This is a continuation of the thread begun by azsteve905 at http://davesgarden.com/t/286898/
How many ponders are out there? PART 2
I don't know if I ever posted on that one, but I am still here! LOL One of these days I might even finish my new pond too. :)
Thanx GW...You were right...I am on dial up and I could just about drink a whole can of diet coke waiting. LOL
This has been my best year ponding! The largest pond is three years old but the plumbing has frozen every year. The fellow who put the plumbing in didn't know diddly squat about how to have a pond in Montana. He is a hydrolic engineer???? Maybe the third time is the charm!!! If not.....I am going to get really MAD!!!
Hmm.. I'll bet Montana and Alberta would have a lot in common in ponding. So tell all that you wouldn't do again and save me some time and grief.
have three small pond .I grow louisana Iris in them and water lilies
hmmm, ponding for ::::mumble mumble:::: years or so, a rather pleasant way to errr, reduce the area of dull tedious turf, what horrid stuff to perpetually trim...
Tinkering with aquatic plants is definitely preferable, there are photo's of a few favourites at:
http://community.webshots.com/user/adavisus
:)
Regards, andy
I am still "ponding". Jenny
Hi Jagonjune....First of all, I wouldn't hire the guy I did....but then you don't have to worry about that. LOL
Second, if you have a large pond and your pump is outside the pond, I suggest you build an insulated place for everything. I have left mine running all winter rather than blow out all the pipes and pump etc. Supposedly, leaving it run was to keep the pond open. Not so last winter. I even had a heater in it and it froze up. I know now that a breaker blew without my knowing it causing all to freeze. That has been fixed too.
I will know better after this winter what to tell you about what I wouldn't do again.
I was going to say I wouldn't have made it so deep (4.5' and around 6000 gal) but after this summer and my grandkids swimming in it and having a ball, I am glad that I did what I did.
The way it is looking now, I am happy with it. I seem to have to keep treating it for string algea but it is getting better.
Hello from another ponder... I just joined here a couple of days ago and am loving all the good information I've found so far. This picture is from July 2003. I'll try to get a new one in the next couple of days or so. The pond is about 7 years old and has had several incarnations - maybe I've finally got it figured out (for now).
Beautiful Pond, ehamilton12. I can only aspire to have mine look that good some day!
Thanks, oldflowergirl. It has definitely been quite a progression of stages, all of which I have enjoyed working on. This year I didn't really do anything except buy some new waterlilies because I lost most of mine last winter for the first time. I didn't do anything different, but I think the weather did and the plants didn't like it much. Where is Castlegar? We've traveled to Whistler 5-6 times and just love the beauty of B.C.
Hi ehamilton12,
Castlegar is in the West Kootenays, Southern Interior of B.C. We would be approximately 21/2 hours North of Spokane. Whistler is a beautiful place, isn't it. I have only lived in B.C. for the past year, but am loving it. Have always wanted too retire here and we did. :)
OldFlowerGirl
tTHIS IS OUR 4TH YEAR , BOTH OF US , MYSELF AND DH HAD SURGERY THIS YEARSO OUR POND HAS TAKEN CARE OF IT'SELF FOR THE SUMMER. WE ARE LUCKY, JUST CLEANING THE FILTER AND FEEDING THE FISH IS ALL WE'VE DONE AND THE WATER IS CLEAR AND FISH ARE IN GREAT SHAPE. I LOVE IT WHEN A POND IS WORKING WELL. EXCEPT....... WE HAVE BEEN VISITED BY A HERON AND HE GOT ALL OF MY KOI BEFORE WE SAW HIM.NOW WE KEEP A CLOSE WATCH. BUT THE POND IS WORTH IT.
Hi, Annabelle15 - I had a heron visit my pond a couple of years ago. Luckily I only have goldfish, but he did eat my biggest ones (6-7"). It happened in the fall right after I had cleaned out the floaters and oxygenators and the fish didn't have anywhere to hide. Now I leave those things in later. I added a couple of shubunkins this year and they're quite colorful compared to my plainer goldfish, so I'm hoping the heron doesn't find his way back to my yard.
A couple friends here locally have fallen prey to herons, too. That really fine netting for fruit trees almost disappears over the surface of a pond and helps deter them (and keep leaves out in the fall). We haven't had a heron or raccoon problem yet - knock on wood - but I might get some netting to keep the big sycamore leaves out of our little pond.
I like the idea of fine netting that doesn't show, but I can't figure out how all the plants would work with it. Do you have to cut holes around each plant or do you only put it on after all the marginals have been cut down and the floaters taken out? That might be too late to catch many leaves or deter the herons. Suggestions for anyone who has used the netting?
I have to use netting. I use tall planters to hold the netting above the water.
Some I let the container plants just grow up through the netting.
The other containers are filled with dirt and then the netting goes over them.
I add a pretty big rock or garden ornaments or statues on top of the net in the plain containers.
Having some containers not planted allows you to get into your pond for cleaning up dead lily pads and other stuff you dont want in there. My big pond is completely surrounded.
If your pond isn't deep, you have to cover anything that the Heron can stand on or in to fish. My pond is only shallow about three feet in from the edge so that is as far as I stretch my netting. The rest of the pond is deeper than the heron will stand in. 3.5 to 4.5 deep.
Along with this netting, I used a "Scarecrow" this year because the heron fledglings came and they were too stupid about the nets. Then raccoons came and made the "Scarecrow" a necessity. Raccoons are smart, they learned to lift the net or chew through it....
The "Scarecrow" http://www.scatmat.com/home.asp can been seen here.