Digging your pond
You can dig your pond by hand (if it’s not too big) , but it is back breaking work, so if possible try and rope in a friend or two to help out. Alternatively hire in a digger or find someone that has one and is willing to come in and dig it for you.
You can have pretty much any shape you want, but it will need to be at least 2-3 ft deep at the deepest part or the water will warm up in the summer sun and won’t have a chance to cool down which will lead to green water. We went for the classic kidney shape for our pond with the deepest part in the middle. (This was intentional to ensure any animals have a chance of survival should they fall in.)
Early Spring is the ideal time to build a pond as it gives any plants a full season to get established and you get to enjoy the pond through the summer months as it starts to settle.
Another key thing to remember when designing your wildlife pond is to create a series of gradual slopes on the side of the pond. Any wildlife that makes it’s way into the pond, or accidentally falls in can easily climb back out. If you take a look at our liner you’ll see we’ve banked up the sides all the way round the outside.
Couple of other things to be aware of:
1. Make sure the pond is as level to ensure the water level remains constant.
Take piece of board long enough to stretch across the pond and lay it from one side to the other. Then take a builders level and check for level. If it’s not level add some of the soil you excavated from the pond and check again. Repeat all the way around until you will have a level edge to your pond. Alternatively drive in wooden stakes at 1 foot intervals around the edge of the pond and level the top of the bank with the top of the stakes.
2. Make sure you use underlay before lining your pond.
It’s a good idea to use some sort of under felt as it provides the liner with added protection from stones or roots. It’s fairly cheap, but you can also use a piece of old carpet instead, it will do the job just as well and it’s free. We used both as I had some old off cuts of carpet around the place.