Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

permaculture - Re: [permaculture] Pond Building

permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: permaculture

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Graham Burnett" <grahamburnett@blueyonder.co.uk>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Pond Building
  • Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2004 18:58:17 +0100

Further to the below ost- here's a short piece I had published in the UK
Permaculture Magazine on the subject of pond edging;

Quick turf pond edging

A common problem when making a pond is creating a firm edge. All the
diagrams in the books seem to ignore the fact that fresh, loose soil will
simply slide down into pond when wet, causing both the exposure of the
unsightly rubber liner and a build up of overly rich silt at the pond
bottom. At least that has always been my experience, and when relining the
small frog pond in my garden this spring things were no different. That is
until I remembered a small stack of left over turf from when I'd redone our
small lawn area (don't tell Bill!). It had been left long enough for the
grass to have died, yet the root fibres were still binding it together,
creating small strips of stable soil. It was a quick job to cut these up and
put them, grass side down, around the pond edge, and hey presto, no more
slippage! Once laid, I plug-planted a few creeping 'babies tears' plants
(Soleirolia soleirolii) into the turf, which are quickly spreading to cover
the bare earth and add further stability. Not everyone might have spare
turves kicking about, but the small amounts needed could be picked up for
not more than a couple of quid from your local turf merchant, and carried
without difficulty on the back of a bicycle.

Graham Burnett

----- Original Message -----
From: "Eugene F. Monaco" <efmonaco@comcast.net>
To: "'permaculture'" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 5:16 PM
Subject: RE: [permaculture] Pond Building


In addition to all the great advice you'll get, remember this:
Be real sure to bench the edges, and be especially careful to make the walls
of the edge bench vertical and the shelf of the bench level or even sloped a
little toward the edge, which is tricky. It's real easy when you're
digging, to unintentionally slope the bench a little toward the middle of
the pond, even when you're aware and trying not to. This partly occurs when
you drape the liner over the bench and it has a tendency to round off the
corners. Even a little angle (slope) will make your rocks around the edge
(or pots of water plants) slide down into the center of the pond, especially
when you start building rock sculptures stacked on top of one another. Be
careful to create good structural stability at the edge or you'll be sorry.
Once the liner is in place it's a real pain to fix. Bought that T-shirt.

-Gene Monaco

-----Original Message-----
From: permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:permaculture-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Claude William
Genest
Sent: Tuesday, September 28, 2004 5:32 AM
To: permaculture
Subject: Re: [permaculture] Pond Building

How big a pond ? ( I just got through building my second one)..... One
of the keys is that it not merely be a hole but that it have a variety
of contours, ledges, depths etc.....another is that you have either
clay or a liner, and another is that you have access to an existing
pond's water so as to inoculate your own with the right
bacteria/micoorganisms/plants...

In terms of engineering per se, is it a pond or a dam ? Will it be fed
by run off ? In this case yes, you will have to consider spill ways
etc. and it will require a substantially more involved email :-)

Let us know,

Claude
On Monday, September 27, 2004, at 09:41 PM, Anne Erlandson wrote:

> Does anyone have any recommendations for books on the intricacies of
> building ponds? My husband wants to get someone out with some sort of
> digger and have him dig a hole and it seems to me that a little more
> engineering might be advisable.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Anne in Seattle
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's
> FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/
>
> _______________________________________________
> permaculture mailing list
> permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture
>

_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture

_______________________________________________
permaculture mailing list
permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/permaculture





---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.769 / Virus Database: 516 - Release Date: 24/09/2004





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page