-
Thanks everybody for chiming in with pond chat. @freddo Yeah it was that GQT that prompted my first question but when the guy said 'ideally 1 metre deep' it got me thinking what the limits an allotment would permit. Once my kid outgrows the ridiculous climbing thing we bought in lockdown, the plan is to replace with a proper pond at home but that won't be for a few more years, just discussing it causes mild trauma.
Our plot is aligned north/south with some hedge in the SW corner which should provide the right balance of sun, shade and protection from footfall. I can take a plants from our trough at home to get it started but we sadly don't have a waterbutt because no sheds or permanent structures are allowed. Like most things up there, I think it will be a learning process and naturally evolve into something that is self sustaining.
You are reading a single comment by @inchpincher and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
inchpincher
there's a recent GQT which is an entire episode about ponds
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001vsn5
My takeaways are I need a combination of submerged oxygenating plants and shade plants such as dwarf waterlillys which will prevent algae bloom and blanket weed. Also try to position out of the sun, or at least plant around it for the same reason, Surrounding planting like bullrushes will help provide somewhere for the frogs to hide and dragonflies to lay eggs. Don't put fish in it as they eat the dragonfly larvae and their waste encourages conditions for algae. Some dragonflies will lay eggs on the underside of the waterlillies or on rotting wood so add some of that. We also have great crested newts on our allotment so a sturdy stick/log in the water will help them get in and out. And don't change the water, just top it up as needed from your rain water butt.
I picked up a free pond mould on FB marketplace y'day, 1.3m by 0.9m, kinda kidney shaped. Worth looking out for because they're already stepped for both submerged and semi-submerged plants etc. I'm planning to dig out the hole and bed the pond mould in on builder's sand so it's well supported all around.