this is it, this is the video I have been looking forever for. You’ve answered my questions on how to hide the pond lining, how deep to go, how wide of a shelf to make. Many thanks good Sir! I will check out your book 😊 I feel so much more confident in my ability to start on my pond build
Great video. Just looked up the price of butyl rubber here in New Zealand and it is NZD$1200 for a pack! To put that in to perspective a dinner out for two people costs about $140-160... Looks like i'll be going for UV protected PVC after all :(
Looking forward to receiving my pond plant order. Watched this to check I’m on the right lines with what I’ve dug out so far, will probably double my shelve depth. I going to see if you have a video on doing a beach for a wildlife pond
Oak leaves aren't toxic in a pond , leaf litter can be beneficial depending on the pond style you have gone for . Most toxic trees are ones related to pine or evergreen
Hi Alex, thank you for your comment, but this is not the full picture. While decomposition products such as high levels of tannins may or may not be toxic to plants or invertebrates, they can discolour the water, staining it a dark brown. This results in much reduced light levels at the bottom of the pond which will inhibit growth of bottom dwelling plants such as oxygenators and Nuphars. The blanketing effect of the leaves themselves also prevents light from reaching the foliage of these plants and can certainly kill them over the winter and Spring in the same way that ground cover membranes inhibit weeds. A small amount of leaf litter does produce extra habitat for some invertebrates but larger amounts are definitely harmful to any pond. Lastly, the decomposition of leaves reduces oxygen levels, encouraging the growth of anaerobic bacteria which themselves produce toxic compounds such as Hydrogen sulphide. A small amount of leaf litter and other plant debris does produce extra habitat for some invertebrates but larger amounts are definitely harmful to any pond. My advice has always been that for a healthy pond, levels of loose organic material in a garden pond should be kept to a minimum. This does not infer a hospital level of cleanliness though.
You mention that deep subsoil would be unsuitable to line a pond with and plant into. I have been following Joel Ashton’s videos where he uses subsoil exclusively to cover the entire pond. The point of this I thought was that it’s low in nutrients, and heavier than topsoil so won’t feed algae and resists floating around as much. On my allotment the topsoil is reasonably shallow, less than a foot in a lot of places. The subsoil is light brown/orange, heavy clay with flint. Would it be better to use aquatic soil or even puddling clay though?
It's a matter of opinion really. What I said is that the yellow clay layer is unsuitable, but the lighter subsoil just below the topsoil is ok. It's always a compromise between unwanted dissolved nutrients in the water and insufficient nutrients for the plants.
Very useful demonstration. I've seen some where they don't bother to use a level and pegs. That would be a disaster. Leaves falling in creates sludge after a few seasons. The deep part is good for hibernation creatures.
Hi Anthony. That would be a very short video, just hornwort and possibly Callitriche. All the rest have true roots and need to be growing in something. You wouldn't go to the garden centre to buy roses and lupins and then just chuck them in the garden when you got home!
@@DevonPondPlants I wish i'd watched some videos or even your videos of what not to do when building a pond. I've used a liner and also did not add any shelves for the plants to sit on. Are there any potted plants that would like a pot deep in the water. Pond is about 2ft deep. I'm not into stealing amphibians from the wild (disease etc) but I am hoping to eventually attract them.
He must not plan to put fish in because they need shade. Trees are a great use for shading your fish during the summer. During the fall/ winter, you put a net over it to keep the leaves out. There.
Just to be clear, the pond plants should provide the shade, but they in turn need sun, especially water lilies. Don't put the whole pond under a tree.😉
Good clear video David thanks, although I have to agree with Jeremy below regarding metric measurements - I wish you would talk in feet, inches and gallons
Well thought out and presented video. Just very sad that you feel obliged to talk in centimetres all the time. The more that media outlets and people express everything in metric, the quicker we lose our British heritage and identity
Hello Jeremy, thank you for your kind comment. Like you, I am a dinosaur and think in Imperial terms, but most of our customers now have no idea what an inch or a gallon is and so we move with the times.
I am sure there are very few people who don't know what an inch is and nearly all will still think in their own minds in inches rather than centimetres. You are not a dinosaur at all; unfortunately most other people who, like your goodself, reach out to thousands via screen, radio or print think the same as you ie) "I'll have to talk in metric now" - but you don't ! Its precisely that approach which is destroying what little remains of our national identity and heritage. In my town all our grocers and 2 butchers sell in pounds rather than kg for that reason. Metrication was halted in 2007. In your next well crafted video please consider using British measurements. Best wishes
Jeremy, we don't use barleycorns, pecks, gills, firkins, fluid scruples, and many other units either but these are all imperial measurements! Do you bemoan their passing? I'm in my 60s and apart from a pint of bitter, miles to travel, and being 6 foot tall I think in terms of metric measurements entirely. NB Parliament passed the Weights and Measures (Metric System) Act, legalising metric units for all purposes (but not making them compulsory) in 1896.
Your comment just proves that you are not willing to grasp the use of metric and as such, just refusing to use it.. Even though in most cases it's much simpler and accurate to read than using fractions. Americans use imperial, and therfore most sewing patterns i have used are also in inches, which for sewing is much much simpler, but when you need it for construction for example, metric is much better and accurate. It has absolutely zero to do with loosing British heritage, and there's much bigger problems going on in this country than using a type of measurement that was passed over 120 years ago because someone also realised it was better than imperial 🙄
