hi there, i'm carl the landscape guy and todayi want to show you how i converted this back yard water pit into a 3000 square foot allnatural pond. now in a pond you want to try to keep the water level as constant as possible.the water level in this pit was fluctuating by about 2 to 3 feet depending on the weather.rainwater would fill it up, especially during the winter months and during a hot summerthere wasn't much water left in there. this
how much does a garter snake cost, situation was really unsightly especiallysince the main line of sight in this back yard is right on the water pit. in order tominimize the water level fluctuation, i started by connecting the pit to the closest rainwater ditch. for that i used about 250 feet of pvc drainage piping, 6 inches in diameter.the pipes were installed on a slope that way
the water from the ditch would flow into thepit. i chose only a small slope for the piping so that if the pond is filled up, water canflow backwards into the ditch not overflowing the pond. in addition to that, i connectedthe rain gutters of the house to the pipe to use existing water as efficient as possible.after these preliminary works i started cutting off all the grass, bushes and little treesabout 15 feet around the edges of the pit. now i could start re-modeling the new pondedges. since no pond liner is used and all water in the pond will be rain or ground waterthere will still be small water level fluctuations. that's why i took away the sloping terrainand created a steeper edge. with this relatively steep edge even if the water level fluctuatesthe water surface will stay about the same.
with this 2 ton excavator it took me one dayto finish the pond edges. the pond has a depth of about 6 feet. an all natural non linerpond only works on sites with fine soil like clay or loam which has a low co-efficiencyof permeability or it also works if you have a high ground water level. natural wells orbrooks around a backyard make a perfect supply for natural ponds. now it's time to flattenthe soil around the pond and plant the first water plants. if you don't want to spend moneyon water plants you can go to local lakes or rivers to get regional plants you like.if you do so don't destroy natural wildlife habitat. take only small plant offshoots,they will spread in their new habitat. if you want to put fish in your natural pondthat's ok but wait until plants have grown
and don't put too many fish in. since it'sa natural pond i didn't add any pumps and filters and i put in about 10 fish. if youfeed the fish keep in mind that all nutrients put into the water will have to be clarifiedby the pond itself. if you add too many nutrients, algae will grow and the fish might suffer.i decided to add a few stones and one bigger tree stump from the woods with moss on it.this use of regional materials helps to create an all natural character of the pond and improvesits appearance. it helps to add only one or two eye catchers, otherwise your eye doesn'tknow where to look and it doesn't have the effect of creating a harmonic atmosphere . withthis pond we look at a low maintenance level. each fall i cut the grass and plants aroundthe edges and that's about it. i hope this
video was informative and helpful for you.if so i would appreciate a "thumbs up". feel free to subscribe for more videos on ponds,brooks, waterfalls and other garden stuff. thanks for watching, i'm carl the landscapeguy, good luck with your project and see you next time.
