter rye grass seems to get better germination for me than wheat, but nothing germinates in icy conditions.

Your best bet for winter cover would be to get several bales of straw or old hay and scatter to cover the ground with that, and maybe put some landscape netting over it.

Thank you for the input and suggestions on this topic. I'm about to seed my dam and disturbed areas in the next couple of weeks. I'm in south-central TX (Fayette County) and am planning on getting some rye seed out there as soon as the topsoil is put in place. What do you folks think about Annual Rye vs Perennial Rye? Any other suggestions for my area? Would it do any good to include bermuda seed for when it warms up or should I just wait till spring for that? I should say that my goal is to have a good stand of bermuda grass around the pond.

As always, thank you in advance for your thoughts.

Where you live in south central TX, the annual rye should grow all winter, if you have moisture. I would plant the annual rye, and sprig in bermuda grass as soon as frost danger is over. To grow bermuda from seed, it has to be kept constantly moist until the young plants establish. I have seen fantastic lawns started from sprigs in one growing season, and our growing season is maybe one to two months shorter than yours.

It is my experience that perennial rye isn't all that perennial. I've tried it and got about 60% return each year. In a couple of years it's gone. Wheat is a lot cheaper and the real objective is having something to keep Bermuda seed from washing down into the pond.