This week in The Dollar Stretcher...Backyard Ponds

There are some interesting things in this article. I am curious, has anyone tried to use a kid's wading pool in creating a pond? Does that actually work?

 

A backyard pond is a dream of mine. I'm sure a kiddie pool would work pretty well, but I think that would limit your depth quite a bit.I would like one big enough to have a waterfall area.

Right now all I have are two barrel ponds ( a wooden barrel with a drop in liner.),I put a fountain in one of them and a couple of plants.         

donna england:

all I have are two barrel ponds ( a wooden barrel with a drop in liner.),I put a fountain in one of them and a couple of plants.

That's something I actually want to do. What plants did you use?

 

One word prevents me from considering one, Mosquitos.

 

Toni B.:

One word prevents me from considering one, Mosquitos.

Do you have trouble with them in your area even if the water is not sitting such as with the ponds with the fountains?

 

I have a iris type plant that sits on bricks so that it is a few inches from the bottom.I have divided it one time,and even though I don't have the greenest of thumbs, I did get it to bloom once.

I also have some of the water hyacinth that floats on top. I think I gave about 3 dollars a couple of years ago for the iris, and the water hyacinth and floating types are about the same price range, but I have never been able to keep the floating ones over the winter.You  can also place other potted plants around the pond and set them at various heights, or hang them from small shepherd hooks.

As for the mosquito issue, I haven't found it to be a big problem. The water evaporates pretty fast and just adding more water and sometimes dipping some out and replacing it usually works for me.

 

donna england:

As for the mosquito issue, I haven't found it to be a big problem. T

The city sprays for mosquitos here so we don't have a real problem with that. I had water in a barrel planter for awhile that I used to dip into for watering the plants. No trouble with insects at all.

 

Brandy:

Do you have trouble with them in your area even if the water is not sitting such as with the ponds with the fountains?

 

Yes. In a dry year they aren't as bad but last week we had 2 days of heavy rain and parts of my lawn feel like I'm walking on a wet sponge. I can't even mow now even though we've had 3 warm days because the lawn tractor leaves tire tracks. The neighbors yards on either side of us have low spots where instant ponds appear after heavy rains and last for days. I walked out in the back yard last night to watch the foxes play and I was bombarded with mosquitos. They don't spray in our area. Mosquitos also love thick wet grass and shady areas with moisture which is what is at the back end of my property. That's why I encourage bats to roost near our house.

 

Toni B.:

They don't spray in our area

If they didn't spray here, we would be bombarded by them even without water sitting in ponds or containers.  

 It's a nice idea, but the need for a pump to re-circulate and keep the water clean is what would stop me from doing it. If you don't have a pump, wouldn't you just have a mucky algae filled sump after awhile? Unless that pump is solar powered and I don't even know if that exists, then you will be running something electrical year round, which means it has to be wired out to the pond. Edey