Open water is a unique element, unlike anything else you can put\nin the garden and you should have at least one water feature of some kind (and\npreferably more). You might even have a series of linked water features,\nstarting at the house. This could begin with rainwater running off of the roof\ndown rain chains into a basin, then trickling out into the pond (this gives you\nnice sound) and then through a rill to another pond, then to flow out of the\npond and end as irrigation water for your crop plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water brings life and increases biological diversity by providing\na greater variety of habitats, such as ponds, marshes, bogs and more. This is\nparticularly obvious in dry climates where\nit becomes a magnet for wildlife. Water attracts nearly everything:\ndragonflies, frogs, birds and many other creatures (I\u2019ve often been buzzed by\nHummingbirds while hand watering). One morning after accidentally running an\noverhead sprinkler overnight (this was before I invested in a timer) my\nvegetable garden was alive with dozens on Butterflies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water also has an instinctive appeal for humans, especially children. Of course they won\u2019t be satisfied with\njust looking at water, they find it an irresistible plaything and will want to\nplay with it for hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ponds<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A pond is an attractive, interesting and productive element and\nreally brings the garden to life. Every garden should have a pool of some kind,\nwhether it is only a few square feet, or large enough for boating. The magic of\na pond is so powerful that it will be beautiful, useful and productive even if\nit looks completely artificial. The benefits of a pond include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Ponds are so\nbeautiful they automatically become a focal point. They have movement,\nreflected light, tranquility and a luxuriant growth of plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Ponds have\npsychological value because humans instinctively like to be near water. Witness\nthe child\u2019s fascination with playing in water, or the calming effect of\nsplashing water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 There are more\nutilitarian values to ponds as they were once incorporated into kitchen gardens\nto keep ducks or fish (and as a source of irrigation water). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 I love ponds because\nthey give me the opportunity to grow all kinds of fascinating new plants,\nespecially edible water vegetables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Large ponds can be\nuseful for fire prevention and suppression. Obviously a fire won’t burn where\nthere is water, so a pond can be an important part of your defensible space.\nThey also hold water in a convenient place for fire fighting. To be useful for\nthis, a pond should hold at least 5000 gallons of water or more and should be\nclose to the buildings it is to protect. It should also be accessible by a good\nroad. There should also be a sump so water can be extracted easily. This should\nbe free of any vegetation that may clog a pump. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 A pond can be an\neffective water storage system, so long as evaporation isn\u2019t too high (deeper\nis better in this regard \u2013 though potentially more dangerous). For this it\nshould be placed at the bottom of a catchment area (this could be a hillside, a\nroof or a clean paved driveway). Of course a fluctuating reservoir pond isn\u2019t\nvery attractive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 A pond absorbs heat\nduring the day and releases it at night and so affects the microclimate around\nit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 In warm weather a\nlarge pond can be used for cooling off, or even swimming, without all the\nhassle involved in maintaining a swimming pool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Pond mud is an\nexcellent fertilizer, as are the various pondweeds and algae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00b7 Ponds increase the diversity of life in the garden. Last spring I dug a pond and my daughter introduced some rescued tadpoles. This spring the garden is full of croaking frogs. They don\u2019t care that it is completely artificial, they consider it their birthplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Problems with ponds<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water can be a hazard to very small children because it is so\nfascinating to them. They will play around with it until something unexpected\nhappens and have been known to drown themselves in a few inches of water, or\neven a bucket, so be aware and take precautions (see below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water also attracts less welcome visitors such as raccoons (they love to mess about in it as much as children), deer (they like to drink it) and mosquitoes (they like to breed in it). In warm weather Mosquito larvae will appear in any still water that stands around for more than a few days. In such cases you may have to take preventive measures, such as adding Mosquito fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A pond comes a close third behind the internet and television as a time waster. I don\u2019t need any more distractions, but my pond attracts me like nothing else in the garden. I often just sit and gaze at the water instead of getting anything done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t build a pond if you don\u2019t like the sound of frogs. They can be astonishingly noisy on warm spring nights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ponds are addictive, so one probably won’t be enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Designing Ponds<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ponds as ecosystems<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many modern ponds are treated like swimming\npools and have pumps, skimmers, aerators,\nsterilizers and biological filters\n(these need to run constantly so can be quite expensive.). However all this\ntechnology isn\u2019t really necessary. If you use the right plants in the right\nnumbers and maintain it regularly, your pond can remain clean and healthy all\nby itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plants are the key to keeping a pond healthy naturally. The\nsubmerged oxygenators are particularly important because they release oxygen\ninto the water (they also absorb soluble nutrients from the water). Floating plants are useful for removing the suspended\nnutrients that cause the algae growth that make ponds murky. All plants provide\nfood and habitat for fish and other aquatic creatures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A pond isn\u2019t static, it goes through distinct stages as organisms\nget established and nature takes over (there is often a stage of excessive\nalgal growth in the first year). Small ponds are particularly vulnerable to\nminor changes having big effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I built my first pond as a learning experience, with the idea that\nit would allow me to learn about how ponds work, while growing and accumulating\nsome interesting new plants (and other pond life). It worked out even better\nthan I expected (and really does attract children). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Siting<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pond site should ideally be in full sun (6 hours a day\nminimum) and sheltered from strong winds that can cause excessive evaporation.\nIt should also be free of overhanging trees, which cast shade, drop leaves into\nthe water and perhaps damage the pond liner with their roots. Avoid Bamboos\ntoo, as their newly emerging shoots can penetrate the liner. In hot climates a\npond should have a mix of shade and sun to prevent it getting too hot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bottom of a slope is a good place for a pond, because that is\nwhere water would naturally accumulate (though beware of frost pockets). Slopes\nlend themselves to running water features, such as waterfalls and streams and\nyou could have several ponds connected by a stream. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A pond is such an attractive feature it is usually placed fairly\nclose to the house, where it can best be appreciated. A large pond creates a\nflat area in the garden, which can be visually similar to a lawn (though more\ninteresting). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Size<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pond should be in scale with the garden. A formal pond for a\nsmall garden might be as small as 2-3 feet in diameter. Bigger is generally\nbetter with ponds however and you might think of 8 feet as a minimum width and\n3 feet as a minimum depth. Marginal water plants will spread out into deeper\nwater and soon make the pond appear smaller. A natural pond in a very large\ngarden could be big enough for swimming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shape<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A pond could be composed of straight lines and have a formal feel,\nor it might be informal, with random curves to make it look like a natural\npond. A very small pond doesn\u2019t provide much scope for using your imagination,\nas there isn\u2019t enough space for graceful curves. A large pond should have an\nirregular shoreline, with bays and promontories to create productive edge. It\nmight also have at least one island (or a floating island platform) to create\nmore edge and to provide a refuge for birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depth<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The larger the surface area of a pond, the greater the potential\nfor heat gain and evaporation, so big ponds need to be deeper than shallow\nones. The temperature of shallow ponds fluctuates too much for fish to be\ncomfortable (warm water is not good for fish because it contains less oxygen).\nA deep pool also contains more water, so temperatures are more stable and there\nis less fluctuation in water level and quality. If your pond is fairly shallow\nyou should have at least one deep area to give fish access to cool water in\nsummer and provide a refuge from predators. This is also good place for deep-rooted\naquatic plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The depth of a pond is usually determined by its size and the\nclimate. In mild climates 18\u201d is the minimum depth for a small pond (up to 50\nsquare feet). In colder climates it should be at least 24-30 inches deep (this\nalso works for a pond up to 300 square feet). If you want to keep fish such as\nKoi then it will need to be at least 36 inches deep (this is good for ponds\nover 300 square feet). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are growing plants in containers (usually plastic baskets)\nthen the bottom of the pond should be level so the containers can sit flat (you\nvary the height of the plants by supporting them on bricks). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overflow<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A pond should have an overflow (spillway) to channel excess water\nfrom rainfall to where you want it (perhaps to a bog garden, a watercress bed\nor a swale). This spillway only needs to be 12 inches wide and an inch or two\nlower than the rest of the edge You could also have a L shaped pipe as an\noutlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| Reducing the risk to children If you have a pond there is always the possibility of some small child drowning in it. Statistics show that children under 3 are most at risk and that drowning most often occurs in other peoples ponds (which brings potential liability to add to the nightmare). Fortunately you can reduce the risk considerably by careful design. To minimize the risk you should put your pond where it won\u2019t be seen from most places (if children don\u2019t know it\u2019s there, it won\u2019t attract them) It should be visible from the house however, so you can see if anyone is near it. You should have a secure fence around the pond to keep unsupervised children out (this is actually required by law in most places). This fence should be unobtrusive, so that it is a part of the garden rather than just a security fence. If well designed it may also help to keep raccoons from raiding your pond periodically. The pond should consist of a series of shallow steps or shelves, so if a child falls into the water they can easily scramble out (there should be no steeply sloping sides). The shallow water zone (2\u201d – 8\u201d deep) is the most productive area of the pond anyway (the edge effect again). Unfortunately this also helps raccoons to get at your fish (fill it with plants to help prevent this). Ponds are at risk from children to some extent. If you have children the edging and plants will have to be fairly robust or they will get loved to death. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n Water sources<\/p>\n\n\n\n In hot dry climates the water may evaporate so quickly the water\nlevel recedes visibly each day. It\u2019s important that you have an adequate supply\nof water for your pond, so you can replace this regularly. If you have to\nre-fill your pond every few days and water is very limited, this might be a\nproblem. In such cases you should evaluate whether you have enough water for a\npond before you build it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ponds shouldn\u2019t receive runoff directly from roads, driveways or\nchemically fertilized lawns, because they may contain pollutants such as heavy\nmetals, organic chemicals and excessive amounts of fertilizers (which will lead\nto algae growth). Wetland areas such as Reed beds can help to purify the runoff\nwater before it enters a pond, and can be an important buffer zone. Frogs are a\ngreat indicator of water quality, if you have frogs your water is good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building a pond<\/p>\n\n\n\n Digging the pond<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you start digging make sure there are no buried utility\nlines (gas, electric, water) in the way. Also decide where to put the excavated\nsoil (this should be separated into topsoil and subsoil). Most often it is\nplaced around the pond to give some variation in height, but you might want it\nelsewhere. If you are creating a pond on a slope you may have to build a berm,\nwhich is a good use of the excavated soil. Make it fairly wide or it won\u2019t look\nvery natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any pond, no matter how big, can be dug by hand, it just takes\ntime. Mark out the outline of the pond with wood ashes or ground limestone and\nget digging. Dig for a half hour a day and it will eventually be done. Start by\nremoving all of the topsoil and put it in one place, then dig out the subsoil.\nIf the pond has several levels, you should dig out one level at a time,\nfinishing each one completely before going down to the next. If you are renting\na backhoe for other purposes, then by all means dig the pond at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leveling<\/p>\n\n\n\n Water is always level, so make sure the perimeter of the pond is\nlevel too, otherwise it can be visually disconcerting. Level the perimeter by\nlaying a long straight 2 x 4 from side to side and put a level on it. In a very\nlarge pond put a stake in the ground in the center of the pond at the correct\nlevel and use a long 2 x 4 with a level to check the perimeter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pond liners<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ponds are sometimes lined with clay, concrete, rigid fiberglass or\nplastic, but the most common are flexible liners of rubber, EPDM or vinyl.\nAvoid polyethylene sheet, except for a temporary pond, as any part that are\nexposed to sunlight will disintegrate in a few months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is not a bad idea to put a liner under the liner to prevent it\ngetting punctured. Commercial liners are available but old discarded carpet\npadding, available from carpet shops works well. You might also use sand,\ncardboard or newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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