Basil, that looks lovely!

However, without a liner on the bottom of the pond, OR sealing the entire bottom with something like bentonite clay or gunnite, or something similar, it might never hold water well, draining into the ground to feed the surrounding grass and tree roots, instead.

You may want to look into this and see about getting a liner or some Bentonite during the fall or winter.

Happy ponding!
Jeff

Basil, that's gorgeous! What a wonderful spot. I'm trying to plan for a similar sized pond (about 40 x45). How deep is yours at the deepest point? Is it a straight drop off or a slope? Will you eventually put plants and fish in it?

How long did it take you to dig it? Did you use machinery? Sorry for all the questions. I'm trying to learn.

Are you following me around now, Anna?
:)

I agree Basil's is beautiful, but seriously doubt it will hold water continuously without some sort of liner or sealant... but then if he has a running creek there, it might hold enough.

I guess time will tell... maybe no reason not to try it and see.

The Bentonite I mentioned above, by the way, is a kind of clay that is used to make and/or seal "natural" ponds. There are two types of Bentonite: calcium and sodium. The sodium bentonite is what they make cat litter from, and that's not the good stuff... The calcium is more expensive, but that's what is used for sealing ponds and also as a food supplement for koi, I believe.

Again, I'm not an expert on this stuff... I just kinda scratch around the edges :)

Happy Ponding!
Jeff

AnnaFL,

I did not plan my pond.
I had a creek and wanted to use it to water some plants instead of use water from my house supply.
At first was going to just put up a dirt dam, but started diging a little by hand (no power diging)to make a place to put the pump.
Them I thought I just keep diging to make a good looking pond. So I dug a circle 50 feet in diam. with creek going about in the center. I dug the whole circle to the same level as the creek botton. I had to move the dirt away by hand also. This about a year are more ago . Maybe 3 years ago. It is 3 feet deept with stright droop off. Had a bad problem with the creek washing sand and filling it up with sand when we had big hard rains. so I have to dig all that sand out this winter. After getting the sand out , I like to dig more so it will have greater depth in most of the pond. I like to maybe get it so I can swim. But this pond is mainly for siting and walking around and looking at.

I think I will put some plants. I have a water lilly now. But I think it will die this winter because I will need to dran the pond. Not sure about fish. There are some wild fish in the pond now that the blue heron loves.

It took a very long time to dig by hand. I did not keep time. Work off and on for more than a year.

I have started useing a rideing lawmower to cary dirt away now and that is the only power machinery that I have use. I had to move a lot of the dirt a few 100 feet away.

I did not plan my pond.

But as I was diging and seeing how things were going , I made plans. The reason I stop at 50 feet diam. was because that was the space between 2 very big and nice trees.

Hope you post pictures of you pond. You may have your done before I have mine finsh.

Very nice indeed, and you are so fortunate to have a creek. Thanks for posting the pics. Happy ponding.

Lisa

Jeff,

The water level is going down less than one inch a day. It has been a long time since it has rain so the creek water is runding slow. The weather reporter said we may be in a drought. This pond is built in an area the ground don't pert very good. I can see one big leak about 5 feet down the creek from the dam, but I can't see where the water leaving the pond. Ever time I think I have the leak fixed, it just start leaking down the creek away from the dam. I am afraid that if I don't stop the leak , it will get biger. I have liner in the creek next to the dam. I have tryed 100 pounds of Bentonite. I can't spend many dollars on the pond. I have been thinking about putting a block are stone wall around the circle part of the pond. Now I thinking about building a block wall on the creek on the area near the dam.

Anna is not following you around now. I posted on the pond board for people come to the carolina board to see my pond picture.

Thank you Lisa.

Basil, I'm sure you'll figure out how to remedy the problem.

Jeff, I guess I AM following you around! I am actually posting through Basil's link on the pond forum.

Just joshin' with ya, Anna...

Actually, Basil, I hadn't noticed your post on the Pond forum yet, but I just saw Lisa posted here, too, so now that makes perfect sense.

Just remember to invite only the NICE pond forum posters to come here :) -- So far, you've done very well!

basil -
i spent the weekend pick-axing & removing 400 square feet/2' deep of hard clay to begin my kitchen garden work. the whole time i kept thinking, "no one's *this* crazy"! but i see you're even "crazier" !

nice pond :)

chapehillgardener,

When I think back on my childhood, I think of the good time at the beach, at the moutains, and diging with my mom and dad. We had a garden off and on that we dug in and we also had old house that we dug out under. My pond was easy to dig but had a lot of very bad roots. I think the bigest part was moveing the dirt away to places it was needed. Useing a whellbrowel for most of the moving. Some dirt I move 300 are 400 feet away. Now I can use my rideing lammower to move the dirt. Most places on my land the dirt is hard as concret(sp). I must like diging but, I am always wanted to get done and enjoy the pond etc..

Basil,
You have a beautiful property. Lisa's right, you are fortunate to have a creek to feed the pond.

My pond is dry but for the creek runing thru.
Leak and no rain for a few weeks.
Going to get some bags of concrete and try to stop the leak. But I have tryed before and the leak just moved farer down the creek.

it a big pond .

Since my pond had leak so the only thing left was the creek going thru the pond hole, I try to make more repairs today with 5 bags of 50 pound concrete. I may have stop most of the bigest leak. Even thought not enought rain for the creek to have much water, the pond has rose some since put on the concrete.

Newer pictures of pond.
I also have smaller pond before the main pond.
{{gwi:585601}}
I will be working on makeing the water clear.

{{gwi:585602}}
Pond filled up durring rain then when down lower than in this picture and has started filling back up a little (but not much). still have leaks. You see the side wall that I builted to help with leak problem.

{{gwi:585604}}
Another picture showing the side wall with new flowers just planted.

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Showing some leaks.

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The wall just goes on one side near the dam for now. Next winter going to drain the pond again to build the wall around the pond (and dig more).

{{gwi:585608}}
Digging on the smaller pond so I have better place to plant water lillies.

{{gwi:585609}}
Picture of water lillies in the smaller pond (it is getting ready to have a flower).

Basil,
Your property is beautiful! Some of my coworkers think I'm nuts for working so hard out on my property, but now I have met someone just as committed - or in need of being committed LOL! Hope my little gardens look as nice as your place one day. rosebush

You've created a little bit of heaven in NC, beautiful and serine. Now all you need to do is build a guest cottage for fellow gardeners..................:O) LindaNC

rosebush,
Thank you. We are not nuts.

lindanc,
Thank you. I like to have a guest cottage in my park, but have so many things to do before. I only have round table with chairs and unberlara and some platic chairs so far.
There are a lot of thing I like to make. I like to make a rock floor type place for the round table and chairs. A building for large groups to eat and cook that has a good look. More and better chairs and tables at diffrent places of interest in the park. Etc...But now working on pond leaks (mixed 9 bags of 50# concrete yesterday and will do more today). Checking into cearing up the pond water. Most of the time the water in the pond is 6 inches below the top of the dam. I think if water was going over the top of the dam the surface of the water would be a lot cleaer. I am thinking about ordering "Pond Clear Liquid" thru the internet ( but every thing cost so much).

Good work, Basil.
And lots of it.
I woldn't worry to much about clearing the water yet. It will most likely clear itself when you finish working around the pond and it has a chance to settle out. Our pond still clouds up some after really hard rains, after Alberto came through, for instance, 8 1/2 inches in three days.
I've got a couple of recurring leaks around the spillway - there's a black gum in the edge of the water that is too pretty to take out and keeps me from being able to rework the ground there the way I should. I've been looking for bentonite to pour down the obvious intake holes (I think they're snake sized, but that's just prejudice). I haven't found it locally and don't want to order truckloads from Texas. Where, could I ask, did you get some?
Thanks, Wm

Here is a link that might be useful: Pond Digging

Video of my water lilly in the smaller of the two ponds.
28.5 Meg file

Here is a link that might be useful: water lilly video

Wow, you have done lots of work. I love ponds and just think when you can put lots of water plants in. Congrats on the hard work.

Carla

willf,

I only got two fifty pound bag of bentonite. Cost of bentonite not bad but the shipping cost were about 10 time as much. Somebody who worked for train company said a man in my area did buy a train car load and had it dump to sell to local farmers. I not trying to buy any more.

My pond was clear part of last year (I drain the pond last fall to work on it-- and going to drain it again winter).
My gold is to make the pond stay clear with a blue tint water by maybe useing 'Pond Clear' and 'Nature's Blue' sold by the pond guy.

I like your pond. But it is not fair. You had power equpement. I only had hand digging equpement and wheelbrow and latter a lawmower with a dirt hauling cart.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Pondguy

carla17,

Thank you. Yes I have done lots of work and have a lot more to do before it look's good.

I will put all my water plants in the smaller of the 2 ponds.

Video of me skinnydipping in my pond.

Here is a link that might be useful: Video