Hello Ponder Friends,
I am a brand newbe Dave's Garden member and pond owner in Florida. I have wanted a pond all of my life and now I have one!! I dug an earth bottomed pond 70' x 40' x 6.5' deep. I finished digging it a few weeks ago. It is fed by a constant flow of ground water and has an outflow pipe which runs a stream about the size of your thumb. I bought some beautiful Tropical Water Lilies, potted and planted them in the pond and found out the resident turtle can mow them down like a herd of cows in a clover patch! The alligator moved in about 4 weeks ago and seems to really like the minnows I stocked in it. Seems like I'll be learning how to construct a turtle trap soon. The little gator will be removed to a distant lake soon too. I'm going to really have some fun planting this pond, I believe. I am looking forward to learning from all of you on this forum and maybe trading some plants, along the way. I am now planting Cannas, Lemon Grass, Day Lilies, Caladiums, Banannas, Walking Iris, Rain Lilies, and a species type miniature Gladiola around the pond. I also obtained a Yellow Elder tree and Little Gem Magnolia to use in the area. When I learn how to use the features of this forum, I'll share some pictures with you. This is gonna be fun.
Earth Bottomed Pond
Plant mowing turtles I could deal with but an ALLIGATOR? No thank you! How did he find your pond so fast? And just how do you move him out?
Small gators can be easily caught on a hook and line with a piece of meat, for bait. Use steel hooks so they will rust away, if you can't get the hook out. The gator will be no worse for wear and he'll be getting a brand new home. to boot! Really, what more could he ask for......I ask? The gator came from the big lake, behind the pond. He must have smelled the outflow and came to see what's happening. I have removed 2 large turtles already and this remaining turtle is a wary species called a "Cooter". I'll build a live trap and bait it with lettuce. I'll be fencing off the access from the lake soon.
This message was edited Saturday, Jun 21st 4:56 PM
Cool! I am glad to hear you will be fencing off the access though. I would hate to think what damage a larger gator would cause!
hmmmm I thought my earth pond had interesting critters. You surely have me beat in that department, bobalooa. I only have about 18 turtles that I have counted with the binoculars and hundreds of bullfrogs. Plus assorted fish and other water critters. Shhhh I haven't told my friends that there are even garter snakes in there. LOL
I would be putting in a strong fence too to keep the gaters out. I wouldn't want to be in there taking care of the plants and have the suprise of my life.
Oh my goodness. Turtles, alligators. Yuck!! But at least you have a sense of humor about it.
Can you say Turtle Soup? **giggle**
Happy Ponding!! "T" :)
I re-read my original post and forgot to say (my appology here), the alligator is only about 3' long. At that size, they are not very hard to manage. I have no problem getting into the pond with the gator there, because gators are really shy and try to get away when people approach. The only exception is when a female gator has a nest, and she is in a protective mode. They don't nest until they are much larger than 3'. I really am more worried about our plant eating turtle species. When I catch him and the turtle, I'll try to get a picture and post it for you to see.
ONLY 3'???? To my way of thinking that is a pretty hefty little one. Might eat my toes for dinner. LOL
A turtle moved into my koi pond this past week. I am trying to catch it so it can be moved back to the natural pond so it doesn't eat my baby koi. Hmmmm maybe you should get a 3' gater that has a taste for turtles to move in your pond. That way it would be doing you a favor.
I cannot even begin to imagine a pond 70' x 40' and way over my head in depth... kinda like a swimming pool turned into a pond, LOL.
Good luck with turtles and 'gators....
I only wish I could have made this pond bigger, but I don't have the space or the means to get rid of more spoil from the digging. The pond was dug with the purpose of,...well, just having a pond! My brother-in-law bought a backhoe and let me use it. I rearrainged a lot of dirt in the area and had a blast doing it. I dug the pond all by myself (the backhoe was a big help, though) and I think it is going to look real nice when I get done with it. My wife and I finished potting up some 300 caladium bulbs this morning. I'll be landscaping the banks of the pond with these in about three weeks, after I see what colors I have. Getting new grass to grow on the banks is a challenge right now. We have been having torrential rains this week and I am fighting the sand from washing into the pond off the slanted banks. The sand washed in a bit on the south side of the pond, forming a little clear spot for the turtle to sit on! He was sunning himself on the bank this morning when I walked down, kind of cocky-like. I didn't see him, I only saw the splash when he dove in. I could have swore I heard "Na-na, na, na-na" just before he hit the water! Sounded like a concrete block falling off a bridge! The gator just seems to stay in the water. He is smarter than the turtle. The turtle just likes to taunt me! That makes him number one on my list. I suppose there are worse things. At least I have a pond and I'm really glad about that.
bobalooa, you could have brought all that excess dirt to me since I am still having to fill a large area to make my circular drive. Or boxed it up and mailed it to me. giggle