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#31
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
Dave wrote And just how do you keep a hole in the ice on a remote pond?
No power out there, eh? Then I suggest you make the pond as big as you can afford. Stock it very lightly with a some rosie red minnows or use mosquito dunks to keep the mosquito larvae down. No lilies in the pond, unless you remove them before winter (plant in pots). That way you won't have the problem with an over abundance of rotting vegetation and fish waste to produce toxic gasses. Any severe winter is going to cause aquatic animal deaths but the cleaner the pond is going into the winter the better the critters will do who spend the winter under the ice. Another way is to fill a milk jug with black sand and place a couple of them around the pond. Works in milder winters. ka30p http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html |
#32
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
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#33
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
OK what does the blank sand do (and what is it???) DK
"Ka30P" wrote in message ... Dave wrote And just how do you keep a hole in the ice on a remote pond? No power out there, eh? Then I suggest you make the pond as big as you can afford. Stock it very lightly with a some rosie red minnows or use mosquito dunks to keep the mosquito larvae down. No lilies in the pond, unless you remove them before winter (plant in pots). That way you won't have the problem with an over abundance of rotting vegetation and fish waste to produce toxic gasses. Any severe winter is going to cause aquatic animal deaths but the cleaner the pond is going into the winter the better the critters will do who spend the winter under the ice. Another way is to fill a milk jug with black sand and place a couple of them around the pond. Works in milder winters. ka30p http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html |
#34
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
My pond, here in zone 7, is about two feet deep.
The ice can get as thick as four to five inches but that is very rare as we have mild winters. You need to plan for conditions in your area. Frogs don't bury themselves too much, they just like to snuggle up. So I would not put in a mud hole in the pond. Turtles and frogs have overwintered in my pond with just a thin layer of muck down there. Depends on the year but could have been as thick as two inches. More important is a hole open in the ice. ka30p http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html |
#35
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
Another way is to fill a milk jug with black sand black. black sand. It soaks up the sun's warmth and helps melt the ice. :-) ka30p http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html |
#36
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
Another way is to fill a milk jug with black sand black. black sand. It soaks up the sun's warmth and helps melt the ice. :-) ka30p http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html |
#37
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
Another way is to fill a milk jug with black sand black. black sand. It soaks up the sun's warmth and helps melt the ice. :-) ka30p http://www.geocities.com/watergarden...dors/home.html |
#38
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
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#39
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
snip
And just how do you keep a hole in the ice on a remote pond? It seems that we don't get the cold winters we did years ago here but still the ice can easily get to six inches and stay frozen for many weeks. I could poke a small hole in the ice but it would freeze up within a short time. We don't get enough wind to do any wind-powered trickery. (I think this reply got lost?) You could try an Ice Guard, see: http://www.greenideasltd.co.uk/ We have one in our pond and it seems to work quite well. John. |
#41
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
snip
And just how do you keep a hole in the ice on a remote pond? It seems that we don't get the cold winters we did years ago here but still the ice can easily get to six inches and stay frozen for many weeks. I could poke a small hole in the ice but it would freeze up within a short time. We don't get enough wind to do any wind-powered trickery. (I think this reply got lost?) You could try an Ice Guard, see: http://www.greenideasltd.co.uk/ We have one in our pond and it seems to work quite well. John. |
#42
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
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#44
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
Dave wrote What about plants such as cattails? The trick to cattails is to keep them under control. In an earth pond they will grow completely across unless the pond is deep enough. I'm trying to remember what the magic depth is that cattails don't like. In a planter pot they do fine other than taking over the pot and jumping out with their razor sharp runners. But if you repot and keep up with them they do fine. They will tip over in the wind in pots unless anchored. If you are looking to attract wildlife I would go with a nice shallow shoreline. Plants at the pond edge are important for cover for critters like frogs and turtles and salamanders and newts. Also nice for animals that need a drink. If I were to do a pond like this, lined. I would make a wide shallow end and cover it with rock or slate. To keep deer from damaging the liner. You'll have to keep it weeded as it will grow over. I had a bog area fill all the way in with grass that started as seeds that I harvested from the lake that my MIL lives on. If you only have a few fish, minnows for instance, I would not worry too much about getting a hole open in the ice. Keep the stocking level very low, skim the leaves in the fall and you should be okay. kathy 30acre :-) A HREF="http://www.onceuponapond.com/"Once upon a pond/A |
#45
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Digging a tiny pond to attract wildlife
should I create a shallower shoreline?
Wildlife ponds should have sloping sides. The Pacific Tree Frogs like my clay wildlife pond with sloping sides. In the evening they hop to the waterline and sit half in and half out of the water as they croak. I believe the pond loses very little water through the clay bottom. The minimal seepage through the bottom probably helps keep the pond clean and the mineral build-up down...no need to change out water. The clay pond does lose more water than my preforms in the summer time....it is a chore keeping all of them filled in the summer...small advantage here to the plastic ponds. The clay pond loses more water in the warmer months due to the wicking of water to the dirt above at the waterline. I don't think a liner on the bottom is necessary if you have clay soil...however a liner at the waterline would help reduce the wicking action. Perhaps rocks would work instead of the liner at the water's edge. I use the sprinkler system to keep the clay pond filled. |
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