New member, new pond in Canada -- being proactive - 04/03/13 03:22 PM
Hi Everyone -- after being to this site and reading some very useful tips and suggestions, finally joining myself to ensure my brand new pond is the best it can be. Here is what I have, what I have done -- any suggestions on how I can do better would be appreciated!
A little about me: I live on 100 acres of Canadian wilderness, we are off-grid, grow our own organic veggies and make our own solar power. Last week we dug a spring fed pond 12' deep in some parts (bedrock in the way in others) and it will be about 1/2 acre once full to the brim. The water is a green-gray color, wouldn't exactly call it muddy but definitely not clear. Likely as the pond was just dug 9 days ago.
I have bought all kinds of native grass seeds to plant around the pond once the snow has melted and the ground thawed, varieties that are native to this land but also establish deep, solid root structures to prevent erosion. I will also be buying some native non-invasive marsh plants to sow into the shallow areas of the pond. Even though our soil is quite sandy, there seems to be enough clay in it to prevent pond drainage (tested: soil clumped in my hand held together in a ball nicely, so fingers crossed it will remain so). We are not planning on having large fish as it gets very cold here and I don't think the small area that is 12' deep will be enough area for the fish to survive, plus we are only 1/2 mile away from an awesome fishing lake. Would it make sense to have small fish in it to keep it clean? What other clearing methods should I apply? Aeration? It will ideally be a swim pond, then also catching overflow to irrigate our vegetable and flower gardens. Here are photos, one from last week right after the dig (that's me in the pic, I am 5'4" for reference), one taken yesterday of the pond half-full. Looking forward to hearing from you all!
A little about me: I live on 100 acres of Canadian wilderness, we are off-grid, grow our own organic veggies and make our own solar power. Last week we dug a spring fed pond 12' deep in some parts (bedrock in the way in others) and it will be about 1/2 acre once full to the brim. The water is a green-gray color, wouldn't exactly call it muddy but definitely not clear. Likely as the pond was just dug 9 days ago.
I have bought all kinds of native grass seeds to plant around the pond once the snow has melted and the ground thawed, varieties that are native to this land but also establish deep, solid root structures to prevent erosion. I will also be buying some native non-invasive marsh plants to sow into the shallow areas of the pond. Even though our soil is quite sandy, there seems to be enough clay in it to prevent pond drainage (tested: soil clumped in my hand held together in a ball nicely, so fingers crossed it will remain so). We are not planning on having large fish as it gets very cold here and I don't think the small area that is 12' deep will be enough area for the fish to survive, plus we are only 1/2 mile away from an awesome fishing lake. Would it make sense to have small fish in it to keep it clean? What other clearing methods should I apply? Aeration? It will ideally be a swim pond, then also catching overflow to irrigate our vegetable and flower gardens. Here are photos, one from last week right after the dig (that's me in the pic, I am 5'4" for reference), one taken yesterday of the pond half-full. Looking forward to hearing from you all!