YShahar
Enthusiastic duct-tape engineer
Hello Pond folks,
I've recently joined this forum, and very happy to have found such a knowledgeable community. I'm relatively new to all things pond related. I did have a small garden pond some 15 years ago, which was meant to become the bio filter for a much larger pond. The larger pond has ended up being a work in progress since then; I dug down to about 20 cm and hit rock. It was clear that it would be a much bigger project than I had bargained for.
And so, for 15 years, we had this huge shallow hole in the middle of the yard, while an entire garden grew up around it: paths, stepping stones, fruit trees, and rock gardens. And there, smack in the middle of it all was a 4 meter by 5 meter hole... And so things remained as the kids grew up and moved out to start their own families. After many adventures, I retired to start a publishing business with my husband.
And then the pandemic hit... And suddenly doing something about that whopping big hole in the garden began to seem like a really good lockdown project!
And so, here we are!
The hole is now 5.5 meters by 6.5 meters, with a projected average depth of about 30 cm and a deeper zone about 90 cm deep.
And have I mentioned the bit about rocks? Well, it's not solid rock...More like layers and layers of sedimentary limestone, which splinters into gravel and various boulders. My goal now is to enlarge the deep zone by another meter all around, dig down another 20 cm in the shallow zones to create shelves, and build up the grade on both sides of where the falls will go. I'll also be creating an overflow stream that allows excess rain water to flow into the garden. This is because in Israel we get rain for only a couple of months out of the year, but then it comes down in torrents.
And here's a photo of some of the rocks that have come out of the excavation. Have I mentioned that I'm digging into rock, not soil? All this is getting done by one 60 year-old grandma with a pickaxe!
Looking forward to learning from you folks with more expensive with what is already threatening to be a very addictive hobby!
Grannie get your jackhammer!
I've recently joined this forum, and very happy to have found such a knowledgeable community. I'm relatively new to all things pond related. I did have a small garden pond some 15 years ago, which was meant to become the bio filter for a much larger pond. The larger pond has ended up being a work in progress since then; I dug down to about 20 cm and hit rock. It was clear that it would be a much bigger project than I had bargained for.
And so, for 15 years, we had this huge shallow hole in the middle of the yard, while an entire garden grew up around it: paths, stepping stones, fruit trees, and rock gardens. And there, smack in the middle of it all was a 4 meter by 5 meter hole... And so things remained as the kids grew up and moved out to start their own families. After many adventures, I retired to start a publishing business with my husband.
And then the pandemic hit... And suddenly doing something about that whopping big hole in the garden began to seem like a really good lockdown project!
And so, here we are!
The hole is now 5.5 meters by 6.5 meters, with a projected average depth of about 30 cm and a deeper zone about 90 cm deep.
And have I mentioned the bit about rocks? Well, it's not solid rock...More like layers and layers of sedimentary limestone, which splinters into gravel and various boulders. My goal now is to enlarge the deep zone by another meter all around, dig down another 20 cm in the shallow zones to create shelves, and build up the grade on both sides of where the falls will go. I'll also be creating an overflow stream that allows excess rain water to flow into the garden. This is because in Israel we get rain for only a couple of months out of the year, but then it comes down in torrents.
And here's a photo of some of the rocks that have come out of the excavation. Have I mentioned that I'm digging into rock, not soil? All this is getting done by one 60 year-old grandma with a pickaxe!
Looking forward to learning from you folks with more expensive with what is already threatening to be a very addictive hobby!
Grannie get your jackhammer!
