Talkback: Draining ponds - Talkback

09/04/2010 at 15:20

I went into my greenhouse to sow some seeds the other day, opened up my half used compost and there to greet me was a Robin's nest with 4 eggs beautifully placed. Mum was'nt sitting on them at the time so I managed to retrieve some plants but she is back now so my other plants are getting a bit dry!!! Luckily I have another greenhouse so I am working in that one for now. I can see I am going to be a liitle pushed for space in a few weeks time when my Tomatoes, Beans and Sweetcorn are going to be grown on. I feel quite honoured that my local friendly garden Robin has chosen to nest in my greenhouse.

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09/04/2010 at 20:08

how lovely jean, nothing sounds sweeter than a robins song.we have a long tailed tit nest cant wait to see the fledgelings.

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12/04/2010 at 09:12

where i walk my dog,the council have done the same drained the pond[manmade] i to moaned my head of at the council as i said the same where do the frogs go as well as newts to spawn also the dragonflys etc. the council just said it needed to be tidyed up....[although it really looked very tidy to me and other residents say the same].

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12/04/2010 at 15:26

Our pond is full of frog spawn and the many and varied daffodils have increased again this year. I just cut them down after flowering. Our o/door goldfish bowl was cleaned out at Easter. Thanks Dig In team - I've received my FREE pack. Ready, steady GO GO GO.

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16/04/2010 at 08:05

My pond has also been drained but beacause I thought it had a leak. Over Christmas (during the freeze up) most of the water drained out and the big fish died. The little fish disappeared presumably with the water. The frog was still there and happy to be so. There were no leaks in the pond just that the water feature had come apart so the mystery continues. The pond is now refilled , the frog is back in ,the water lily has been divided and replaced. However I have not put any more fish in yet. All is well but the mystery of the disappearing water and fish continues, any ideas would be helpful. Thanks.

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17/04/2010 at 08:53

We moved into this house last Novemeber. In the front garden is a well established, unlined pond that was dug out approximately 15 years ago. Originally meant to keep brown trout in, the pond is about 8m x 6m with and has a pump that brings water from the neighbouring burn up to the pond. This pump system has not been used for the last 10 years and some of the pipework is blocked and in need of lots of TLC. Our current problem is that as the ground has dried up after winter - the water table has dropped - and so has the level of the pond. 3/4 of pond surface area is now 'dry'. (Luckily frogspawn was laid in an offshoot that we are able to keep wet). The pond has a huge amount of Reed Mace in it - just coming up. So what do we do? Reinstate the old pump system and rely on the burn to keep pond topped up? (Not sure what goes into the burn up-stream) Put in a butyl liner - but would we have to remove ALL the reed mace roots before doing so? I have visions of the shoots puncturing the liner. We certainly did not want to drain this pond!!

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19/04/2010 at 16:00

I drained our frog free pond last autumn,no life in there, so i put in 5 goldfish, [ my first ever]. We now have the fish; a ton of spawn; and a pair of Newts,the pond has only 56 gallons of water, who will fare the best? I would like the fish to survive.

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19/04/2010 at 20:45

I tend to drain mine before the spawn hatches. This gets the pond ready for the year. I make sure i do it before or when spawn is in, so that i do not disturb the freshly hatched tadpoles. overall it is basically spring cleaning the pond :)

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20/04/2010 at 12:30

hi there people,well i have never cleaned my pond out and its at least 8yrs old,i top up with water and get leaves out,but do you really have to clean out as in the wild nobody does the ponds there...... and also i cant now as there are tad-poles in there....

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20/04/2010 at 13:22

i know what you mean but depends on whether you have a nature pond or a fish one, mine is a fish one but frogs lay in there. so i move it to my small wildlife one. :)

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21/04/2010 at 12:37

i just have frogs,toads and newts no fish.so should i clean it out then???

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22/04/2010 at 21:19

oh thanks dragonfly,i didnt fancy cleaning it out anyway.will leave well alone.just one question you said be careful as newts might be underneath,underneath what....the actual liner[like where mud is]if so wouldnt they tear the liner...]

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24/04/2010 at 14:20

Hi Sarahpondlife. Yes, Newts turn-up in the most unlikly places. I've found them under a pond liner (soft bodied with tiny claws so can't tear the liner), sandwiched in between damp-plastic flower pots that had been stacked one inside of another. Even snuggled-down under a sheet of ply-wood in the shed. Newts are happy to find a tight crevice where it's dark & cool & crawl in for the day or for the Winter. Always mind where you step in long grass or if you are moving pots and stuff around. They can look dead and dry when torpid - shutdown for the Winter. Last month I dug-out my first wildlife pond in the garden at home. It's still at the green stage but there's already alot going on. A busman's holiday, as I worked in wildlife conservation for many years. Wish I'd done it years ago :~}

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28/04/2010 at 11:08

Hi,i have just dug out my first wildlife pond,it's only small,but was thrilled when only 5 days later i had 6 pondskaters on it,i'm now planting up but a little unsure if the marginals can have some of thier stems submurged would apreciate any comments.

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28/04/2010 at 13:19

hiya ,i have just seen something really weird in my pond and i dont know what theses things are.....they look like white/cream caterpillars with get this leaves stuck to there backs i have found 3 in there WHAT are they...yuk..yuk..will they eat my tadpoles?????? mum says they are monsters...........im not stupid im 14...not 4.mmmmmm.

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28/04/2010 at 16:00

Hi Sarah's pondlife, have you got any pictures of these 'monsters'? We might be able to identify them (or know someone who will). If you could send your pic to gworld@bbc.co.uk we'll pick it up and take it from there. Best Kate

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28/04/2010 at 18:02

hi kate sorry cant send picture,,,,however they are about 1in long with what seems as bits of broken leaves attach to them which sort of looks like a shell as such and no they are not snails.....and white/cream colour sort of like a maggot...maybe they have come from the woods as our garden backs onto woods and there are many many oak trees there.does that help??

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29/04/2010 at 11:39

Hi Sarah. Richard Jones suggests they might be caddis flies. The larvae of caddis flies make their tubular cases out of bits of leaves, sand grains, twig segments and snail shells. There's a link for you here. Some soldier flies and hoverflies have aquatic larvae too. I don't think they'll eat your tadpoles. More likely your frogs will eat the fly larvae! Hope this helps. Best, Kate

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02/05/2010 at 14:34

hi kate,the link to your above paragraph..the pictures on there are NOT whats in my pond...ive have lokked in my pond and thoses things are still in there.i can send you a photo but not via computer.thank-you anyway kate.

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14/05/2010 at 10:50

Hi Sarah, if you want to (and don't feel obliged) you can send me a photo to Gardeners' World Magazine, Media Centre, 201 Wood Lane, W12 7TQ. I'm very intrigued as to what's in your pond! I'll do my best to find out what the creatures are, very best, Kate