Pond building album one

In this, my pond building album one, you can see pictures of how we built the pond, starting with an idea from my talented gardener sister, some notions about manmade ecosystems in my head and a hole in the ground, and with the help of some friends with a powerful skill sets, we build on the raw materials and inspiration for the project and create the concrete shell of the pond, and are one step closer to a beautiful dream.

Inspiring, my sister's natural pond in California

my sister's eco pond in California

My raw material was a hole in the ground with a brick wall around it

My canvas was a hole in the ground with a brick wall around it, left over from a previous four pond system

and my husband's skill at fish breeding, which is worth creating a canvas for

My husband's skill at fish breeding, producing living jewels, makes creating a good canvas worthwhile

I've been writing for four years now and I would love to hear from you

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments or stories to share on gardening, permaculture, regenerative agriculture, food forests, natural gardening, do nothing gardening, observations about pests and diseases, foraging, dealing with and using weeds constructively, composting and going offgrid.

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He ntegrated plants, biofiltration and fish in the top pond

plants, fish and biofilter work in the top pond

so I built up the circular brick wall in the ground. It adds depth, water storage capacity, and stops dust

I measured and plotted the pond dimensions and took it to a company who makes PVC liners for dams

I plotted the pond dimensions and took them to a company who makes PVC liners for dams

We ordered 1 cube each of sand and stone.

Then with a little help from our friend Marc Niehaus, who is also a master builder at anything he tries, and loves to build aqua systems, the bottom drain was installed.

Every good fish pond must have a bottom drain. It removes the fish feces and the toxic products of anaerobic decomposition.

Marc Niehaus connects the bottom drain

and sets its position with cast concrete

The next day we hired a concrete mixer, and with some major help from Marc, and from our other friend, his son Ethan....we cast the bottom

Ethan helped out with water duty

mesh raised on small stones

Marc checks depth of concrete

laying wire mesh, raised on stones, on the pond bottom

laying wire mesh, on pond bottom

pouring out the wet concrete

before moving the last pile

carting stone and sand from street

Marc flattens wet concrete

board protects wet cement for finish

Marc sponges away the concrete splatter from the pond building

Screws in the dome shaped lid of the bottom rain and contemplates his work of art

Screws in the dome shaped lid of the drain and checks his beautiful work

Then the concrete was left to dry out for over a month, and after that with more help from Marc...we inserted the liner... see pond building album two

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home page for tons of info on natural gardening

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