Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Renovating a Pond or Lake? Possible Use of Decayed Organic Material

While I was typing up a question about levee repair, my wife asked about possible uses of years of organic material and sediment we will be removing from our pond in coming months. I thought this was a great question to ask to others who own ponds that receive lots of leaves soil buildup. We recently tilled an area to plant about 120-150 blueberry bushes, and have raised beds that we use for vegetable gardening. The pond is filled with 50+ years of leaves, sediment and typical runoff from a cattle pasture.

We could spread the pond sediment over a field in another watershed that doesn't run into the pond, but it would be great to use for gardening purposes if suitable. What are others on this site doing with all that is being removed from smaller ponds? Thanks

Farmers use muck grounds around here to grow peppermint, corn and soybeans.

I used the soil that was removed from my pond to spread all around the house, raising the soil level so the water drained away from the house.

I don't see why it couldn't be used in a garden. With Blueberries, they require acid soils around a pH of 5.0, so test the soil and adjust accordingly if needed.

It would make excellent garden soil.If possible I would incorporate it in to the existing, or let it compost a while.It may dry as hard as a brick, if just drug out and left to bake in the sun. I would do a soil test just for kicks, and see where you're at.Depending on what the muck is primarily from,( tree leaves and pine needles, and bacteria when composting these things use up the nitrogen.) there's a chance you could be low on nitrogen. And as Esshup says if used for blueberries, the acid level would be of a concern.But I assume you already know that. I only throw that in to educate others, that may read this and not be in the know.

I've been thinking about cleaning some muck out of a couple of smaller ponds, and it will be spread onto my corn/soybean/ wheat/ milo ground.

Yes, much will need to be mixed with other soils to be of any real value, much like compost. Otherwise the drainage is horrid and the root crowns will suffocate in wet weather.

Blueberries require well-drained acid soils, so muck sort of kills the drainage qualities, probably not the best use. But mixing with other soils for melons, lettuce, corn, tomatoes, and some flower beds may be perfect depending on the mix. Most terrestrial plants need plenty of O2 at the roots to keep them alive, so mix accordingly.

One other thing to keep in mind I never gave much thought until I was offered old pond diggings for gardens: Old pesticides like DDT do not break down in the environment. Digging out old pond much can re-expose those chemicals. Probably not the best thing to use if you are doing organic farming, but DDT is relatively safe as compared to many others.

-Mark

Thanks, all. We have plenty of flower beds and I will probably start there and see how it works.. The comments are all very helpful..