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Building the Big Pond
1997 |
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The first thing you need to do to create an inground pond is make a hole. Holes require
digging. I was about to commandeer my two stalwart sons to dig the new pond, but after all,
it was spring and they had other ideas. So............
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The job fell to my hubby who good-naturedly began the task. |
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Old carpet makes good padding for a pond liner. We had some old carpet out in our
barn, so we cut it and put it around the bottom and sides of the pond. Then it was time
for the 45 MIL EDPM liner. We had purchased an extra large liner and it took some doing to
place it in the hole. Now all we needed was water........ |
IS IT A POND YET?
Well, not quite. It took about 3 hours to fill the pond from our well. We estimated that
the pond held about 1400 gal. The water looked so clean and clear. It was easy to imagine
the pond covered with water lilies and full of frogs and fish.
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The pond was full of water but there was a lot of work yet to be done....rocks for
the edges, plants, fish. Perhaps we would make a veggie filter or a bog garden nearby.
The summer was going quickly, too quickly. |
We wanted to edge the pond with a variety of rocks. It took several rock hunting
expeditions to collect all rocks we needed. Some of the rocks had fossils in them which
added to their interest. While we were collecting rocks we were also collecting
plants. I bought out PetSmart's anacharis tank 3 times before we had enough. Kay, my pond
friend from Wooster, OH visited in mid July bringing a wonderful array of plants and my
very first water lilies. I couldn't wait until they bloomed. |
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Of course, we had the usual "new pond algae bloom." It lasted for at least six weeks.
Patience, plants and a new pump paid off as the water cleared at last on Labor Day
weekend. We could finally see our fish! As a matter of fact, we were in for a surprise.
There were three extra baby fish in the pond that must have arrived as eggs on some of
Kay's plants. |
Now winter is approaching. It will soon be time to put the pond to bed.
Next year we plan to finish landscaping around the pond and add a large waterfall and a
stream. In the mean time, we are enjoying every last minute of pond time that remains. |
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