Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Burgermeister my mud scraper

I took some pics today at lunch, I may have to downsize them abit for the dial-up guys. These pictures will give you a pretty good idea what I am doing, But! this particular area I couldnt get all the way to ponds edge because of a slope that wold cause my tractor to lose traction so I was about4 feet shy of what I wanted. I hope that I can drag this yuck out and dry it out then smooth it out and get something to grow on it. as you can see I am able to drag alot of muck up from the bottom and you can tell when you have cut through to the bottom because the blade just rides on the top not going any deeper in the water. here is a pic of the mud dragged out on the bank

More pictures!

nice pics trialsguy......just wonderin out loud here.....looks like it could be a lot of work for not so much material, do you know anybody with an extend-a-hoe? you could prob. get a 25 foot reach into pond and with a 3 foot bucket really muck out alot of stuff in short order.

Oh yes I do know a couple guys that said they would do it for me free of charge, But! and its a big but, I work for a rural water dept and both these guys do our contract work for main repairs and install. My boss has made it clear that we should not have contractors do work on our personal stuff so as not to show favortism or put me is a postion that I would owe them something in return through the company, I asked them how much for this and they wouldnt except money. Besides I realize I'm not really doing all that much but I dont mind it, it's kinda fun as long as I dont break something. I am kinda afraid to have somebody just scooping out the mud for fear of damaging my seal layer if I have one. I have talked to a guy that said it was 100 bucks a hour and would take 5-8 hrs, I am not really interested in spending that much money

i know how that goes...that's o.k., that technique of yours will generate some great garden muck, add in some peat, perlite, and sand and it'l grow anything, and you'll have fun doin it all. i cant get to most of my pond sides at all with anything but feet, steep slopes to solid bedrock cliffs, but thats why i built the sediment dam upstream which is proving to be a topsoil factory.

Yep, good pics, Trials. Thanks. You got yourself some muck alright. Looks like all the leaves are killin' you.

Big 10-4 on the leaves! I will get those that are still floating out tomorrow at either lunch or after work if I hurry before dark. I plan on dropping a few more trees that are closest to the edge, funny thing is that it seems like the oaks that still have leaves block the early droppers some what or it could be my imagination.
What leaves you see in the last picture are concentrated in the cove from the wind, not much leaves in the rest of the pond.

My sediment is leaves, but I swear that the muck has reduced since I started the clean up earlier this year.

Do you think that this stuff will dry out and be able to be worked like normal dirt and maybe get something to grow if I keep it dragged out on the bank?

Is there anything that will germinate this season before full winter sets in? maybe a rye or something? I doubt it since we are getting into the mid 20's this week then back into the 6o-70's next week

It's never too late to sow grass and get it too sprout. My wife proved that by seeding a new bank in December during a snowstorm. Despite the fact that I said it wouldn't sprout, that darn grass came up.

You may not get enough growth to provide much cover before it warms up in Spring if you plant late in the year, though. Feel free to prove me wrong on that.