Using clay kitty litter.

[GBBUDD]

no woven has tight spacing for lack of a better word. Roots can grow out of it but i doubt to badly. If the fabric was made into a pouch with a wire from like garden tomato support that would keep the top open and it won't look like a oil pan sitting on the pond floor. the pouch can be made into any shape you want

 

[mrsclem]

Wow!! That sounds like a great idea! Does the classy kind of solidify and get denser to help direct water too? Does moss Grier on it?

Do not use clumping cat litter! Only unscented, plain 100% clay. You don't want to add chemicals to the pond.

 

[GBBUDD]

I've been using kitty litter to line gaps in rocks in my stream build. After planting in it, I add river pebbles to make it look a bit nicer. I do usually rinse it a bit first, using a fish net to hold it, just because it makes less of a mess that way.

don't know if i'd do that too often the clay turns to complete much and if the fish get to it or you rip plants out it will give a very fine silt

 

[YShahar]

don't know if i'd do that too often the clay turns to complete much and if the fish get to it or you rip plants out it will give a very fine silt

This is along the banks of the stream, so no fish (other than the gambuzis that somehow get sucked up by the pump and end up everywhere). For the most part, I'm happy for it to silt up, as I want the stream banks to turn into a sort of "muddy verge" where I can plant things, but where water won't bypass the various cascades.

In the rest of the pond, I've planted into bare gravel, since there I want the planting medium to stay as clear as possible.

 

[GBBUDD]

Your best off planting in gravel like the bog one sand storm and youll have all the silt you need

 

[YShahar]

Your best off planting in gravel like the bog one sand storm and youll have all the silt you need

Well, the kitty litter actually does a better job for this purpose. Basically, I've got large void spaces between the stream rocks and the edge of the liner. I've foamed a bit here and there, and done a couple of bib liners at the back of the cascades. But for the margins, I didn't want to over use foam (the only kind I can get here is the regular construction stuff which doesn't always behave predictably).

So I filled these voids with round pebbles, after hand sorting them to remove the sharp bits. Then I added a bit of kitty litter between and under the rocks. The kitty litter makes a pretty good seal, such that instead of flowing through these areas, the water slows down considerably. I planted peace lily in the larger voids, sweet flag on the higher ground, and bacopa pretty much everywhere. I didn't want anything overly tall for this area, as I don't want to block the view of the backdrop behind the stream from the house.

Over time, the plant roots have broken down the kitty litter and filled up the voids, essentially creating their own soil. In the end, the effect is very much the natural margins of our local streams. A tiny bit of kitty litter goes a long way!
Here is the work in progress, before the plants filled in:

And yes, sand storms can lay down a fair bit of very fine silt. But I'm convinced that the vast majority of it actually ends up in my living room!