Topic: when should I dig my pond?

[aquilegia]

Question in the title! I've read conflicting advice on this. One book says to dig it over the winter. The other says to wait until spring when aquatic plants are available in the nurseries.

It'll be a wildlife/natural pond and I'm not putting fish in it. There are at least three frogs living/hibernating in my garden, so I want to make it as habitable as possible for them to hopefully spawn in it and eat my slugs!

[Muddy_Boots]

Early Spring is a good time when oxygenators and other plants are readily available to help keep the water clear.  There has been a similar thread on this subject recently, so try the search button.

Good luck with the digging ;D

Kate

[Margaret]

Hi there.Yes,Kate is right.early spring,when the ground is soft but not too muddy is best.First pond hubby dug at my insistence was mid august and it nearly killed him.Second was a nature pond in March after heavy rain.Not to be recommended either!!

See if you can beg some mature water and plants from neighbours and friends so that you can get a good supply of water insects going.Mind you some will arrive without any help! The most important thing to remember is to have at least half the pond side as gently sloping as possible,and make a deep area of at least 18 ins so that the amphibians can comfortably survive at the bottom in the mud over the winter.

[Mimi]

Hi aqualigia,  we dug our pond in the autumn, and just got it finished before really awful weather set in.  After much struggle you can see a picture of it in the gallery under the heading 'Here goes nothing'  As you can see at the far end we have sloped it and then gone on to a little bog garden. The slope is for the beasties to crawl up and down.  Don't know if you have done a pond before(this was my first) but I can only give you one piece of advice,  get as much help as possible.  I only had my nephew, bless him,  and it nearly killed me.  ::) Was'nt only the digging but getting rid of the soil.  Wish I had hired a man, a digger and a skip. Havent got any plants yet but have some lined up from a friend, in the spring when she thins hers out.  Agree with advice from margaret and have got a pail of water from friends pond to  add all the mature goodies.  Best of luck. :) :)