Pond question

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

Aug 31, 2012 13:36:18 GMT -5 @bloomscuzzer said:

Water brings life. .

...and mosquitos...

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...but on a serious note... how's the pond fed? and do you need to irrigate something now? 'cuz that would make a difference to me...

[Deleted]

It's your land and your money.....do what you want.

[Bluerobin]

Most folks have ponds, because they need them for irrigation. A friend usually pumps water out to irrigate his "garden". He doesn't really farm, but does raise several crops.
You may have to provide your own frogs from the start.

[CarolinaKat]

Put fishes in the pond that eat mosquito larvae. It'll cu down on the number, but won't elimate the annoyance.

The turtles are fun

[Angel!]

Would $1K really get you a 500 sf pond? Seems like it would cost more.

I wouldn't do it. It is so dry around here that unless you had a very large area of land that you could grade to drain in the pond or you could divert an existing stream or you wanted to keep filling it from your hose, the pond would dry up.

I would also imagine that there are likely permits & fees involved in building something that large, especially if you are going to divert from an existing stream system. IDK though.

[Spellbound454]

I wouldnt have one if I had very young children but I'd love one if they were older.

We've had them before you just dig a hole and line it with plastic then put fancy rocks and gravel round the edges.
You can have water plants, lillies and rushes....maybe some carp and frogs..sounds lovely

[justme]

If the koi pond has a waterfall, that's probably why mosquitoes aren't a problem....the water is circulating too much for the larva. Mosquitoes look for still water.

[Malarky]

The most important question is, can zombies swim?

DH says that since zombies are already dead, they can walk along the ground, underwater. That shoots to shit my theory that I'll just hide out at Alcatraz.

[Malarky]

My new plan is to just drink heavily (while wearing comfy shoes) so I don't even notice the zombie apocalypse, which I am woefully unprepared to deal with.






ETA: I have a healthy EF. I can afford enough alcohol to ignore the whole mess. ;D

[Malarky]

MM,

DD has a telescoping spork. She claims its purpose is to eat the eyeballs of the zombies, so they can't see her as she runs away.

Can you tell she's my kid? And she isn't even old enough to drink

[Deleted]

A friend of mine used to belong to a group called POETS: Piss On Everything Tomorrow is Saturday

[kent]

We have a very small pond outside the master bedroom and love it. We also have a waterfall and a fountain. I'd hate to be without any of them because it's so relaxing to listen to.

So, go for it.

[Malarky]

Aug 31, 2012 16:26:01 GMT -5 @missmargarita said:

<<goes to Amazon.com and searches for a "telescoping spork">>

It was a birthday present from Uncle Mike...

[Deleted]

If I had 8 acres, I'd probably spend quite a bit of money to get a shallow, acre+ sized pond for sunfish and bass. Thems tasty little suckers, and it's best to have larger ponds for stable, well ranged populations.

Since we only have 1.2 acres though, I'm going to stick with chickens and a small duck tub near the garden for easy watering/fertilizing/cleaning.

One thought about bugs: in addition to frogs and small fish, maybe you could make bat boxes?

www.batcon.org/index.php/get-involved/install-a-bat-house/subcategory/617.html

My parents' place is almost entirely mosquito free, due to the large bat population that lives in the trees nearby. The ones they have are cute, about the size of tiny mice. Bats can eat up to 1000 bugs in an hour according to batrescue.org. I'm definitely putting together a few houses for our property soon, since currently we're the local mosquito buffet.

[Deleted]

My father has a vernal pond at his cabin and is thinking of adding a few more. It makes a great ecosystem study, watching/listening to the frogs descend each spring, gathering tadpoles and newts and salamanders...

[doxieluvr]

Aug 31, 2012 13:36:18 GMT -5 @bloomscuzzer said:

If you had a few acres, how much would you want a pond? If you were going to live there forever, would the pond have any economic impact on you? Would you spend $1000 for a 500 square foot pond or $2000 for a 2000 sq ft pond? Or ten thousand$ for whatever size that would get you?

People with tenth acre lots in the suburbs probably can't have a pond, but do you wish you lived somewhere you could?

Water brings life. Is the idea of water ( a pond) worth much coat to you?

My answer is I want to spend about $1000 and get whatever that buys. Maybe a second pond later. I have 8 acres.

I have a 500 gallon pond in a townhouse back yard. We enjoy having the larger fish and the tranquility. The pond is next to our patio.

What do you want in your pond? Fish? Plants? More of a self sufficient Eco system? Decoration next to a patio or deck?

[doxieluvr]

Aug 31, 2012 13:38:31 GMT -5 BeenThere...DoneThat... said:

Aug 31, 2012 13:36:18 GMT -5 @bloomscuzzer said:

Water brings life. .

...and mosquitos...

Standing water breeds Mosquitos, not moving water.

[hollybee]

I would have a pond. I would put frogs and fish in it and make it as big as the law allowed.

I would also make a little waterfall...

[hollybee]

Aug 31, 2012 19:24:32 GMT -5 oped said:

My father has a vernal pond at his cabin and is thinking of adding a few more. It makes a great ecosystem study, watching/listening to the frogs descend each spring, gathering tadpoles and newts and salamanders...

I would love that.

[hoops902]

What would I do? Not get a pond. My parents have a big pond. It's a breeding ground for mosquitoes, it's full of algae, frogs, turtles, etc. It means you've gotta watch the kids all the time. Trees fall into it and have to be removed. No thanks.

[Opti]

LOL. I read Hoops reply too quickly. I read it as you have to watch the kids all the time, they fall in to it and have to be removed. I guess I can't use my smart ass comment of they could always leave them there. Problem solved.

I like ponds but it would really depend on the amount of maintenance you were willing to do. I would like a Koi pond if I had the property and the money for it but it does require maintenance and watching. The discussion about the frogs makes me want to go walk in one of my favorite nature areas. I love looking for the frogs.

[2kids10horses]

I once had a small pond at a farm I owned. It was rainwater filled, and so was always muddy. We had fish in it.

I like ponds, but would only have one that was stream fed.

We have a branch on the back property line that would be perfect for a pond, but we don't own both sides. (A "branch" is a creek/stream that is sourced from a spring.)

[hollybee]

Sept 1, 2012 10:13:46 GMT -5 2kids10horses said:

I once had a small pond at a farm I owned. It was rainwater filled, and so was always muddy. We had fish in it.

I like ponds, but would only have one that was stream fed.

We have a branch on the back property line that would be perfect for a pond, but we don't own both sides. (A "branch" is a creek/stream that is sourced from a spring.)

Yes, if it was stream fed it would clean/filter itself and be a lot cleaner.

We had access to a frog filled pond as kids. We'd pull these HUGE frogs out with the longest legs! We'd look at them a bit, then set them free again. The pond was filled with them.

One time me and DH #1 went hiking and saw that some fool frog had laid her eggs in the water filled footprint of a hiker. The next footprint had even more water in it, hence larger tadpoles. Me and DH scooped up the mini and maxi tads and put them where they belonged...in our neighborhood pond. Probably many generations have hatched their since. Lotsa fun!

BTW, I hear tell if you do get Koi in your pond, the owls and predators can easily see them, so you need and under water escape where they can dodge in. Otherwise you are just feeding the neighborhood predators.