Landscape fabric ok?

[Kristi Kelty]

Hi Pond-ers!
I am adding a little outdoor pen beside my pond so that my goose has access to the pond at certain times -- I will control when she goes in and out by having a "divider" strung across the pond at the deep end, which I can pull back when she is not in the pond. The question is this: Is landscape fabric ok for this? It will be a 2' high "curtain" and will be about 1 foot underwater, but probably not go into the water. It will let water pass through it, so it will not affect the flow/circulation. Do you think this will be ok for the pond or in any way a problem? (I know that I should probably not let my goose into the pond at all-- but she loves it and I built it for her-- so I'm thinking just about 15 min. each day when she comes down her ramp from her little goose house would be ok.......)
Thoughts???

 

[CountryEscape]

I would check with the landscape place that you purchased the landscape fabric just to be sure, but it probably won't hurt the pond. You don't say what you have in your pond, though? Fish, plants, ..... That may make the difference. If you built the pond for the goose, then by all means let her go in there. I'm sure you know the amount of "dirt" she may leave behind while she is there. As a side note, my kids used to have ducks and geese when they were young, we had a 3 acre pond. The geese were more often in the yard than in the pond, duck the opposite, they loved the water far more than the geese.

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Country escape thanks! I have a few reds and one goldfish (about 5"). Also have a lot of pond plants which she is finding delicious-- so I want to be able to block those off when she is in there. She is older and does spend most of her day out in the pen enjoying the sun or rain.....but the pond water in the morning is her favorite routine.

 

[CountryEscape]

Sounds like she is in heaven when she gets to go in there, then. Good for you to give her a slice of heaven! I know people on her have had wild ducks visit their ponds, and wondered what that would do to their water quality, and if the ducks would eat their fish. In the end, wild ducks stop and visit usually just a short while. I think geese are grass eaters, though, so your fish are probably safe, right? Plants I can see her being VERY interested in! Maybe find a plant that grows really fast, that she can go in and "prune" it and you will both be happy! Like Water clover, or Water Parsley/Celery, or Penny Wart. I have all 3, they grow REALLY fast once established. In fact, I removed penny wart from one of my pond bogs, and that and the cattails I removed was a HUGE wheelbarrow full. I'd be happy to send you bunches of all 3 of these plants if you have a spot you want to try them out come springtime. They are shallow water plants. Not sure what your weather is like in the winter. My plants are still growing actively, not had any cold snaps yet.

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Nice! Thanks I would love to try out your cuttings and see if they will work. We get down into the freezing temps but not for long periods of time-- this is southwest coast of Oregon. Usually snows once or twice a year even on the beach! Weird. But I am now seeing my lillies getting smaller. I do also have cana lilly and it is doing great, and water hyacinths-- doing great. The two deep areas in my pond are around 19" so that may not be deep enough.....Here is a pic. Yes, she LOVES grass but my little lawn area is already pretty short- so I try to supplement with salad greens. Can't wait to see the pics of your progress with the pond edging.....I'm at a halt with that for now. Plus I want to add a bog like you did for the overflow.

 

[CountryEscape]

I'm still confused. Where are you looking that my pond edging is not done? Both of my ponds have been completed since the year they were built, 2011 and 2012. LOL So, I'm wondering what you're looking at? :blueflower:
Oh, holy cow, you just "liked" one of the first posts on my goldfish pond thread, which was begun over a year ago. LOL Keep ready and viewing pics ... or fast forward to the end. LOL That thread is maybe 60 pages long!

 

[Kristi Kelty]

For some reason I am not seeing your finished pond(s)....it's probably me-- don't do blogging too much. I do love what I saw though of the steps you took, beautiful pics! Did you see my pics in the gallery I posted today? My concern is what is the next step: overflow bog with pump and float, or second pump to manage the goose waste, or stream and waterfall, or edging. The rocks are placed around the edge over the liner, but nothing is cemented in place yet. (Do you suggest I use spray foam instead of concrete?) Do the rocks get attached directly to the liner with the spray foam?Many questions still.......

 

[dieselplower]

There are chemical free landscape fabrics. I'm pretty sure Preen makes one.

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Thanks Dieselpower for the info!

 

[CountryEscape]

Kristi, tell me what your thread is called, and in what forum you put it.
As far as rocks on the edge, I don't use anything to "cement" them in. I just laid them on top of the liner. If you keep going page to page on my threads, you will see the creating of the ponds. When you get to the bottom of one page, look on the bottom left (or top left if you're at the top) and click on "next". I have a LOT of pages, but I posted all the pics of the build from start to finish for both ponds.
Once I see your pics, I'll have better idea of what you are asking about overflow, bog, stream, etc. I only am on-line morning and evenings during the week, but anytime I pop inside on the weekends.

 

[Kristi Kelty]

1. Thanks so much!!!!! Here are some pics:
2. Garden Pond Forums
4. → Gallery
6. → Kristi Kelty's Albums and Images

 

[CountryEscape]

Umm ... not sure what you were trying to do. How about do it this way:
Forums - Pond Construction and Equipment - then the name of your thread. What you wrote above, there are several "steps" missing, and I'm not sure where to look.

 

[Kristi Kelty]

Under my name "Kristi Kelty" in the Gallery. Hope that works?
[sharedmedia=gallery:albums:421]

 

[CountryEscape]

Got it, thanks! Now, since you mentioned that you do get freezing weather, but it doesn't last long, you are evidently not concerned about the pond ever freezing, right? At only 19" deep, I would keep the fish population to a minimum, and probably no koi. And, just as a fair warning, rosey reds tend to breed like rabbits, and you will soon have dozens of them in there. You may WANT your goose to eat some. LOL
I love your pond, and the island is cool as well! Does your goose like to go up on there, or is she not allowed in that area? There is a post on here where a guy lives I think in Canada, had a mama and baby moose standing in his pond, on the bare liner, and no cuts or abrasions to the liner ... just in case you were worried about goose claws. :blueflower:
So, where is the waterfall to go, and the bog? I see extra liner on the far side, and right end in the last pic, so assume that is where you are adding more areas.
And, as far as my plants go, since you do get cold, remind me in the spring/summer and I'll ship you a boatload of whatever you would like. Bog plants that I have would go in anything in shallow water. They can even go in a stream. My stream is full of parrots feather, to the point that you can't even see the stream! That will be corrected next year. I'm still learning what is best where.