Pond Boss
Posted By: roundy Pond is filling and greening up - 08/24/19 09:09 PM
Finished the build earlier this month, now it is starting to fill. I think it will be about 1 acre with about 8 to 10 acres watershed with dry dams to slow water flow. Planted oats and pasture mix seed with lime and fertilizer. The farmer who crops property for me spread some cow manure on fresh dirt also. Oats are up and doing well at about the 10 day mark. Wind has pushed a green scurve to one end, I imagine this is hyper growth activity due to current high nutrient load, plenty of moisture, and ample sunshine. After Labor Day I plan to put in some FHM and GSH, with YP, RES, and SMB next fall.
Posted By: Bobbss Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 08/24/19 11:50 PM
Looks good Roundy! I don't think I knew you were doing another one.
Posted By: RStringer Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 08/25/19 12:17 AM
That's going to be one sweet spot. If you need any rain mayb I can send some your way.
Posted By: RStringer Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 08/25/19 12:24 AM
If your if thinkin about a dock at any time in the future. Set some posts if you can. So much ezer before the water comes.
Posted By: roundy Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 08/25/19 03:43 AM
I keep going back and forth on a dock. I bought an old pontoon to build a dock out of for my main pond, I’m just not sure I need one on this pond. This pond is at front of property not far from nice oil and chip road. I need to decide before too long, if I do put in a dock I’m strongly considering 6 inch plastic pipe filled with Sacrete for posts.

As soon as it cools down this fall I plan to put in several nice sized brush piles from the hedge trees that are abundant on the property. Hopefully they will have good longevity like the fence posts do.

Water line will be about top of white gravel and about three foot down on the dam.
Posted By: RStringer Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 08/25/19 02:47 PM
Theres a thread on here bout how long they last in the water. It seems like they last from 5 - 7 years but I'm not 100% sure on tht. The logs will still be there just branches fall apart. Dont put to many in at 1 time.
Posted By: Augie Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 08/26/19 01:15 PM
Hedge will last a lot longer than 5-7 years in the water.

Closer to forever.

There was a hog fence across my pond 50 years ago. It was pushed out when Pops cleaned the pond out in 1981.

I found a hedge post two summers ago when I was digging it out again. It was solid as a rock. I tossed it on my spare post pile to use later.
Posted By: Quarter Acre Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 08/26/19 01:37 PM
I think RS may be recalling conversations about cedar trees if I remember correctly.

Osage Orange hedge will last a LONG, LONG time. I found a old school wagon hitch in the creek bottoms made from hedge at my place...it had to be 70 years old. And, the fence posts at my place (established in the 40's) were still very viable so long as they were bigger than 5 inches in diameter.

They're magical! Being completely submerged has got to speed up the process some, but they will be a one time installation and stumps/logs should outlast the pond.
Posted By: RStringer Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 08/26/19 01:51 PM
My apologies I was thinking cedar trees.
Posted By: RStringer Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 09/01/19 02:59 AM
Did your pond get any of that rain today.
Posted By: roundy Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 09/01/19 03:50 AM
Barely a sprinkle here today. Truthfully that suits me fine until I get a better ground cover. At my main pond I has quite a bit of washout problem. I have more patience now.
Posted By: RStringer Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/03/19 02:31 PM
You got a full pool yet ?
Posted By: roundy Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/03/19 04:17 PM
Pond is about 30 miles from me, so I will see how it is coming this weekend. My guess is it has filled some but still has a long way to go.
We had about 4.6 inches of rain in the area during September, but only one bigger rain event with a little over 1 inch. The rest were smaller amounts spread over the month. Did put in FHM, GSH, and PSC early last month. Most anxious to see how well the oats, grass, and clover are filling in and how washout situation is. Finally cooling down around here so I can think about getting brush piles placed before it gets too full.
Posted By: gehajake Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/04/19 05:58 PM
My dad used to say hedge posts will outlast the hole, I have seen some fence posts that had to be 50 yrs old that were actually harder then they were when they were 3 yrs old, dont even try to drive a staple into them.
RIP dad, I lost him one year ago today.
Posted By: Quarter Acre Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/04/19 06:00 PM
Originally Posted By: gehajake
My dad used to say hedge posts will outlast the hole...


I like that saying, mind if I borrow it from time to time?
Posted By: RStringer Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/04/19 10:01 PM
Sorry to hear bout your father. I dont speak to mine anymore. But I do have other parents that mean the world to me. I'm prolly gunna swipe ur dads line also.
Posted By: roundy Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/05/19 01:58 AM


Slow but surely filling, ground cover is coming along nicely. Fed the critters some aqua max, so they can up big and strong. 😀
Posted By: RStringer Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/05/19 02:27 AM
Looks like it's coming along nicely. Good coverage on your slope. Have you added any habitat.
Posted By: roundy Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/05/19 02:58 AM
No habitat yet, but now that it has cooled off we will start. Might end up setting it up on ice if it fills too quick. One way or another we will get it done before spring.
Posted By: RStringer Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/05/19 03:33 AM
I swam a couple cedars with concrete blocks I to mine. Once they got n the water and moving it wasnt to hard.
Posted By: Paul FNG Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/05/19 12:09 PM
That looks great, especially the ground cover...just after putting out grass seed we entered a moderate to severe drought here in southern Indiana and my ground cover is...lets say grossly lacking compared to yours.
Posted By: roundy Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/05/19 01:36 PM
I did get a bit lucky in rain timing and amounts the first few weeks. I'm convinced the secret in my area on clay is: doing a heavy lime application, moderately heavy fertilizer application (12-12-12), light disc pass, spread grass or clover, light drag to set seed then oats or rye drilled in. It is a bit of a process, but I've always had good results. To me, the possible excess nutrients from fertilizer are less worrisome as a washout and bare dirt problems for no ground cover. When I've gotten lazy and didn't do all the steps my cover hasn't been nearly as good.
Posted By: RStringer Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/05/19 05:19 PM
Looks like it is a half moon shaped now and full is this right. Is the other side the same. That will look very nice with lots of access from the banks all the way around.
Posted By: roundy Re: Pond is filling and greening up - 10/06/19 12:02 AM
Thanks for complimenting pond. I'm guessing it is no more than 20% full. Lower white pipe is intake for siphon system. Where upper white pipe with 90' bend meets grass is approximately full pool level. I think it will have a kidney bean shape when full and gentle slope access all around. Also guessing it will be about 1 acre surface area at full pool. Hoping to do YP and SMB as main species, but I will see how I feel next fall when I stick fish.
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