Although we dug the pond some time before we moved house, it refused to fill up. I read that wallowing pigs do a sterling job of sealing the bottoms of ponds, but I don't have any pigs so I tried stomping about in the little puddle that formed in the bottom myself, poking with a stick to simulate busy little trotters. To no avail, alas. Although the trottered places held water longer than parts that didn't get the treatment, the essential ingredient 'pig wax' was obviously missing.
So at the suggestion of our dermatologist friend, we tried the trusty 'blue sheet' (if blue sheets were removed from Japan, the society would collapse within a week). We had a big ole blue sheet with some holes in it which the young master was very keen to tape up with trusty gum tape.
The effect is not lovely, and the blue sheet may need to be hidden by some means, but we should probably wait until the pond fills (or not) before we attempt cosmetic measures.
So at the suggestion of our dermatologist friend, we tried the trusty 'blue sheet' (if blue sheets were removed from Japan, the society would collapse within a week). We had a big ole blue sheet with some holes in it which the young master was very keen to tape up with trusty gum tape.
The effect is not lovely, and the blue sheet may need to be hidden by some means, but we should probably wait until the pond fills (or not) before we attempt cosmetic measures.
2 comments:
We said "Blue sheet", but there are various sheets of other colours than blue; black, white, gray, and even red. Black one may be adequate to be laid as the bottom of the pond. What are you going to feed in the pond ? Fishes ? Larvae of dragon flies ? They need hiding places. If you put sand, pebbles, water weeds and a water lily in a flower pot in the pond, it may look lovelier. We had fed a small red carp captured in a nearby river for more than a couple of years in such a "blue sheeted" pond.
The young master worked very hard to make some elaborate hiding places for 'baby medaka', but I cruelly pointed out that we need some water and medaka in the pond first before anything can start hiding. And unfortunately, in the last lot of rain, it filled up OK but didn't hold the water in. I don't really care what lives in it as long as it promotes biodioversity. I'm thinking that throwing some cement powder at the sides and bottom and wetting it might be a better plan. A thin layer of concrete can be removed easily if necessary.
I'm hoping that I can have my lovely water lily one day soon!
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