Hi Everyone
My pond is finally done! Well I shouldn't say done. They are done digging. It was 2/3 done last fall, and then it snowed and they got stuck. So they came a couple of weeks ago and bulldozed 2 feet of snow off the site and waited to see if the ground would freeze again. We had so much snow this winter that it insulated the ground and it never froze. The conditions were not good but they figured they better try it any way. After the first day they decided to remove all the top soil on the path down to the pond, so they would just be driving on the clay. That worked better, for not getting stuck.
At the first of Janurary we had a few days that melted the 2 1/2 feet of snow we already had and it filled and overflowed the pond, as they hadn't put the spillway in yet. But we found that the one end of the pond the banks seemed to high from the elevation of the water, so we decided to make 2 ponds instead. The first one is about 4 feet deep with an over flow with rock and the second one is 8 feet deep.

What a mess, we still have about a foot of snow, I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for ground cover around the ponds. There is about 10 to 15 feet of area and then woods. Mostly shade but some sun. It still willl have to have some smoothing out done, as it was only donr so far with the backhoe and bulldozer.
The earth is clay.
When I figure out how to do the pictures again I will post them.
Megan

Hi again Megan,

Long time no hear! :)
Here is a link to a thread that talks about posting pics among other things (as usual :rolleyes: ): http://z2.invisionfree.com/Fishpondinfo/in...734&st=15&#last
You will have to read down a few posts but it's there!

Now we will wait for the pics. Waiting, waiting, waiting...... :)

Tia

My favorite ground cover is periwinkle . I have it in the bush (forest) around the house. It stays green all winter under the snow and has a blue flower in summer.


http://www.rain-tree.com/Plant-Images/periwinkle-pic.htm

Wow, I can't imagine digging the one with snow still on the ground. I hope it turns out nice!

The only groundcover that we have that grows well in shade that the deer don't eat (usually) is pachysandra. Vinca grows pretty well too here in the shade.

Periwinkle is vica

Don

Vinca major = greater or large periwinkle
Vinca minor = lesser periwinkle or creeping myrtle

We have the creeping myrtle. One site said the edges of the major are hairy and minor's aren't. So, I put on my boots and grabbed a flashlight just now. Our plants aren't hairy so they're minor. I had called the plants creeping myrtle, and my mother said they were Vinca. Now, I know for sure, they're the same thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinca

All Vincas are periwinkles but not all periwinkles are Vincas.

Hi Megan! Nice to have you back on the forum. I was wondering when you guys would be starting to dig again. That is great news! I can't wait to see more pictures. Elaine

Hi Guys
Thanks for the great advice. You guys are always so helpful! I checked out the periwinkle. I love that plant we have alot of it in the woods. I just phoned the co-op which is a bulk farm seed store. They said they didn't carry seeds for that. Would you buy seeds to plant them? Or would it be better to transplant them from the woods. I would really like to have them on the bank in areas that would be walked on. I have quite alot of dirt to cover, as the pond is approx. 160 or so feet long and I have 10 - 20 feet along the shore all the way around. I explained the situation and he suggested a mix of perenial rye and fescue, because they come up first and only grow about 3 inches high and mix in some white clover, and that they sell 55 lbs bags and that they had a mixer to mix the different seeds together.
There is still a couple of feet of snow around the border of the pond as I was down there this morning and it is over my knee. Still 10 inches up here by the house. We had rain all night and the temp is 50 right now. The water is running into it quite fast. I'm still working on the pics. I can't seem to get them to upload onto photo bucket. But will try again.
I am noticing that the water is somewhat of a emerald greenish colour. Should I be concerned?
Thanks again
Megan

Megan, your files that you are trying to upload to Photobucket may be to large. I think the maximum size is 1024 x 768 or there abouts. It should tell you the size that you can upload above the upload button in Photobucket. Check the size of your pics (I can tell you how if you need me to :)), maybe that is the problem and I wouldn't do to many at a time. Just my 2 cents :)

Tia

Hi Megan, Because our pond is naturally fed by the Spring run off, I just use a pond test kit to check the water. I wouldn't worry about the colour, just make sure your levels are okay before you add fish! Luckily for me the PH is usually within the right range. I haven't tested it yet this year as it is still covered in ice :-( Last year I put the fish in on May 1st.

I would suspect that since you have had water in the pond since last fall you have an algae bloom going on which is to be expected untill the pond finds a balance. I would not be concerned as KK said I hope you did have the final expected water level of the pond rocked or graveled to lessen erosion in the future. Also adding a foutain can deter excessive algae growth. Do you know what the volume is expected to be? Sounds like fun to me. Need pics soon... :D :D

FM3

It's pretty normal for larger ponds (and most small ones) to have a suspended algae bloom in the spring.

They normally sell Vinca as plants to plant but since you have a large area, it would make more sense to put seeds down, if you can find them. You can certainly plant rye, fescue, and clover but I wouldn't call those ground covers. They all grow pretty high so you'll need to make paths through them if they grow well. They may not grow as much if it's really shady.