Do you enjoy the sound of running water and croaking frogs? Then you need a garden pond! Garden ponds are a wonderful addition to your landscaping. They are a fairly easy project. You could create a garden pond in as little as one weekend with proper dedication!
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Anniversary Pond!
Growing up my grandparents and mom both had garden ponds. When Papa built his pond, I went swimming in it. Then I trained his goldfish to come to the top, so that I could pet them. I was knee high on a grasshopper when this all occurred. I remember my mom putting in her garden pond. We found baby turtles under a rock. I enjoyed feeding the fish, chasing the frogs, and hunting for tadpoles each spring.
For our first anniversary, my Papa got us a garden pond. Then Dalton had the joy of digging the hole to place the pond in. It was easy digging, but a good sized hole. Bless his heart, he did the entire thing in a single day. Then it was my turn to fill it with water, plants, and fish.
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Building a Garden Pond
First, you must buy a preformed plastic garden pond or some pond lining. I prefer a preformed plastic pond because it is easy to level out.
Next, you must decide whether you would like to dig the pond down or build up rocks around it. This may be determined by the difficulty of digging. Papa built rocks up around his ponds. We dug ours down.
Digging the Pond
You must dig a hole that is roughly the size and shape of the formed, plastic pond. If you are using a pond liner, dig the hole to be the shape and size you want the pond to be. Do your best to level the bottom of the hole using loose dirt in the bottom of the hole. Make sure to pull out any rocks. To help prevent rocks from poking holes in the pond or liner, put a moving blanket, rug, towel, or scrap of carpet in the hole. Set the pond in the hole or roll out the liner. When you cut the liner, make sure to leave extra on the edges, so that it doesn’t slide down.
Building up the Pond
If you are going to build up the pond, I still suggest putting something underneath the plastic pond to prevent rocks from poking through. You can use loose dirt to help level it out. Now you are going to stack rock or stones up around it until you can’t see the plastic sides anymore.
Pond Filter & Pump
Before you fill the pond you should place your pump and filter where you want it to go. My pond is a bit deep, so I had to place it on top of a landscaping block. Make sure the fountain is going to be tall enough to get out of the water. This oxygenates the pond. You must also make sure that you can get power to the pump and filter. I ran an extension cord and hid it among the landscaping. Do not plug it in until the pond is filled with water!
Putting Plants in Your Garden Pond
It is easiest to put in plants before you actually fill it up with water. You can buy pots specifically made to go in the pond or just use a plastic pot drilled full of holes. Put some pea gravel in the bottom of the pot before adding your plant. Use a little bit of dirt around the plant. Then fill the rest of the pot with pea gravel. Set your plants in the pond. I have water lilies and a pickerel. The lilies like to sit below the surface of the water. I put them right on the bottom of the pond. The pickerel likes to be in the water, but not submerged completely. My pond had a little shelf, so I put it there. When the pond is filled, the water barely covers the top of the pot.
Fill Up the Pond
If you are going to put fish in the pond, you need to treat the water. I use this kind and haven’t had any problems. Follow the directions on the bottle to make the water safe for fish. You can either put the hose in the pond or you can fill five gallon buckets with water and pour them in. If you are not sure how much water your pond holds, I suggest doing the bucket method the first time. This will let you know how much water treatment to use as well. You do not want to fill the pond to the brim, the rain will take care of that for you. Fill it up until it is about an inch from the top. Now you can plug in the pump and filter.
Adding Fish to a Garden Pond
Fish are a wonderful addition to your garden pond. They help eat the algae and keep the pond clean. I recommend going to a bait shop to buy goldfish. They are fairly inexpensive to buy this way. This also makes you feel better when a neighborhood cat or racoon comes and eats them all in the middle of the night.
When you get the fish, you can drop them right into the pond. Unlike a fish tank, you do not need to float them in a bag to acclimate first. Just make sure that the water in the pond has already been treated.
Troubleshooting a Garden Pond
The dirt is too rocky to dig down.
If you can’t dig down, you can always build up. My grandparents have a beautiful pond that is built up instead of dug down. There is not a difference in the functioning of either way.
The pond is full of algae.
A lot of algae is probably a result of the pond getting a lot of sunlight. Fish are a great natural solution to this problem. They will eat the algae. If you already have fish, then it is possible that you are feeding them too much. Too much food left over will cause algae growth. Another way to treat algae is to add peroxide to the pond. You can dump in an entire bottle of peroxide. If you don’t see any results, add another bottle the next day.
The fish keep getting eaten.
Give them some hiding spots. Plants to cover the top of the pond are super helpful. Fish need places to hide from predators. I like to use clay pots for this purpose. You can lay them on their side or upside down. Break a hole in them like a door, if you turn them upside down.
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The site may contain links to affiliate websites, and we receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As a Revive EO Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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