What depth and width of plant shelves?

[Causeofhim]

Hello,

I am new here, live in Southern Wisconsin, and found this forum when started looking at upgrading my pond.

I currently have a smaller pre-formed pond with a few goldfish, and have decided to upgrade.

I will be digging in a 13'x8' pond that will be 3' deep. I will have a 8'x4' bog that will be 12" deep. I will be using an aquascape skimmer and waterfall with one pump and a seperate pump that will feed the bog. I will be using a 45mil EDPM liner.

I do not plan on having fragile, expensive koi but rather some hardy goldfish and a bunch of hardy plants, including lilies.

As I begin digging I need to know how deep and how wide should my shelves or terraces be for plants?

Thanks

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome! you're kind of in my neck of the woods - are you southeast, southwest, or south central? (Made that last one up!)

When you dig, you actually want at least two shelves - the first shelf will hold your rocks for your edging and the second will be your plant shelf. The rock shelf needs to be wide enough to hold the rocks you plan to edge with (so that's a variable factor) and deep enough so about 1/3 of each rock ends up under water with the other 2/3 exposed and forming your edge. (That's an estimate - we have some rocks that are flat, so they are basically half in, half out - but you get my point!)

Your second shelf is your plant shelf and can be anywhere from 6 inches to 18 inches deep - depending on what kind of plants you are planning for and whether you plan to naturalize or keep them in pots. Every pond will be a bit different. I said at least two shelves, because in a couple of spots in our pond we have a third shelf that can hold water lily pots at a bit deeper level.

In our pond, the shelf width varies from about 1 foot wide to almost three feet wide - on the waterfall side I wanted a shelf that was wide enough to hold plants in pots and still allow me to get in and walk around on it, so it's extra deep. On the "land" side I can access my plants to do any grooming or planting without getting into the pond, so the shelf is only about a foot wide.

Good for you for planning ahead for plants - lots of people think of that detail when the pond is already built!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

As I begin digging I need to know how deep and how wide should my shelves or terraces be for plants?

My marginal shelf is roughly 10"-12" deep and 12" wide.

I made half of the bottom of my pond 2' deep for waterlilies, and the other half is 3.5' deep.

If you're looking for any cool plants to add to your bog, look into Great Blue Lobelia, Cardinal Flower, Blue Flag Iris, and Marsh Marigold. All are native to Wisconsin, and all do well in a bog. The first two attract hummingbirds.

If you live near Waukesha Co., you might want to visit Windy Oaks Aquatics. They've got fish and pond plants. They also have liner, fish food, and other stuff.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group!

This is what @Lisak1 is saying for the first shelf, it hides the liner wonderfully. The red is rocks

 

[Lisak1]

If you live near Waukesha Co., you might want to visit Windy Oaks Aquatics.

@JBtheExplorer (or anyone else in southern WI/Northern IL) we were just at Windy Oaks and they marked their tropical water lilies down to $20 today. They still have a great selection, if anyone is looking for a great price on a beautiful plant. I've been wanting a tropical lily for YEARS but I'm just too dang cheap to spend $75 or $100 on a plant that will only last me a season. I got a beautiful dark blue day flowering one - can't remember the name off hand but it's gorgeous!

Fish were all buy one/get one free, but they didn't have much selection left. Lots of small yellowish koi, but that's about it. She said they sold a lot of them on Saturday.

Always a fun trip out there to wander around and see what plants I HAVE to have!

 

[j.w]

@Causeofhim

 

[Lisak1]

Note to @addy1 - I think your fish is getting a too big for your pond there!

 

[addy1]

Note to @addy1 - I think your fish is getting a too big for your pond there!

lol It is the ONLY fish.................still room to grow, and a nice green one!

 

[Causeofhim]

Thanks for the help and the welcome! I’m just north of Janesville, so south central.

I dug most of the pond yesterday and am not really happy about how it looks today. I was told that I need to go 3’ to winter over my goldfish. By going this deep and having shelves, it makes the sides of the pond steeper than I like. I would really like a more natural look of less slope where I could add a few bigger rocks and gravel over most of the bottom. With what I have, I will end up with walls of field stone to cover the liner.

 

[Lisak1]

Hmmm... post a picture of where you're at with your dig and we can see if you're headed in the right direction.

You don't HAVE to rock the inside of your pond - lots of people don't. That's a personal choice really.

And everyone will tell you that you have to go 3 feet deep - I've visited lots of Chicago area ponds that are only 24 inches. Fish (goldfish and koi) do great in them all year round.

Just some things to think about!

 

[Causeofhim]

Here is where I am.

 

[Lisak1]

You're doing good! Are you planning a waterfall where the dirt is?

 

[Causeofhim]

You're doing good! Are you planning a waterfall where the dirt is?

That is the plan. Where is see a problem is the wall under the waterfalls, beneath the first shelf, is over 2 feet. That would be two feet of stacked field stones.

I would like to have my liner completely covered. I know some people do not, but my preference would be to do so. In my opinion, it makes it look like a more natural pond. My worry is that by starting a big wall of field stones, it will not look natural either. Fortunately, most of what I dug out is solid clay, so putting some back in and shaping what I want, will not be an issue.

 

[Lisak1]

Have you ever watched The Pond Digger on YouTube. He has a great series on pond building - I think you'd find it helpful if you haven't already seen it. I'm a very visual learner so being able to watch the process is so helpful. I can share the link if you want.

In basic terms though, when you rock a pond it is basically just a dry stacked wall. You want your walls to slope slightly backward to make it a bit easier to build a stable wall. It's way easier than it sounds. And while, yes, you will end up with a wall of stacked rock, once your pond is full you really don't see it that way. Algae grows and it all just kind of blends together.

 

[Causeofhim]

Have you ever watched The Pond Digger on YouTube. He has a great series on pond building - I think you'd find it helpful if you haven't already seen it. I'm a very visual learner so being able to watch the process is so helpful. I can share the link if you want.

In basic terms though, when you rock a pond it is basically just a dry stacked wall. You want your walls to slope slightly backward to make it a bit easier to build a stable wall. It's way easier than it sounds. And while, yes, you will end up with a wall of stacked rock, once your pond is full you really don't see it that way. Algae grows and it all just kind of blends together.

I haven't seen it, but I'll check it out tonight.