Smell question

[yarrowhouse]

We set up our little duck pond with a bottom drain, slightly uphill from the garden. About once a week, we empty it and spray out any accumulated muck from the bottom, and it drains into a depression at the start of the garden and flows from there down into the garden. We've been using this system for about 6 months, so mostly over the winter, now that it is warming up we're noticing a slight shall we say scent where the bottom drain empties into the depression.

We're looking for suggestions on how to reduce the scent. We do intend to occasionally shovel a layer out and use it to compost the shrubs. But it would be nice to have ideas about sprinkling something on (ash?) or other ideas. Appreciate any ideas!

I attached a picture you can see the depression at bottom right, there are channels going from it throughout the garden. Also duck picture tax too

 

[Debbie292d]

We don't have ducks but did have a drainage issue in an area of our 2.5 acres. I would suggest you speak to a sand/gravel company or see if one would come out and survey the situation as this is something you'd maybe be spending a little bit of $$ to rectify.

Here we used pea gravel in a low area which was some clay muck and that delivery trucks kept getting stuck in. That fixed that problem.

In our coop, we use horse bedding pellets (100% pine) which absorb all the smell and poop and doesn't need changing for a year. That wouldn't work where there's a lot of water though as it would absorb it just fine, but then you'd have all this sawdust as that's what it turns to.

I doubt anything we do would work for you, but I bet some gravel company would know what would!