My little waterlily pond has a leak and I've given up trying to fix it. Bob
Flowerdew on the radio suggested filling in a pond with ericaceous compost
and planting blueberries, which like boggy soil.
Ericaceous compost from the garden centre is going to cost me a fortune. I
thought of filling in with builders' rubble to about a foot below ground
level, but presumably there's lots of lime in rubble.

Has anyone done this job? Have any suggestions?

thanks

Jon

In reply to Oxymel of Squill ) who wrote this in
ws.net, I, Marvo, say :

My little waterlily pond has a leak and I've given up trying to fix
it.

If it's not too late and you don't want to go the blueberry route, drain the
pond, throw half a dozen beaten eggs into it, then fill it with very hot
water (fit a hose to the hot tap). It fixed my leak.

Leave it for a week or so, then refill.

"Oxymel of Squill" wrote ..
My little waterlily pond has a leak and I've given up trying to fix it.
Bob Flowerdew on the radio suggested filling in a pond with ericaceous
compost and planting blueberries, which like boggy soil.
Ericaceous compost from the garden centre is going to cost me a fortune. I
thought of filling in with builders' rubble to about a foot below ground
level, but presumably there's lots of lime in rubble.

Has anyone done this job? Have any suggestions?

Just drain and use a liner over the old pond to make it watertight again.
Probably cheapest too.
BTW if your existing pond is made with a plastic liner they always perish at
the waterline where UV light attacks the plastic so it's always best to try
to cover this bare liner with paving slabs, rocks, bricks etc. Alternatively
go to the expense of butyl rubber.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
...
In reply to Oxymel of Squill ) who wrote this in
ws.net, I, Marvo, say :

My little waterlily pond has a leak and I've given up trying to fix
it.

If it's not too late and you don't want to go the blueberry route, drain
the pond, throw half a dozen beaten eggs into it, then fill it with very
hot water (fit a hose to the hot tap). It fixed my leak.


:-) the mechanics used to tip eggs into the radiator of my fork lift truck
whenever it sprang a leak.

I have just tipped the thing out and mended a hole, can't be arsed to go
through that again as there's a perfectly good fish pond three feet away.
(And I don't have a hot tap - primitive world here). Anyway, don't the newts
and / or frogs eat the egg white?

In reply to Oxymel of Squill ) who wrote this in
ws.net, I, Marvo, say :

"Uncle Marvo" wrote in message
...
In reply to Oxymel of Squill ) who wrote this in
ws.net, I, Marvo,
say :
My little waterlily pond has a leak and I've given up trying to fix
it.

If it's not too late and you don't want to go the blueberry route,
drain the pond, throw half a dozen beaten eggs into it, then fill it
with very hot water (fit a hose to the hot tap). It fixed my leak.


:-) the mechanics used to tip eggs into the radiator of my fork
lift truck whenever it sprang a leak.

I have just tipped the thing out and mended a hole, can't be arsed to
go through that again as there's a perfectly good fish pond three
feet away. (And I don't have a hot tap - primitive world here).
Anyway, don't the newts and / or frogs eat the egg white?

Not when it's filling up a little hole.

I have a friend who farms blueberries for a living. I'll ask him next time I
see him what the score is - he offered me a large amount of the special
compost they need and a few plants. I know they're very fussy and he uses
enormous quantities of the special soil, it goes in a few feet deep. I
believe he said it was imported from Poland, truckloads of the stuff.

On Jun 22, 1:35 pm, "Uncle Marvo"
wrote:
If it's not too late and you don't want to go the blueberry route, drain the
pond, throw half a dozen beaten eggs into it, then fill it with very hot
water (fit a hose to the hot tap). It fixed my leak.

Leave it for a week or so, then refill.

Hello Marvo, been on your hols? Isn't there a preparation that you
can mix up and paint on with a wallpaper paste brush, I seem to
remember my father doing this but I can't remember what the stuff was
he painted on.

Judith

Jon
On this occasion Bob got it wrong - blueberries do not like boggy soil
- they are heathland plants - they like an organic soil that holds its
moisture. So a mix of 3 peat 2 top soil 1 sharp sand will give
something like the mix. Straight ericacious compost is too peaty and
can rot off the roots as a result.
Regards
Clifford
Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshire

"cliff_the_gardener" wrote
On this occasion Bob got it wrong - blueberries do not like boggy soil
- they are heathland plants - they like an organic soil that holds its
moisture. So a mix of 3 peat 2 top soil 1 sharp sand will give
something like the mix. Straight ericacious compost is too peaty and
can rot off the roots as a result.

I don't think I ever said they like boggy soil, I mentioned remaking the
original pond by inserting another liner over the old one but obviously it
wasn't clear, I didn't mean to grow Blueberries in, more like water lilies.
Hate to hear of a garden pond being removed, they are so important for
wildlife these days.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

Bob Hobden wrote:

"cliff_the_gardener" wrote

On this occasion Bob got it wrong - blueberries do not like boggy soil
- they are heathland plants - they like an organic soil that holds its
moisture.

[...]

I don't think I ever said they like boggy soil,

A different Bob! Cliff was replying to the OP, who quoted Bob
Flowerdew, presumably on GQT.

Regards,

Peter

Bob
Sorry Bob I think you got the wrong Bob - I was meaning Flowerdew, as
mentioned in the op - sorry for the confusion
Clifford
Bawtry, Doncaster, South Yorkshrie

In reply to ) who
wrote this in , I,
Marvo, say :

On Jun 22, 1:35 pm, "Uncle Marvo"
wrote:
If it's not too late and you don't want to go the blueberry route,
drain the
pond, throw half a dozen beaten eggs into it, then fill it with very
hot water (fit a hose to the hot tap). It fixed my leak.

Leave it for a week or so, then refill.

Hello Marvo, been on your hols? Isn't there a preparation that you
can mix up and paint on with a wallpaper paste brush, I seem to
remember my father doing this but I can't remember what the stuff was
he painted on.

Costs more than egg.

The OP's given up on the pond, which is a great shame. I think everyone
should have a pond.