Using Duck Pond Water for Garden. ?'s

[randomchick]

So I will be getting 22 little ducks and 7 geese end of April. We will be digging a huge pond however that will most likely not happen till end of June, so I was planning on using plastic kiddy pools in the meanwhile. I heard on this forum that the dirty water in the pools is great for gardens, which is awesome as I plan on having a 1 acre garden. So I wanted your opinions.

Will it work to drill a hole it the bottom of the side of the kiddy-pool and glue a hose connector. Has anyone done this? I want to avoid dumping pools all over the lawn right beside so there won't be any mud festivals for the ducks.

Does anyone have a better idea on how to get the water out of the kiddy pool and into barrels.
I will transport the barrels to the garden via riding dump-trailer buggy thing my husband found at the auction.

As well, will the duck poo hurt guinea hens that I may get for the garden bug control? If so I will not get the guineas, as my husband is all excited to be able to have ducks.

Also, are there any cons to this idea that I am not seeing. And tips?

Thanks-all

 

[Wifezilla]

Will it work to drill a hole it the bottom of the side of the kiddy-pool and glue a hose connector. Has anyone done this?

Yes and yes....but don't glue it. There are threaded fittings you can get at your local hardware store.

Does anyone have a better idea on how to get the water out of the kiddy pool and into barrels.

You could check craigslist for a pond pump. I just got one for $35 for my pond.​

 

[Amiga]

Brilliant concept! Yes! Nutrients from the ducks and geese are very good for plants!

Here are some further thoughts:

When I convert plastic drums to rainbarrels and add a spigot (faucet, depending on your region) to the bottom of the barrel, I use a spigot that has a threaded pipe end, two wide thick flexible (rubber or plastic) washers that fit very snugly around the pipe end, and a nut (threaded metal ring).

I apologize - I don't have a photo right now. Note to self: take pictures next time.

Then I can attach a garden hose when I want to drain the barrel. You could also use another kind of valve.

If the water isn't too rich with nutrients (allowed to go too long between water changes), direct application seems like a good idea. You may want to try direct application on a test patch first. But I haven't heard of duck or goose stuff burning plants. Chicken manure, yes. But not duck or goose.

Depending on the plants in the garden, you could fertigate (fertilize + irrigate) the plants directly at the base or add the nutrient-rich water to a compost pile (making sure it drains well and doesn't take on too much water, turning it anaerobic).

I would just be careful not to fertigate too close to harvest time, especially with leafy greens and others that aren't cooked.

If the pools are uphill from the barrels, or can be set up that way (where the bottom of the pool is above the top of the barrel), you could siphon the material out. I plan to use a manual bilge pump, since most of my garden beds are downhill from the kiddie pool.

Nice, sustainable approach! Congratulations!!

 

[veronicasmom]

I never really researched this, but the first year we had ducks I used their dirty pool water for the gardens. Everything I used it on died! I read something later that said it is high in nitrogen. It also said that the high nitrogen content is good for lawns.
Again, didn't look further into this, as it was a PITA to haul the water up to the lawn and it was a long time ago, but I am pretty sure I got the facts straight. Maybe some on here can clarify that.

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Yes and yes....but don't glue it. There are threaded fittings you can get at your local hardware store.

Does anyone have a better idea on how to get the water out of the kiddy pool and into barrels.

You could check craigslist for a pond pump. I just got one for $35 for my pond.​

Yes you are going to need a pump to get that water into barrels. Without knowing your lay out I might suggest that garden hoses might work better, depends on the distance and slope involved. I ended up with a used pump from a pig farm that was used to move pig waste suspended in water. It had a chopper blade upstream from the pump impeller that reduced any soliid waste to fine particles suspended in the water(somewhat like a garbage disposal under a sink). Then it would flow through 150 feet (3 x 50' )large diameter garden hose to my garden. I already had a drip irrigation system in place but the solids would settle out and clog the small hoses. Since my garden plot already had a very slight slope to it I converted to ditch irrigation for my duck water. I liked this because the particles would settle out in the ditches and the water that reached the plant roots would be filtered through soil. The following year I would plant in the old ditches .

 

[randomchick]

Quote:
Hmm, I definitly don't want all my plants to die. Does anyone know if I can then use it on the compost pile and how long I will have to wait to use it, or how to lower the nitrogen levels.

 

[darwish]

Quote:
I dump the pond water right into the compost pile. It really gets that pile heated up! I don't know how long you should wait before using the compost after that. I only use my compost once or twice a year, so mine has been sitting for a while by the time I get around to using it in the garden.

 

[randomchick]

thanks for all the pond water help.

 

[CityChicker]

I responded on your other thread as well, but I concur with the people that have said it will burn your plants. I have definitely had it kill plants before. There are some thing it seems to work good on if you used sparingly, like grass (although I imagine that depends on the type of grass). I would not use it on food crops though. Probably your best bet is to google something like "composting safely" and go from there.

 

[kingpincray]

That is what I am doing at the moment and my plants are doing well. I don't use the water for the plants all the time though. Maybe once a week and they are usually quite dilute.