Large Hand Dug Pond - Fall Update

Edible Acres is a full service permaculture nursery located in the Finger Lakes area of NY state. We grow all layers of perennial food forest systems and provide super hardy, edible, useful, medicinal, easy to propagate, perennial plants for sale locally or for shipping around the country…
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[danielsmith]

I know you used to make bird boxes, have you considered adding any wood duck boxes on posts around the pond? I'm sure red-winged blackbirds will find and appreciate miscanthus island eventually

[ThrivingwithNature]

What a great job! I wouldn’t realise how deep it is if I hadn’t watched the video of you digging it. Great resource!

[jaybaca]

fantastic work to you and Juan on creating this pond. It's something we need more of here in Calif. This is very resourceful though and a great way to have available water during a drought in the future. So will this be something where you'll add fish to it? And I love the island created... Way to go! I'm sure it was a great workout creating it too!

[TheEmbrio]

Maybe to vegetate it, you can inoculate it using the technique of getting a patch of another more established pond, and putting it on your new pond. In French it's the same word as in humans : transplant of multi species of plants, with some ground life, seed bank, etc.
The lifenthen spreads in your landscape a bit more quickly than with wind and critter activity.
Same is you can bring a few gallons of a healthy pond water, you can jump start healthy algae, etc. I'd enjoy seeing it on your pond, did it for my ornamental pond 20 years ago, as a teen, and am doing it on dry land now too.
Always from places where I am allowed and won't hurt fragile habitats (for any readers, in doubt, don't dig up wild plants)

[clovergreen]

The ancient Chinese version of this included frogs, some kind of small fish, and freshwater eels in the rice paddy.
That was their version of the 3-Sisters idea most old cultures develope.

Getting Food from Water by Gene Logsdon is a great book, if you can find a copy.
It seems most permaculture practitioners are not aware of it.
Which makes sense. By now it is most likely out of print. It was published by Rodale Press.

[ieatYTP]

i wait everytime for updates about this pond, (from france)

[Earthdwellershomestead]

This is awesome man! Always looking to you for inspiration

[reg]

Bulrush hearts/roots are quite edible, and they filter too.

[audreybarnes]

I'm so pleased to see you all rewarded so clearly for all that hard work 💕💖❤️

[triciascott]

Thank you for the update. I've enjoyed watching the progress and seasonal changes of your lovely pond. Hugs from Spokane WA. Tricia

[BlueGrassBound.]

Good morning! Enjoyed watching and listening while getting ready for work. Have a great day! 💙

[TheEmbrio]

Oh that ’island’ is quite scenic now, the stump too. Need to invite Monet over ;)

[tolbaszy]

Will you consider some form of mechanical aeration, such as a fountain or waterfall?

[justinp]

Really excellent stuff. Thanks for sharing

[JohnDoe_]

I have a lot I want to do to my new property and eventually I'll want to hand dig a pond in which I'd have to take a deep dive into all of your pond making videos so I'll fully know what best to do. Can't wait to add a feature like that to the landscape

[groundskeeper]

How deep did you make it? If you want it to hold water you could add bentonite to the soil. Fish? And are you concerned with mosquito problem in the summer?

[Bright_iiii_s]

I don't understand. It's still standing water isn't that a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes?

[BeFree-BeFrugal]

I love what you do and the biodiversity you have achieved 👍

[drekfletch]

A plant to consider is the trendy duckweed alternative, azolla.

[PeytonWind]

About how high is the island when compared to the banks? If the pond were to overflow the banks, would the island be close to going underwater? If the time comes to collect more muck for nearby beds, I wonder if using it to raise the island elevation would make the island more attractive to wildlife?