Topic: marginal shelves

[aquilegia]

Sorry for all the pond questions - I'm itching to get digging!

How deep and wide should marginal shelves be?

Is it best to plant in aquatic baskets? Or can I get away with planting straight into the mud at the bottom of the pond?

[Muddy_Boots]

I did my marginal 12" deep and about the same wide.  Margaret may have better ideas re planting but I would definitely recommend planting in aquatic baskets with gravel on top of the aquatic compost to prevent it falling to the bottom.  Also, if you get a sudden growth of pond weed, makes it much easier to remove if you can either take out or move the plants around!

Hope this helps!

Kate

[Margaret]

Hi again.My school of thought on the baskets is that they are not necessary in a nature pond.Best all round if you don't have any baskets.You do not need special aquatic compost as long as you have good quality soil in the bottom in a good thick layer,but make sure there is no fertiliser in !  Plants can be planted straight into the mud and they will grow well.make sure you get a lily that is suitable for the depth and width because they will go mad without the confines of a basket.The most important is surface cover,to keep blanketweed at bay.

You can leave a fair bit of space for the frogs etc to swim in,and after the first 2 seasons you will find you have to thin the weed out a bit.If you get tadpoles straightaway you may need to supplement thier diet with a little flaked fish food until the water is more mature.

Free advice offered at all times here!! As regards a marginal shelf,not a good idea if narrow, as the mud will slide off.My pond is half one depth,then it slopes down to a deeper section.This way the plants can grow at different depths.You can plant the edges so that plants hang over into the water.Mine is one third grassy edge,one third plants,and one third rocks and pebbles.Also important is to plant well behind and around the pond ,as amphibians need as much cover outside the pond as in it.

[aquilegia]

Thanks Margaret. I think I will copy your idea of having half of it at one depth. I already plan a gentle slop up about 1/4 of it for small animal access and the birds to bathe in. I'll probably get pebbles for that bit.

Is it ok to use the soil out of my garden? It's quite heavy and full of clay. Would that be too rich and furtile?

And it will be almost totally surrounded by planting (my garden will be totally full of plants anyway, apart from a narrow path), but I do plan to incorporate a small area of decking so I can sit by the pond and dip my toes in it in the summer! ah... dreams of summer!

[Muddy_Boots]

Sounds lovely!  I managed to find a huge stone, which I put right in the middle of the ponds for the birds to bathe - well out of reach of my cats.  Best thing after birds bathing were the empress dragonflies!  They laid thier eggs on some of the plants.  Three of them managed to get to second stage before freik winds blew them of, so never did get to see the new ones :'(

Was fascinated watching the water boatmen too!  Little things please little minds!

Kate

[Margaret]

Kate,don't watch the water boatmen and the dragonfly larvae too closely.They are murdering b*****s and your tadpoles,newts or baby fish will perish as they suck the life out of them.Seen what a dragonfly larvae did to my beautiful tench   it was not pleasant.

Anyway,to answer your question,Aqua. If you can avoid soil with a lot of clay in,it would be better because it will not be very good for the plants to grow in.See if you can get hold of some that isn't and mix it in at least 50/50.

[aquilegia]

thanks Margaret. I'll be on the scronge for some from relatives who live in a non-clay area.

And Kate I'll have to steal your idea of the big stone, if I can find one!

I can't wait to get digging and so, fortunately, can hubby.