Pond with no liner, up-down-up in 2022
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- Опубликовано: 19 июн 2024
- Little rain in the first 8 months of 2022 resulted in more falls than rises. See our attempts to improve the seal, tadpoles arriving, wild flowers in rich bloom, and an empty water-feed ditch.
Then water comes back in the autumn, after rain.
Pond created January 2022 by my son Jack with his digger (!) and we made a video then: • Large All Natural Pond...
This video was filmed then edited by my other son Edward with his C100's and also from the iPhone, edowdingfilms.onfabrik.com
00:00 Introduction
00:08 The results of a very dry summer
00:59 The pond on 4th November 2022, after recent storms
01:50 And then in late December, now full of water
02:23 I explain why I didn’t want to use a liner
03:15 Making a pond in clay the winter before, and creating a ditch for water input
04:21 Possible hole at the bottom, and how we’ve tried to rectify it
05:17 Using bentonite clay to seal cracks - the process and results with Brendan Mulqueen
08:12 My reasons for wanting a pond
Weather records are on this page of my website show rainfall over 8 months www.charlesdowding.co.uk/weat...
January to August was 317 mm, then 457 mm fell in the next four months.
You can join this channel by paying a monthly fee, to support our work with helping gardeners grow better, and to receive monthly videos made only for members:
/ @charlesdowding1nodig 
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Actually an ephemeral pond (meaning it will dry up during summer) is actually still pretty good for some wildlife like common toads for instance. So even if it does not retain water throughout the year you have still got an amazing hub for wildlife right there
Yes, and someone suggested to call it a wadi, then it's fine that it's dry in summer!
I was thinking the exact same thing. A seasonal pond is better than no pond. 💚
@@CharlesDowding1nodig salamanders etc.. as well. I have no idea where you are located but here in the Neast US pretty much any temporary water location (with leaf litter) is a breeding ground for salamanders. You might want to consider encouraging a bit of bottom debris.
side note, we also don't need pond liners here, so I have no idea if the same species would be present on account of how different the environments are.
I once read something about natural ponds in southern England which form over winter through spring, and then dry up over summer; they have their own ecosystem that has built up around what that offers instead of a continuous pond.
Good point Martin, dew ponds
I agree. The same is true in our dry grassland ecosystem here in North America. I have had the same kind of pond goal for a long time and have just been thinking maybe it should be a seasonal pond instead. The native plants we have here are accustomed to a temporary dry dormancy from time to time and recover easily enough.
We have one near us, here in the North, we used to skate on it when I was young.
Kind of like vernal pools!
we have quite a few of them in cornwall. Mediterranean temporary ponds, or seasonal ponds. They are wet long enough for amphibians to do their thing, but dry up in the summer. The cool thing is that because they dry up coompletely the sediment dries up and blows away, so they don't get filled in over time.
My father had 3 ponds that we raised fish in. They didn’t have liners but were fed from natural springs so water always stayed at high levels. Loved the time when the frogs were in their mating season. We would keep our windows open to listen and fall asleep to their wonderful sounds.
How lovely is that 💚
I love that you brought in the tadpoles. I also love that you are truthful about your pond experience. Ty Charles.
💚 Lisa
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thanks for keeping us updated. I also find the comment section very interesting, you have become a hub of information. Not only what you know and try out, but you also attract the knowledge (and helpful links) of your audience. If we ever get around to building a pond we can build on your experience too. (Note to self: hire mini bagger, dig deep enough and have bentonite at hand - a lot of it).
Indeed, I agree totally I admire the way in which Charles works through the problems.
We have had a similar experience with our natural pond, except we gave up in the Spring and decided to turn it into a sunken wild flower meadow instead due to it being so dried up (& hosting a wedding next to it so needed it to look pretty)... only for it now to absolutely full of water again thanks to all that Somerset rain😂
Oh wow! Good adaptation and thanks for sharing.
From a muddy puddle to a pond , and now a mini lake . Very impressive Charles , great job , the local wildlife will be very grateful to you .
Thanks Andy, for now! 👍
I agree there is something good about the natural interaction of water with soil beneath. I have just been learning about Betonite clay through Geoff Lawton. So glad you have too. 👍
I get the impression Charles wouldn't have gone this far with no dig if he didn't know how to enjoy the process of learning and discovery. I hope he can find that same joy embracing the journey towards a more permanent no plastic pond.
As others have said, vernal ponds are precious wildlife resources of their own, so this pond is already a wonderful resource for wildlife.
💚 nice
Being natural with no liner seems to correct itself over time.
The bottom may sink as the wet clay settles in around the rocks, but it may well fix itself after a few years.
I am hoping so, I would like to have a pond but we have very sandy, soil, hardly any clay at all, I am hoping that over time organic material will come to "clog the pores" so to speak and form a natural lining. I also REALLY don't want a lined pond if I can help it but I don't know how realistic a goal this is.
@A R I'm down to try that, I have both materials in abundance :)
Love your closing sentence
Thanks 💚
As a roofer, Id say you need a base of damaged clay pots (or old broken up clay or even slate roofing tile) and about 4" thick of the bentonite clay over the entire surface. The bentonite clay will stick to the clay pottery really well.
Ah thanks :)
Patience and persistence, both qualities you seem to have in abundance. What an inspiration. No doubt you will be rewarded for your efforts.
Thanks 💚
I understand your desire for the no liner pond and wish you luck. I dug a small one last fall without a liner that is about 3ft. deep and will hold 2 ft. of water where there is more clay and the it's compacted more. Heavy rain will bring the level completely up to the grass but will absorb back into the topsoil when it's dry. I dug it to put the goldfish I use in a rainwater collection tank I use to water the garden. The best thing I did was collecting some plants and a piece of driftwood with algae to put in it from a local river. I was feeding the goldfish when it was warm enough for them to come to the surface, but then winter covered it with ice for a few weeks. When it thawed I thought the fish would be hungry but they were noticeably larger, so I believe the driftwood with algae provided enough biology to keep them well fed. I no longer feed them and they are growing and mating like crazy so I expanded it. I believe I will be expanding it more and more over the years but I love it. Maybe you should try finding rocks or driftwood with algae to put in your pond.
Amazing experience and thanks for the idea 💚
Podoba mi się ten pomysł. Jest Pan człowiekiem pełnym życia, radości. Lubię oglądać Pana filmy i czerpać pozytywną energię . Pozdrawiam serdecznie.
To takie miłe, dziękuję!
We popped an old fish tank into the garden and it now has a regular family of frogs 🐸 every year. Such a joy in a small garden.
😀
You can keep buckets with sticks in them around and raise a lot of tree frogs. The tadpoles eat mosquito eggs.
Gorgeous! 🎉 Tranquil❤ and peaceful! ❤This pond will gradually bring a village of insects and creatures. That is so joyful!🎉🎉🎉
Thank you for sharing!🙏
💚
Just stop calling it a pond and start calling it a wadi! Though I understand your frustrations, there is something really wholesome about your pond following the seasons. And in its current state, it's still helping wildlife tremendously. Thanks for this honest video! :)
Good point 😂!!
I have a one acre natural pond. I have heavy clay soil which holds the water in. Frogs, fish, and snapping turtles in mine. The blue cranes love it!
Yay! Finally. Whatever it turns out to be, its done and its wonderful.
I am looking to create a plastic-free pond myself so it was wonderful to watch your video. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and your passion for wildlife!
Glad it was helpful Paul
Really awesome concept. Thanks for sharing the process
Love the idea and what you are doing. Looking foward for development on the pond🙂
Glad to see the use of the bentonite. I think it’ll be your best chance of a natural pond. Thank you for the update!
I love this channel. Thank you Charles
There’s something kind of magical about water, even a small pond. If you build it, the critters will come. Thanks for the update, Charles, and here’s hoping the pond seals and holds water.
Ancient Slav technology in creating ponds was lining the hole with a few inches of horse manure, then they waited for it to turn slight greenish hew, and fill the pond with water. Can't really atest to it, though. Buy or rent some ducks. Their manure performs the same function.
Thank you for the update.
I have frequently wondered how you've faired with this project.
As long as you have the gravel you will never get it to hold with that small amount of Benit you need about a ton. Given enough bentonite I can make a pond dug in sand hold and have in Arizona. Some ponds we put up to 10 tons in and used a farm disk to incorporate
Thanks, had better put in an order, but I wish we had dug it deeper!
I like this. Once I was spooked by a toad during a very hot summer day, all grounds are dry, so there wasn’t any water retaining puddles in the garden, yet it found its way to moisture (from me watering plants). Nature is truly incredible and resilient!
Oh wow! 💚
Brilliant to see an update on your pond , im sure one day you will get the water to stay
No Liner! its the only way to go! beautifal pond
If I had a big enough piece of land I would want a big pond too for all the reasons you do plus it would give me a water view. Like many others, I find water to be incredibly zen. At my previous house I was lucky to have a creek behind my house block. All my neighbours had huge high wooden fences, but I took mine down. Not only did it make my block look 3 times bigger and give me a great view of the creek, it allowed the wildlife to move more freely and I got way more breeze into my home.
I live in the desert now, and a pond is not practical so all I have is a big bird bath. 😊
Lovely comments, and I thought you were going to say you have a pond in the desert! That would be something, at least you have a bird bath!
Give it as much time as it needs and you'll make it permanent and naturally sealed. Super to see it looking better than October 😊
I would say that for the sake of the local wildlife I don't think anyone would fault you for putting in a plastic pond liner. Of all the possible uses of plastic I would say that using it as a pond liner provides the greatest net benefit to our world than a net negative. Plastic used for disposable crap that is intended to break and need constant replacing is the real problem. But if more ponds were created using plastic pond liners I believe the would would be a much better place. But the clay liner offers incredible benefits in that it slowly recharges water into the surrounding soil, some permeability definitely offers benefits. Either way you choose good luck and I look forward to updates on the pond!
Thankyou! 😀
I’ve been following this project here and on instagram Charles and finding the whole thing fascinating, so thanks for that. Sometimes over years these hollows cure themselves. Glad your avoiding the liner stunt, nasty stuff. Good luck
Cheers Bob!
Amazing pond looks great do so much for the wildlife
Thank you for sharing your experience with us again sir and I hope that your pond will remain this year and I understand why you want a pond for the wildlife in your area I have been around wildlife for many years and have come to appreciate it more now than ever before.
That is nice Philip
Grateful to you to consider wildlife's need for water resources and sharing your projects. I am inspired. Thank you.
Many thanks
Beautiful and with pond and wildflowers it brings in butterflies and 🐝 bees🥰❤️
What a wonderful project to follow, I wish you well for the pond in the future. There is nothing like having a natural feature such as this on your land. The benefits to you as well as the local wildlife are immeasurable.
Thanks Sharon 💚
Great update ❤
So happy to see you have water!!! :)
I love this. It’s such a lovely thing to being to the area. Brings back such fond childhood memories of our ephemeral pond - catching pollywogs and watching birds, coyotes and raccoons visit it! Good job.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Będzie pięknie - na pewno 💚
There is something incredible about ponds in the garden. We added a toad pond last year and had tadpoles in our first year
Brilliant!
Fingers crossed it holds water this time Charles, it’s a wonderful project and a nice addition to your beautiful garden.
Very inspiring Charles. I have a hard enough time keeping water in my 10sq foot water fountain in the middle of my flower bed. I too do it for the wildlife. Seems like I get more frogs and snakes in the years I keep it consistently filled.
Sounds great!
I was toying on doing a pond on my land for raising ducks, but it is still a dream. well done Charles.
Great job Brendan! 👏 I'm hoping to create a wildlife pond this year, so I'll look into your suggestion.
A great project and I have built many ponds over the years. If yours ever dries out again, it may be worth digging and installing a small butyl liner in the middle. A sort of pond within a pond. This will afford any fish, amphibians, reptiles, etc, a wet sanctuary, if it were ever to happen again in the future. I look forward to see it's progress.
Thanks for the tips!
Thank you for all the great work you are doing.
One of the big issues with the clay layer is that it cracks when it dries. Those cracks act like little drains.
Keeping it protected can work wonders. What has worked in many cases is having a sealed clay layer and adding 30-50cm of soil on top. It acts like an insulation to protect the clay from drying and cracking.
If you want to increase your chances of success, you can compact the clay layer further before adding soil on top. This should be done with compacting machinery to close gaps between clay particles.
Additionally, you could look at the elevation profile of your land and add more slightly sloped ditches to fill the pond during rain events.
If all else fails, you can still be proud of yourself for slowing erosion and refilling the groundwater table 💚💙
Thanks so much Nick, nice to hear from you! I like all those ideas and it's mainly question of what is practical in my situation. I've certainly gained of a lot of knowledge from everybody's comments. And I'm more calm about the pond drying up in summer, if that happens, because so many have been praising dew-ponds for example, and how much they help wildlife, even when not full or water
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Glad to hear about the support you already got. And you are absolutely right. Every drop that infiltrates and erode away is a good drop. I can't wait to visit some day. Been speaking about it with Alessandro and it's definitely overdue.
Why would you want a pond? Why wouldn't you want a pond!? A beautifully rich habitat.
😂
Congratulations Mr Dowding.
Thank you kindly
Awesome!
Lovely place.
i love a pond for all the life you get
My sister bought a property here in VT USA. It had this beautiful stream coming down from the mountain in the spring. We were all so excited, but it inevitably dried up over the summer. It came back just before it started to freeze up. It will be enjoyable when it flows.
Wonderful! Great water I imagine
Oh I just love it! The wildflowers too are a joy. I only have a small pond but I look in it every day. It's totally frozen at the moment. I cant wait to see your pond come to life in Spring Charles. Even a puddle helps wildlife!
Nice to hear Jenny!
Really happy for you, hopefully in the coming years, it’ll develop and become more established ❤😄👍,
Always a pleasure and joy, Kind Regards David 👌👍
Hola Charles,que hermoso proyecto es realmente hermoso ver la preocupación de tu familia y tuya en el bienestar y equilibrio de la naturaleza ,muchas felicidades 🌷🌷🇨🇱
Muchas gracias! 👍
Thank you so much for sharing about this project, your struggles and successes. This is looking good right now! Like many stated I do hope as well the pond will selfregulate. Bentonite sounds like such a great idea! We use it in winemaking and it has such interesting qualities! It really does form a paste! Maybe you just need a bit more of it. Looking forward to the developments this year!
Even a pond that is only a part-time pond is a kind of a natural habitat that will improve bio diversity alot...
Yes I reckon and thanks Sascha
I think if you give it some time it will build up more fine silt and clay giving it better water seal each year.
Yay! Pond update.
Loved seeing the evolution of this. Thanks Charles.
Great thanks :)
IT LOOKS LIKE IT’S AT LEAST HOLDING ENOUGH WATER TO BATH IN !!!!! THAT’S A POSITIVE !!!!!!
I'm not rushing in!!
Great project, I wish you well with it. It will bring huge joy when you finally achieve it.
I hope so too! 💚thanks
we did ours with a 8 wheeler muck away straight out of London, the clay worked a treat!
😂
Seasonal ponds are valuable, not just for fauna, but especially flora.
Dziękuję za bardzo interesujący filmik. Pozdrawiam.
Don't underestimate the amount of evaporation you will get in the summer. Without some inflow to replace it, it doesn't matter much if the soil can hold water.
Good point thanks
A tip from a man that built 2 large ponds (but he has a creek nearby that runs through them and feeds them). He bought a minibagger, dug them out, then "dropped" the shovel of the minibager on the material to compact the loam (not sure if he even had clay). These ponds are also deeper, so I guess he got at more "sealing" material. That was enough for his ponds to hold the water. For the first filling up it was good to have the creek, but he would not be allowed to deplete that creek from its water, if he would lose too much in the ponds.
I saw them when they were already well established (for 10 years or even longer). I do not know whether pond linings were even available for consumers then - but the proper high quality liners still cost a fortune (for two large ponds), and I think require very careful handling and installation. Tricky for large ponds. So the no-lining method was much cheaper and easier. He proudly told me that he was able to sell the minibagger after that with a small profit.
Yup so right.
I like the sound of his creek running through!
Thank you for the video Charles. Also, adding a few trees around, as cover to create shades, would greatly help until a mud-clay deposit at the bottom. Just like in nature, nature is such a great teacher. I'm starting my food forest this year around my garden and will include a pound in the middle as well, i'm sure I will run into problems too haha. Not so easy without plastics, it takes time.
Sounds great and funnily enough, we just planted some willows! Good luck with your forest,
I built a pond 3 years ago. I use UV filter pumps to keep it clean, plus that small amount of heat has kept all my plants alive. Lily pad with 2 flowers Christmas day, 3 more open today. Never seen this before. 😳
Very cool! / Warm!
The same problem here in Wales. We get most of the year's rain in the winter season, even our lawns are waterlogged, that is why we have raised beds for our crops.
In the summer, we lose a lot of our pond water.
We do have pond liners on our 2 small ponds - they are raised slightly above ground level with rocks holding it into place.
You have dug deep to get natural surrounding rain flow into your pond;
What ever you do - Do not add pond liners in your case as the next rainy season will lift the liner to the surface unless you hold it down with heavy rocks around the edge of the pond under water - We're been there.
PS: Our frogs usually lay more tadpole larva, some survive the birds.
That is a super helpful final comment! Thanks so much and it makes me feel better
Great update! With inches and inches of rain coming off the Pacific, it’s good to hear the tale of you needing and getting rain for your pond pursuit. The story of learning to appreciate the complexity of how ponds are, wherever they are! What a wonderful yin/yang to go along with your work on Homeacres, looks like it will keep you young for a while yet. Happy January, may you soon hear the frogs, as I did here last night.
Thank you, Pat, and why are frogs already! I must keep my ears peeled!
Frogs come early in Sonoma County because little if any frost. They are a great orchestra by Feb/Mar, and rarely heard after June.
Best of luck with this project. I too want a small pond for wildlife. I have what I call a dry creek in my backyard. It flows constant and steady all year and then goes bone dry in July. With hardly any rain in the summertime it doesn’t flow proper again until late September. In my own mind I love the idea of having the pond fed by the creek, but I foresee the pond going dry when the creek goes dry too. Thanks for all the info.
Exactly!! Is ok
I'm enjoying your pod experiment.
Respect from Africa 🇿🇦
😂 cheers Justus
Wonder was your final word in this video, Charles; that is what I love about you and your channel- always exploring new interesting creative projects which push the envelope! Not settling for status quo, but striving always for more amazing productivity with realizations and explanations! Thank you sincerely!
Yea! Thank you!
Bonjour Charles intéressant , belle endroit🙏🙏🙏
I have my fingers crossed for you! I've always loved ponds! I was so chuffed this year to find 2 lots of frog spawn in the one I dug here, as well as some dragonfly nymphs and greater diving beetles! Nothing quite like the satisfaction of seeing nature appreciating your effort!
So right, how wonderful 💚
I’ve been looking into building a pond without a liner and the overwhelming amount of information available says it’s not worthwhile. Thank you for providing this valuable information for those of us who want to reduce the use of plastic in the garden.
Good luck and delighted to help, enjoy the ride, and tide!
So glad to see you got your hands on some bentonite. Trying to understand the nature of how bentonite swells and lubricates can be a lifelong pursuit. Speaking as a potter, the stuff is fantastic!
Yes! Thank you Alexander
Great follow up. You can also try to seal the soil compacting it with a plate compactor.
Great idea
Thanks for sharing Charles and very interesting! I have my own dam here in Australia which has a leak. Tried expensive polymer which didn't help. I am considering using bentonite clay so good to see your experience with it. I have ducks - they're not helping and like you I don't want pigs. The level goes up and down and the wildlife still enjoys it. It is 5m deep so we would need really dry conditions for it to empty. Slowly reeds and other plants are growing and I'm hoping over time that they may help to seal the holes. Anyway fingers crossed for you and me haha - thanks again!! Linda
Such a lovely comment, Linder, and thank you very much for sharing your experience, I can see certain similarities, and interesting about the ducks - I'm so often told I have to get ducks! 😀
5m is sensible depth
We have dew ponds here on the Yorkshire wolds which are very similar to what you have created. They do dry up at times. Great video. All the best 🇬🇧.
Cool, thanks
Primary Water.
Call me crazy but all continents float.
All those flowers, producing seeds. Great job. Looking good Charles. Thanks for sharing.
Love it
@@CharlesDowding1nodig There is an endless supply of water under the ground. Libya for example.
Oil wells go dry for periods of time but then fill up again.
There is an endless supply of Natural gas also.
Where I live private property is so controlled it takes endless permits to manage our own property or dig a pond.
I'm thinking and hoping, in time the sediment will build up until it holds water, the whole area looks great, I love it!
Thanks Clive
I admire your tenacity Charles. If all else fails could a compromise be an option? To make the very centre of the pond deeper and use a liner. That way you will have a refuge for pond life in droughts while minimising butyl plastic use. Not that I am against using modern materials sensitively mind you. Thanks again
Yes I was thinking an old bath sunk in the very bottom would hold enough water when the pond dried out to keep the frogs happy - or as you suggest a liner. However, I do like the natural approach and hope it works in the end.
More options! Shall see
hi Charles,we moved house to a big garden with a pond. it has a liner but leaks and the lvl is never full so i planted up the rim of the pond with plants that are nativ.after 5 years it looks better and better with lots of wildlife.Deer are drinking from it birds ,todes frogs,amphibians ,waterbugs dragonfly you name it its all there and its a joy to have.we will not fix the liners and the water go up and down and its fine.
Sounds great Yvonne, thanks for sharing, lovely to imagine that
I have heard of a processes using green leaf sealed with plastic to begin fermentation creating colloidal organic material / clay.
1 gain of clay has 1000 times the surface area of sand thus water retention.
Great video.
Love this.
6" of bentonite clay no steeper than 30° discover permaculture with Geoff says for natural pond.
Because evaporation is greater than precipitation in the summer it's going to be difficult to keep that pond full without shade or lifting the wind or top up.
I would consider a raft /raft garden on the surface, vine trellis crop for shade / wind break with willow or bamboo.
Danke für‘s teilen.
Gruß aus der Eifel 🌻
Vielen dank Tara, und ... www.dorlingkindersley.de/buch/charles-dowding-no-dig-gaertnern-ohne-umgraben-9783831046249 !!
That's great, I've been curious about the pond. Hope it all seals up over time with dead organic growth being laid down, maybe that will help. I'm working on a second pond in my garden below one I put in many years ago to accept the overflow from the first pond. It too was for wildlife, mostly wanted the frogs and toads which I got many of and still do but ended up also with grey heron and snakes coming in to feed on those frogs, toads and tadpoles, it's quite amusing. Last year during the spring rains I started filling a tank above the garden 1000 litres with a small pump and hose from the pond for use later during those dry weeks mid summer. I think the way things are going here with climate change I'll be expanding my capacity to store by adding another tank next year. It certainly is challenging times for gardeners getting to know a constantly changing climate and how it effects your garden, it sure has here.
I empty a 1000 L IBC into the pond in May, the level did not go up much!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Ya sorry I didn't mean I was dumping it back into the pond, I was just storing it when the rains were plentiful in a tank for irrigating the garden later.....cheers.
My late father had pond maybe twice the size but it was clay ground so it held the water well but it was full of reeves, bullrush and lollies to help maintain the ecosystem and promote wild life. It was around 5ft-6ft in the middle and the extra depth is worth while.
Thanks, and I do think mine is too shallow! Hard to correct at this point… 😀
Bentonite is also used to encapsulate nuclear waste canisters in geological storage facilities! Versatile stuff
!!
It'd be an idea to plant some cattails or reeds along the banks here Charles, aquatic plants have a tendency to form roots and debris that will help seal cracks. In the olden days my grandparents made ponds by digging a hole and filling it with leaves and soil in a lasagne like manner, the rotting leaves would eventually form a clay like substance which would create a natural pond. Cattails and reeds are also perfect for dragonflies and a whole host of other aquatic birds and insects, most of which are endangered due to habitat loss.
Thank you, Magnus. That sounds possible if I had known before! I'm actually quite happy with how it's going, and clearly there are more options!
My pond has a liner and was holed this year. By me when I was cleaning it I imagine. It has been a hive of life in the past, I'm getting a new liner - more plastic I'm afraid. I wouldn't be withour a pond though. I've three in total. I'd like more.
Hi Friend!👍
My parents had a pond dug many years ago and it's maybe 3x the size of yours, i think they just left it and now it's full of life, they have seen salamanders, small fish, tadpoles, lots of insects and birds. In the winter it overflows and in the summer the water level is quite low but they have just left it alone
Nice to hear!!
Hello from Ireland Charles!
This is a great idea. I've long thought about how a pond could be added to my father's field with no natural water sourse and without a liner. I dislike the idea of a liner for large ponds as it unnecessarily adds plastic and may leak eventually.
I came across Geoff Lawton before saying he was trying to gley a leaky dam using ducks. Their manure falls to the bottom sealing the pond eventually. I know some people have also used pigs to gley a pond. I always thought if I was to undertake it as a project I'd try get a few ducks, give them a home and in exchange try get them to seal a leaky pond for me.
Edit. Just seen where you mentioned that was already suggested to you. Still though, check out Geoffs success with it.
Thank you Vincent. You must be the hundredth person to say this over my two videos! And others have said they tried ducks without success. One farmer said he used larger animals like pigs, and that worked over a period of years, not instantly. In my case, if there were ducks, they could not be too resident because we have a lot of foxes.
I'm coming more to the idea that it can be a winter pond, a wadi, and maybe dry in the summer, but still good for wildlife. I hope that you feel encouraged at least, there are so many options! Another one is lining it with old silage.
I do hope the bentonite works over time, if not, I hope you break down and get the liner. I love my pond, it's just 7' x' 10', but the birds enjoy it, as do the toads, I love my toads they just hang around while I'm in the garden. One day they were just hanging there floating, they're great fun, as crazy as that sounds 😊
I hope so too and so agree about toads, like pets