How to make a nature pond?

[Napmum]

Well, this is more of a nature puddle. We've got a raised area that's 1 meter off the ground, so it's a great place to put a pond away from small kids (currently pregnant with my 2nd). This is ground level to the gardens that back on to ours, so woth a couple of holes under the fence, the wildlife can get to it.

But, it's rubble about 35cm down. It that deep enough for a tiny pond? I'm thinking 70cm across and up to 2 meters long, including a pebble beach bit at each end so wild life can get a drink and get out if it fills in.

I'm not planning on any fish or a pump, so I was thinking just some pond plants for the edges, nothing big that need deep water.

Would this work?

Any tips?

I think it might go a bit stagnant and become a mosquito breeding ground..
I know as did the same a few years back.
But you could get a few mini solar pumps just to keep the water moving?

And some nice aerating plants to put in

Yes, that's quite a big pond!

It's not only size that is important, but position too - how much sun/shade it gets, will it get clogged up with leaves from surrounding trees and plants and so on.

There are several websites with good advice on setting up ponds and I would find a specialist nursery to advise you on the right mix and number of plants you will need.

The Wildlife Trust and Freshwater Trust have loads of good advice on this. A pond can be any size, even a tiny pond will be of value to wildlife.

Regardless of size, in order for the water to receive enough oxygen the surface area should be 5x the depth. You don't need pumps.

Choose native plants from a reputable seller. Don't accept plants from neighbours as this can spread disease such as chytrid which kills frogs. Only add the emergent species at first and then add submerged species at a later date when the water is ready.

Its important to know that when ponds are establishing they go through a sort of nutrient cycle until the water has found its equilibrium. This means they often go through a stage of looking very green and unpleasant. People often panic at this point and start adding things like straw and submerged plants which just end up rotting. So don't panic, just leave it be and it should find its balance.

The alternative if you don't have a big area is to create a bog garden, safer for children and they can be brilliant for species like swifts and house Martins.

#cluelesscucumber, that's great, thanks. Yes, I'm expecting a stagnant stage and will be doing a wet lands area too.

Yes, I'll stick to emergent plants at first that makes so much sense

Generally, the smaller the pond the more difficult it is to stop the water getting stagnant and filled with algae. In some ways a bigger pond is easier to look after.

You can use barley straw in the pond which is supposed to stop algae.

My small pond was high maintenance I got rid of it in thd end. It was in a very sunny spot so water was constantly drying up in the summer - needed topping up regularly, which doesn't do much good to the state of the water. It was getting too filled up with leaves in winter - don't plant a deciduous tree anywhere nearby!

Mine was a wildlife pond but didn't have quite the effect I'd envisaged. I hoped to see dragonflies, water beetles etc but that didn't happen. We did get newts which was cool. They say it's good to have an area close to the pond which is not too neatly manicured - you could put some logs of wood nearby to act as a hiding place for frogs etc.

Much bigger than yours I know, but many years ago a friend of my dad's had a large pond dug in his garden. A massive one. Probably at least twenty metres long, nearly as wide and two metres deep.. Anyway, apart from lining it and filling it with water, he did absolutely nothing to it at all. It didn't take long for nature to find it and take over. Reeds, water plants, dragonflies, frogs and all sorts. Within about 5 years it even had fish in it.

outstanding. How do fish get in? Is it a case of the stork (or heron) delivering a baby from the Air?

I love our little pond but keeping it topped up in summer is a challenge. Lots of frogs though.

It sounds a lovely idea and water is fantastic in a garden for wildlife as long as there are no fish to mess up the food chain. Our ponds stay clear with oxygenating plants so you don’t need a pump unless you want one. I think the surface area is meant to be two-thirds covered in plants to get the balance of everything right, though obviously this will take a while to develop. Good luck OP.

I've got a tiny half barrel pond and the birds absolutely love it. Oxygenating plants and some basic frogs bit keep it ticking over.

Ducks. Delivering by butt.

My friend has a similar pond and it pretty much is a case of the stork bringing babies. Apparently they carry fish eggs on their feet from other ponds and rivers. Amazing isn’t it?!

I have lots of plants to water in the summer so I'm no stranger to watering.

😱 I should have been taught this at school!

That is amazing! I suppose frogs come the same way? I'm setting one up, so excited! Anyone know if the neighbourhood cats would be a problem and how to keep them away?

We've had a small pond for a couple of years now and honestly it brings me so much pleasure. I bought our plants from Devon Pond Plants. They seem really helpful and knowledgeable. They even sent a follow up email to check that everything was okay with the delivery.
https://www.devonpondplants.co.uk/

We got a small water butt so that we can keep the pond topped up now if it's particularly dry like last summer.

Yes! Fish eggs caught up on birds' legs or feathers is how somebody explained it to me.

My next door neighbour’s cat is intrigued by my goldfish and sits and watches them sometimes but neither her nor my 2 cats have ever tried to catch them and as far as I know, none of the cats have ever fallen in.
I’ve got 2 ponds because I find them so relaxing. 1 for the goldfish and the other for nature.