New Pond Build

[revans2003]

Hello All!

I have begun creating the duck pond in the run today. I have a small hill and a 50 gallon pond liner. My plan is going to mount the pond in the middle of the hill and put grass and some tasty plants around it. I will run a drain to irrigate everything and a pump to have a bit of a waterfall. I am going back and forth on filtration but we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

This is what we started with



Cleaning up the hill, that's my little helper

Ran one run of cinder blocks....and then I ran out. dug out the hill a bit so the pond is at least sits in there on its own.



Tomorrow I will lay another round of bricks. I am planning on going as high as the wall (in the background) with a gentle slope on the right for the duckies to get up the hill.

 

[Amiga]

 

[revans2003]

Got another run of blocks installed this evening. I dug out the hole for the liner and have it set in its final position.



The third row of blocks will bring the wall even with the pond. I will be planting grass around the pond and on the access ramp on the right. I gathered up some of the pots I want to use to put tasty duck plants into and lined them up on the wall to see how they will look.

I will also try to plant something along the edge of the pond so the ducks wont get bored in the water while they are swimming.

I know what plants are safe for ducks, but can anyone recommend plants that ducks like to eat or generally enjoy having around? (after a long day at the pond) I am either getting jumbo pekins or rouen's. I understand Rouens like to forage more, but Pekins are just so darn cute......AAFLLLACCKKK!!!

Tomorrow I will run the final row of bricks and then work on the waterfall and filtration if I go in that direction.

 

[Amiga]

I have comfrey and polyganums growing along the fence, and the ducks like to nom on those. Maybe you could get something a little taller so they can eat on the lower branches but not eat up the whole plant. I have it set up so the plant is on the other side of the fence but the ducks can reach through and get to some, but not all of the plant.

 

[cayugaducklady]

I can recommend cabbage and kale. Even the ornamental cabbages and kales are OK to eat. If the outlast the ducks nibbling on them they get even more colorful in cold temps and will survive through snow and cold. You can grow from seed or use live plants. I'd be careful with live plants right now because they may not have been grown with safe-to-eat pesticides/fertilizers/chemicals. Local nurseries or farmers market may be a source for pesticide free plants.

I planted a forage bed of them for my girls last weekend and hope they provide entertainment and forage for my girls through the winter.

 

[revans2003]

Thank

I can recommend cabbage and kale. Even the ornamental cabbages and kales are OK to eat. If the outlast the ducks nibbling on them they get even more colorful in cold temps and will survive through snow and cold. You can grow from seed or use live plants. I'd be careful with live plants right now because they may not have been grown with safe-to-eat pesticides/fertilizers/chemicals. Local nurseries or farmers market may be a source for pesticide free plants.

I planted a forage bed of them for my girls last weekend and hope they provide entertainment and forage for my girls through the winter.

Thanks. If the plants or seeds I select are certified organic can I assume they would be safe to use?

 

[revans2003]

I have comfrey and polyganums growing along the fence, and the ducks like to nom on those. Maybe you could get something a little taller so they can eat on the lower branches but not eat up the whole plant. I have it set up so the plant is on the other side of the fence but the ducks can reach through and get to some, but not all of the plant.

Thanks, one side of the fence will be chain link, I will try to locate some seeds for comfrey and polyganums.

 

[revans2003]

Hello Again,

My schedule was socked in with cub scout and girl scout meetings.

This afternoon I put the third and final row of blocks on the retaining wall. I also added rebar but I forgot to take pictures.



Tonight I capped the wall



Then it was time to work on the irrigation system as I had a pile of sod that had to be watered.

This thingamabobber has a 1" outlet, which doesn't even come close to fitting a garden hose.



sooooo I went to home depot and frankensteined a bunch of parts to make it work.



I then took my frankensteined water pipe thingamajigger and plugged it into the water thingie.
(The metal pipe to the right is in the discard pile and not a part of the system.)


Feeling that I was a genius and nothing could stop me, I turned on the water full blast.........................




and immediately knocked my son over with a blast of water because It did not even occur to me that this part in the picture did not have a valve and was a convenient outlet for the rushing water.



sooooooooooooooooo out came the watering bucket and we manually watered the sod that will be surrounding the pond. Here is my little helper again.............my son gave up after the water attack.




The final result...............need more sod!!



The wall is not perfect I know, but the ducks will hardly notice it with all the forage buffets and minnows to feast on.

 

[cayugaducklady]

Thank


Thanks. If the plants or seeds I select are certified organic can I assume they would be safe to use?

You don't have to use organic seeds unless you want to
Any ornamental seed should be fine as long as it grows in your plant zone.

Ornamental plants like the kind you can get at Home Depot are sometimes grown with chemical pesticides/fungicides/fertilizers that aren't food safe because they want bigger beautiful plants fast...and sincemost people don't eat them they use the cheaper not food safe chemicals. Ornamentals have fewer restrictions that plants grown for food

A local nursery that grows their own ornamental cabbage plants should be able to tell you if they used anything that isn't safe to ingest. Heck, you might even find organically grown ornamentals because the nursery uses organic growing methods.

 

[Rewster]

Very nice pond and duck relaxation area. It's amazing how much time and money we will put in for our little critters comfort.