Filled In Ponds

[Big Lou]

No one panic! I'm not filling in our pond yet the day may come when it becomes necessary. Anyone know of neat alternative uses for a empty, none water holding, garden pond? Going to the ultimate closure, what would you say is the best procedure to fill in a garden pond?

 

[addy1]

I filled in my arizona pond, between living 2300 miles away, renters in the house, it was not worth keeping it running. We just pulled the liner, filled with dirt, planted plants.

 

[DrCase]

You worry me Big Lou ... Lol
I would leave the rock border and fill with dirt , it would make a nice bed for plants

 

[Dave 54]

Hey fellow Veteran whoa once in the hobby you know there is no leaving it your a fish keeper for life my friend but if you must fill it in then by a large indoors tank so you can follow the hobby front your front room sofa .
In other words your doing the exact opposite I did 6 years ago where I came out your going in as the good DrCase says my friend you worry me

Dave

 

[Big Lou]

Pond is staying. Just learning for the future. You all are so kind...thank you.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Glad your not filling in the pond Lou.

Your question has me wondering though, what reasons would someone be forced to fill in their pond?

 

[Sunshine]

Age. You start getting older and can't take care of it anymore. I know a few of my friends that have already started selling off their fish and filling their ponds in.

 

[Big Lou]

My inability to manage our pond due to my health. I cannot get in the pond so I already use a pond maintainence person for thorough seasonal cleaning.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

I see.....

Lou How does it work with a pond maintenance company? Are they contracted for a season? Or just per job per hour?

Just curious

 

[Big Lou]

I use a very small pond store/service. It's a two lady business. Work is estimated per job. Very reasonable. The bigger the company the higher the price. Never get a blind price. Have them come out and look at the pond before pricing. I would be hesitant to sign an on-going deal. Seems pond service shops are sometimes "here today, gone tomorrow".

 

[haver79]

Enjoy your pond while you can Lou. Hopefully for a long time before you are forced to do anything drastic!

 

[haver79]

It would be nice if our ponds could be maintenance free and just there to look and enjoy. My pond is more work than I anticipated but I love every minute of it.
Some of you may have well established and balanced ponds that take care of themselves but I am not there yet. Still tweeking and trying to get plants established.

 

[Big Lou]

Our maintence is lessened by having no fish. Last season we experimented with in-pond tall potted plants. Outcome was less than desirable due to our top of hill wind. Seemed no matter how heavy the pot was the wind had its way. This caused a constant problem.

 

[Lisak1]

Some of you may have well established and balanced ponds that take care of themselves

That's kind of where we are at - the only "maintenance" we do is the kind we enjoy. I could invest in one of those long-poled lily pad clippers and that would eliminate 99% of the reason I get into the pond every few weeks. But I enjoy getting up close and personal with my fish and MOST DAYS it's a nice cooling dip. The first time in the spring and the last time in the fall are just to wake me up!

We've talked about what we might have to do were we ever to sell our house and found that buyers weren't interested in it because of the pond. We live on a normal 1/4 acre suburban lot so the pond occupies about 1/4 of the backyard and the patio another half. Not much grass left, except the strip alone the side of the house for the dogs to use. While we love our yard, we realize that not everyone would be as enamored with a pond as we are. We would simply fill the whole thing (the hole thing!) with dirt and grass over it. We could also convert the waterfall easily into a pond less style fall and keep the bog garden. It would still be pretty and a unique gardening space.

Always good to think ahead @Big Lou and also a good thought for those who may be just planning their pond - how would you convert your space back to regular old (BORING!) yard if you had to?

 

[Lisak1]

Last season we experimented with in-pond tall potted plants.

We had a similar issue with a big papyrus that we love in our pond - as it grew taller, we would sometimes find it topside up in the pond. Ours is planted in a fabric bag style "pot" with drawstring ties that you can use to make the top opening larger and smaller as needed. We got the brainstorm to pull those ties really tight and anchor them to a rock behind the pot - voila! No more tipping pot! I think you could accomplish the same thing with a bungee cord if your plant was situated in a spot with a big rock nearby. Just an idea! Because the papyrus is tropical, it's one of the few plants I have left potted (other than the lilies, which are just pond thugs if you let them go free!) so I can bring it indoors every winter.