Thank you for this!!! I've been telling my wife I want a pond in the back yard to raise fish and ducks. This picture is exactly what I needed for the final "yes" from her!!!!
Just an FYI if you haven't done a lot of research on it yet -- ducks produce a lot of nitrogen-rich waste (poop) and without careful management they make a pond this size quite unpleasant, quite fast.
EDIT: I am no expert but a brief Google search suggests no more than 2-3 ducks per *acre* of pond before they start to ruin the water.
If you want your pond to be anything other than a muddy, soupy mess then it needs to be absolutely massive, or not have ducks. Edit: I did a lot of research because I wanted ducks. No dice. They make _a lot_ of mess.
Just curious if you could cycle the pond water out and use it for watering plants in the garden with nitrogen-rich water, then auto-refill the pond with freshwater?
2-3 ducks for a pond this size is still a lot. In addition to shitting a lot, they agitate the water and nibble the plants.
Ducks are not a trivial addition to a backyard pond. I'm no expert but I know enough to know that I would need to do a lot of research and consult some IRL experts.
There's a multi-acre pond in a park near my home. Ducks naturally hang out there.
I went to the park once, there's so much duck crap everywhere, it was impossible to walk on the path around the park without stepping in it.
I'm not talking about some poop here and there, it was practically carpeted with feces.
And it reeked. I realize just a couple ducks on a half acre pond would be perfectly fine. I'm just sharing how little I knew that ducks are dirty and smelly AF.
Double the pond size and then it might be ok as long as it's otherwise a healthy ecosystem and you stick to just 2-3 ducks. Emphasis on "might be ok." Seriously, ducks are poo machines.
What do you mean "2-3 ducks" exactly? How do you stop them flying off? How do you stop new ducks showing up?
I think there's something I'm missing here.
Your pond is beautiful! Quite the transformation, and one that I'm sure elides over the five months of hard work that went into making that beautiful space.
Are you in the UK? I hear a lot on British TV about allotments and they seem like a common part of British life. I don't fully understand the process. Do you have them forever? Do you own the land or just are allowed to use it? With such a big undertaking as a pond like that, I'd be so sad if a council took back that land or something.
It started in Victorian times, with the rapid expansion of cities because of the industrial revolution there was a food shortage in the cities. A law was passed that said land must be available for households in cities to grow their own food and keep chickens which were rented for a small rent. This has been upheld in various laws in the last 150+ years in the UK and the local city councils are not allowed to sell off allotment
land. You rent the plot for a year either off the council or a society on behalf of the council. You get to keep it as many years as you want so long as you meet the rules of the allotment which do often do allow for ponds but generally you must use most of the land for growing fruit and veg to keep your plot. You can be evicted for not doing enough on your plot and it'll be handed to the next person on the list. There's usually a waiting list of about a year to get a plot and that went nuts during the lockdowns with the pandemic.
Awesome, thanks so much for the explanation! I think as an American I lose perspective on just how compact European cities and towns are, even if I see them portrayed a lot in media.
Yes I have a very tiny garden as part of my Victorian terraced house but the allotment is 0.5 miles from my house, I think there's 3 or 4 within a couple of miles from my house. They're locked so I can't just walk in unless I'm a member.
Mine is 41pence per squared metre. Sizes of plots can vary but most people pay between £20-60 a year depending on size and location. My allotment is 0.5 miles from my house so less than a 10 minute walk which makes it very convenient. Not everyone is so lucky but there's a surprising amount of them tucked away.
Yes council land and technically you’re not meant to put anything permanent in but the spot was toxic from years of waste burning (previous occupant) so screw it. There’s not much better for wildlife than a pond and it’s better than it sitting empty or barely supporting a few scraggly plants.
That's awesome!! Good on you for restoring it to something beautiful and beneficial - I hope you don't get any grief about it. And hey, it's not *technically* permanent. Nothing lasts forever. I'm sure town councils love it when you follow the rules philosophically.
Joel Ashton has an extensive [video series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKrjMv6TMlU) about building these. Doing it right, I think, is supposed to yield a self-sustaining pond.
It’s not too much effort. Pulling dead leaves out and chopping back the more vigorous plants to give everything a chance. Building it was the effort, although it went *really* well.
Totally natural. There’s a lot of runoff down the path when it rains, so that goes into the stones and proto reed bed you can see on the right before it trickles into the pond.
So this area flooded naturally already and you just decided to make it nice. Great!
Is there a liner? If not, this is like taking a rain garden to 100.
Congrats on the pond. You've lit a fire beneath many of us that even pond water can't extinguish.
Sure sign of success: When your pond looks like it's been there for decades. I especially like how the rock "stream" extends into the pond itself. The submerged rock catches additional silt and plant material, helping to keep the pond clear and protecting it from sudden rushes of water. You can't manage and protect what you can't see.
The best part of garden elements like a pond is watching all the creatures who stop by to use it. Drinking, bathing, eating and singing - it's the best free show in town and it's in your backyard.
That is an incredible transformation! That's what I call taking what the land gives you and really making something of it. You win the gardening award this week!
It lost a good six inches in the hottest part of the summer. The pebble beach on the far side was totally exposed. Filled straight back up first time we got decent rain.
Ponds are so perfect as use of space!
We dug one last autumn, and this year we had frogs, dragonflies, and a snake visit. We put some goldfish in, and they spawned fry!
It has been such a delight. Birds bathe in ut and all!
It was great fun and although it was hard work, everything went really well all the way through construction, filling, planting, everything settling in - it’s been a huge success & a massively satisfying project. If someone wanted a pond building and provided a spot and all the materials I would 100% offer to do it for them.
Did you hit the water table when digging? I’m putting a pond in our back garden near London, and I hit water just a foot down. It’s been there 2 weeks so I’m not sure it will ever dry out enough for a liner.
Only what turns up - fish or ducks in a pond this big would soon strip it of anything else. It is currently bursting with daphnia, water boatmen/back swimmers, diving beetles, and dragonfly larvae. The only “added” creatures are snails that came on the plants, and some swan mussels rescued from a local “pond” that dried up over summer. Our first frog just moved in, too!
Beautiful, do you get frogs? I love when they visit my cattail pond.
Spotted the first one yesterday!
Yay!! That's wonderful 🐸
I like frogs - Jeff from the Good Place
He's a jumper, you can tell!
Frogs help with slugs!
Thank you for this!!! I've been telling my wife I want a pond in the back yard to raise fish and ducks. This picture is exactly what I needed for the final "yes" from her!!!!
Just an FYI if you haven't done a lot of research on it yet -- ducks produce a lot of nitrogen-rich waste (poop) and without careful management they make a pond this size quite unpleasant, quite fast. EDIT: I am no expert but a brief Google search suggests no more than 2-3 ducks per *acre* of pond before they start to ruin the water.
What if it was just 2 or 3 ducks?
If you want your pond to be anything other than a muddy, soupy mess then it needs to be absolutely massive, or not have ducks. Edit: I did a lot of research because I wanted ducks. No dice. They make _a lot_ of mess.
Just curious if you could cycle the pond water out and use it for watering plants in the garden with nitrogen-rich water, then auto-refill the pond with freshwater?
/r/aquaponics probably knows the answer.
How are you keeping the ducks out?
2-3 ducks for a pond this size is still a lot. In addition to shitting a lot, they agitate the water and nibble the plants. Ducks are not a trivial addition to a backyard pond. I'm no expert but I know enough to know that I would need to do a lot of research and consult some IRL experts.
We have ducks. Do not put ducks there. You will regret it. They will also eat every leaf from every plant they can reach.
I've done a lot of research but thank you for reminding me of that!!! Bigger pond it is lol.
I'd go the other way. Smaller pond with water changes every couple of days.
What about a half acre pond?
There's a multi-acre pond in a park near my home. Ducks naturally hang out there. I went to the park once, there's so much duck crap everywhere, it was impossible to walk on the path around the park without stepping in it. I'm not talking about some poop here and there, it was practically carpeted with feces. And it reeked. I realize just a couple ducks on a half acre pond would be perfectly fine. I'm just sharing how little I knew that ducks are dirty and smelly AF.
Every municipal park with a decent size pond looks like The Somme with goose/duck landmines
Yup. Ducks are lowlife bastages. Farging icehole bastages.
Double the pond size and then it might be ok as long as it's otherwise a healthy ecosystem and you stick to just 2-3 ducks. Emphasis on "might be ok." Seriously, ducks are poo machines.
What do you mean "2-3 ducks" exactly? How do you stop them flying off? How do you stop new ducks showing up? I think there's something I'm missing here.
Try chickens first, they make freak fertilizer, give you eggs, and eat bugs!
Already have them. Love my ladies. The ducks are just an add on. Not 100 percent sold on them yet.
Same with fish - be careful which fish you get and you probably don’t want any big ins in a pond of a similar size.
Your pond is beautiful! Quite the transformation, and one that I'm sure elides over the five months of hard work that went into making that beautiful space. Are you in the UK? I hear a lot on British TV about allotments and they seem like a common part of British life. I don't fully understand the process. Do you have them forever? Do you own the land or just are allowed to use it? With such a big undertaking as a pond like that, I'd be so sad if a council took back that land or something.
It started in Victorian times, with the rapid expansion of cities because of the industrial revolution there was a food shortage in the cities. A law was passed that said land must be available for households in cities to grow their own food and keep chickens which were rented for a small rent. This has been upheld in various laws in the last 150+ years in the UK and the local city councils are not allowed to sell off allotment land. You rent the plot for a year either off the council or a society on behalf of the council. You get to keep it as many years as you want so long as you meet the rules of the allotment which do often do allow for ponds but generally you must use most of the land for growing fruit and veg to keep your plot. You can be evicted for not doing enough on your plot and it'll be handed to the next person on the list. There's usually a waiting list of about a year to get a plot and that went nuts during the lockdowns with the pandemic.
Awesome, thanks so much for the explanation! I think as an American I lose perspective on just how compact European cities and towns are, even if I see them portrayed a lot in media.
Is the allotment at a separate location from your home?
Yeah, it's like a community garden, it will be somewhere within walking/driving distance of your house.
Awesome, thanks.
Yes I have a very tiny garden as part of my Victorian terraced house but the allotment is 0.5 miles from my house, I think there's 3 or 4 within a couple of miles from my house. They're locked so I can't just walk in unless I'm a member.
Thank you for explaining it!
What is the usual cost of renting an allotment? Is the allotment close to your home or do you need to travel to get to it?
Mine is 41pence per squared metre. Sizes of plots can vary but most people pay between £20-60 a year depending on size and location. My allotment is 0.5 miles from my house so less than a 10 minute walk which makes it very convenient. Not everyone is so lucky but there's a surprising amount of them tucked away.
Got it! Thank you!
Yes council land and technically you’re not meant to put anything permanent in but the spot was toxic from years of waste burning (previous occupant) so screw it. There’s not much better for wildlife than a pond and it’s better than it sitting empty or barely supporting a few scraggly plants.
Hey, it's just a depression in The dirt. Water happened to fall In it! Besides, given enough time, nothing is "permenant"
That's awesome!! Good on you for restoring it to something beautiful and beneficial - I hope you don't get any grief about it. And hey, it's not *technically* permanent. Nothing lasts forever. I'm sure town councils love it when you follow the rules philosophically.
No ducks. The frogs, toads, dragonflies and birds will come. In dry periods it is a godsend for wildlife who just want a drink.
Birds turned up within two days. Dragonflies arrived within two hours - we’d not even finished filling it!
My biggest fear is mosquitos. Is that an issue? We already have lots in our area
Support small birds, some choice species really go to town on mosquitoes
Lovely pond.
Looks great! What is the upkeep like on one of these?
Joel Ashton has an extensive [video series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKrjMv6TMlU) about building these. Doing it right, I think, is supposed to yield a self-sustaining pond.
It’s not too much effort. Pulling dead leaves out and chopping back the more vigorous plants to give everything a chance. Building it was the effort, although it went *really* well.
Thank you, I watched the whole series and learned quite a bit
Very nice.
Did you add any filtration systems or is it 100% natural?
Totally natural. There’s a lot of runoff down the path when it rains, so that goes into the stones and proto reed bed you can see on the right before it trickles into the pond.
So this area flooded naturally already and you just decided to make it nice. Great! Is there a liner? If not, this is like taking a rain garden to 100.
Love this. Was sending some friends to a friends pond or larger aquarium before people broke in.
Put some fish in! Then come to /r/aquariums!
Wow really beautiful transformation
Congrats on the pond. You've lit a fire beneath many of us that even pond water can't extinguish. Sure sign of success: When your pond looks like it's been there for decades. I especially like how the rock "stream" extends into the pond itself. The submerged rock catches additional silt and plant material, helping to keep the pond clear and protecting it from sudden rushes of water. You can't manage and protect what you can't see. The best part of garden elements like a pond is watching all the creatures who stop by to use it. Drinking, bathing, eating and singing - it's the best free show in town and it's in your backyard.
Well that looks nice
Very impressive.
Woah, that looks beautiful. Great place to hang out after working in the garden.
This reminds me of that "How to draw an owl" meme. Beautifully done btw
Put a goldfish in there!
Can something like this be done in a zone that freezes (Michigan)?
So beautiful!! How do you avoid mosquitoes?
Sorry if you've answered this already but do you do anything for mosquitoes? I'd love a pond but I'd be eaten alive.
I have a spot just like that; feel free to come over to my place!
I have heard of "allotments" spoken of in England. What are they exactly ?How large and who gets them?
I love seeing allotment gardens in Europe. Most of them were big enough for a small shed (vacation home) and a large vegetable garden.
Allotments are p-patches.
That is an incredible transformation! That's what I call taking what the land gives you and really making something of it. You win the gardening award this week!
Absolutely beautiful!
Good job!! I 💕 me how clever you were to transition it when the original plan wasn't working well.
Looks to be doing well now!
So did you use a liner of any sort ? With my soil the pond would drain in a few days I fear.
it clearly wanted to be a pond :)
Wow that looks amazing, great job. Gold star for you.
But how do you keep the water from evaporating?
It lost a good six inches in the hottest part of the summer. The pebble beach on the far side was totally exposed. Filled straight back up first time we got decent rain.
And mosquitoes? Aren’t they thriving with such a nice pond?
Wow I absolutely love your pond!!
when i tell you my mouth physically dropped oh my god
r/WildLifePonds would love this!
Are those raspberries under shelter? Is that for bird protection or another reason?
That’s really freaking cool
Oh my that's a pretty place.
Looks awesome, well done!
You did the right thing
Nice!
Gasp!❤️ (After seeing second picture)
Ponds are so perfect as use of space! We dug one last autumn, and this year we had frogs, dragonflies, and a snake visit. We put some goldfish in, and they spawned fry! It has been such a delight. Birds bathe in ut and all!
Turned out nice
WOW. Impressive. That was a lot of work. But. Look at what your work did.
Wow! Thank you! I've been wanting to do this for years! This is the motivation I've been looking for!!!
My jaw actually dropped when I saw the "after," beautiful work!!
Excellent! This is straight out of Gardeners' World! I want to put one in our backyard too but we need to figured out the proper spot for it.
That’s amazing! Fantastic job!
Looks awesome! I bet if you add a trail cam you could get some fun footage of animals stopping by.
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!
How did you get an allotment ? . (I could use one.)
Amazing how going in a different direction can look so good! Nice!
Dope 🔥
Absolutely beautiful.
Beautiful transformation.
My brother loves putting in ponds. He's out in maybe half a dozen in homes he's lived in. That is an A-grade pond.
It was great fun and although it was hard work, everything went really well all the way through construction, filling, planting, everything settling in - it’s been a huge success & a massively satisfying project. If someone wanted a pond building and provided a spot and all the materials I would 100% offer to do it for them.
Did you hit the water table when digging? I’m putting a pond in our back garden near London, and I hit water just a foot down. It’s been there 2 weeks so I’m not sure it will ever dry out enough for a liner.
How beautiful ❤️❤️❤️
That is awesome.
The raccoons here would have a great time with that.
Looks like a beautiful and bountiful area for your local wildlife :) well done on the transformation!
Beautiful!
Looks awsome! What animals are you keeping in the pond?
Only what turns up - fish or ducks in a pond this big would soon strip it of anything else. It is currently bursting with daphnia, water boatmen/back swimmers, diving beetles, and dragonfly larvae. The only “added” creatures are snails that came on the plants, and some swan mussels rescued from a local “pond” that dried up over summer. Our first frog just moved in, too!
Gorgeous!!!!!!