How To Make A Small Wildlife Pond In Your Garden Quickly & Cheaply
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Using easy and cheap to buy products to create a small Wildlife garden pond. Great project to do with children at home or in a school garden or allotment.
Pond plants and seed mixes available from our eBay store
stores.ebay.co....
• Small Wildlife Pond Fo...
Thank you so very much for showing a cheap, achievable way of making a stunning pond . You explain things so well.
Many thanks for watching and commenting. I'm pleased you've found it helpful.
New to your channel.
I am a real pond and garden buff.
Your video is great.
I think small garden ponds are great. You can do so much with them. You did an amazing job.
I really enjoy looking at other peoples ponds and fish. I have 4 koi ponds and a fish room with multiple tanks. My ponds are surrounded by decking and trees. If you would like to view them that's great. If not that's ok too.
Thanks again for sharing and take care.
Thank you for watching and commenting. Your garden looks tremendous. Do you hire the cabin out as an AirB&B stay? You should, it'd be perfect.
@@WildernessTamed
Funny.. No where would I go when my wife is mad at me.
Thanks for the kind words.
I will be adding a few new videos of the fall colours and of all the birds etc along with the gardens
@@WildernessTamed
Thanks for your time
You're so entertaining. My partner has been asking for a pond forever and I've been very against the idea. But after watching your video I'm actually quite excited. Thanks for a great video!
Hello, thank you for watching and commenting. I'm so pleased you have enjoyed the video. I hope to see your own little progress video in the future.
Love it. Full of humour and good advice💟
Right! Been wanting to do a small pond for ages but found most videos were a little scary for me to attempt. But I have just come across this vid. and it looks simple enough -even for me, so thank you very much for the vid. and advice I'm dying to get out and start (but it's gone dark now) so will start it tomorrow, dead excited why Iv'e waited 'till I'm 76 I don't know it must be something to do with lockdown. Thanks again .
Many thanks for watching and commenting. Lockdown has some silver linings after all. Have fun with your pond project. Remember the spirit level is your most important tool when pond building.
Great video...just installed mine and now making a list of plants.
Lovely to hear a fellow Geordie 👍 you sound just like my brother!
Great idea, perfect for what I’m after.....thanks for this 😁
Many thanks for watching and commenting. I'm surprised you spotted my accent. I'm after all a posh boy from Jesmond. ;-)
Cracking idea, thanks!
Bruce McNally thank you for watching and commenting. Glad you liked it.
Wow wow wow loved this video, I'm trying to create a nature's paradise using an old vivarium that is just sitting in the garden. It is so big and heavy that I either need to bin it or use it. I'm going to create a pond with it but also have a land area too to encourage lots of wildlife. This video has given me all sorts of ideas now about the types of containers I could add to the front of it to make it even bigger
Hello Kirsty. Many thanks for watching and commenting. Sounds like the sort of project you could post on UA-cam. What used to live in the viv? I'm pleased you have found the video inspiring. I look forward to seeing your 'How to' video soon. No pressure....
@@WildernessTamed it was a home for my beardie when I had her so it means alot that space. I'd never be able to just get rid of it feel like I need to honour her by doing something with it
Haha, that's brilliant , I like your style. I'll be checking out your store.
Thank you for that advice about not allowing the turf to touch the water, my new pond water level went down so quickly during the summer even after rain. I thought i had a leak. But this winter it just stayed full. I would not have thought the grass could absorb so much moisture.
jim eventually the soil/turf will reach capacity and won’t leach as much moisture away. But yes as you say in dry conditions it will continue to wick the water from the pond.
I second what Jim has said here, I knew plants would leach some of the water but didnt realise how much until it happened in my pond during a dry spell! Solid advice!
Thank you for making this video / one of the best I’ve see on making a small simple pond quickly and easily. You’ve inspired me to give it a try! 👍🏻
Hello. Many thanks for watching and commenting. I'm so pleased you've enjoyed it and feel inspired. I look forward to seeing your own video.
I made this pond and took some of the tadpoles from my large pond and placed them in here. The first of them have now left the pond as successful froglets and I’m delighted to see goldfinches and other birds using the pond to drink from and bathe in every day. Your little cheap pond has turned out to be such a great wildlife attraction, and having to dig so little means anyone can do this, so thank you! 🙂👍🏻
@@pootlingalong8928 Hello. Many thanks for watching and commenting. So glad you have been inspired.
Good information there
Let’s get a pond update!!
jesse elliott I’ve got a short bit of mobile footage somewhere, filmed at the wrong angle. It wouldn’t look very pro to post it on here. I will get something sorted. Rest assured the pond is looking good.
Great video
Great video. Guessing you used rain water? I have just made a pond - then found this video - darn - do I need to wait a few days for my water to be safe to put in plants? Thanks again for the video :)
Fairy M hello thank you for watching and commenting. Plants won't be bothered by water quality that much it's more for amphibians that have sensitive skin.
Regular gravel works but a lot of plants get their nutrients from a rich base soil
Thank you for the video
Super vid. I’m surprised so small a pond can stay self sustaining and clean. Can this be a shade-tolerant set-up or is there a sun-time minimum to drive the system?
Really a fun topic,thanks.
Hello NMranchhand, thanks for watching. You can have a certain amount of shade over a pond which is fine and actually cuts down uv exposure which increases algal bloom. Inverts and plants will create the balance to keep it clean.
Great instructions, super vid, I know you said autumn is the best time to build the pond but when should I put the plants in. Thank you in advance for your reply
gurmail khela hello and thank you for watching and commenting. To be honest any time is fine. If you're making the pond now and want to get the plants immediately this will give them plenty of time to establish. I have a few new varieties available as well in the eBay store.
great video, very informative for building a pond for the first time, thank you for posting. How quickly did you attract frogs to the pond? is there any other way to offer protection for the wildlife using the pond?
Frogs were in there pretty much within the week. Only one or two adults passing through now and again plus a few juveniles. During the Winter they find more sheltered places in the surrounding gardens and allotments. I find them in my compost heaps all the time feeding on the worms and other bugs. small invertebrates like daphnia will either go dormant or the eggs will hatch the following spring. Others like pond skaters and water beetles I think fly off and over winter somewhere else. so its a seasonal pond but still full of interest in the spring, Summer and Autumn.
brilliant thanks for that. so to attract frogs and create a habitat do you recommend a compost heap near the water source? also when do you think is the best time of year to make the pond to help wildlife?
Compost heaps are good for obvious reasons such as you get to make compost for your garden. (See our Hedges to Veges video). But they do provide homes to lots of small animals as well. Other things like log or rock piles work equally as well. You can build a pond at any time of year but Autumn (now) is great so it can be ready and filled naturally, over Winter with rain water, ready for Spring and the start of the amphibian breeding season.
Update video please!
Green House we’ll do one in a couple of weeks when hopefully some frogs arrive.
well done
Robert Oler thank you for watching and commenting.
Hi I have watched your vid and dug a pond in my garden it is only small but I think deeper than yours but still only about 2 - 3 feet long. I want to buy some of the plants you put in yours but can't find frogbit in your shop? Also I know nothing of ponds and feel under educated in this area - when you say marginals does this mean they need to be in the shallow? I only have a little bit of shallow - also how deep should my gravel be to accommodate the plants? Many thanks...Nancy
Hello Nancy. Thank you for watching. Frog bit isn’t listed as it is a short season plant, floating to the surface in May and disappearing again in September/ October. In order to have it listed on eBay I would be marking it as out of stock for most of the year. Marginals are the edge plants so yes as you say growing in shallow water and around the edge above the water level but still in damp ground. The gravel can be anything from 3 to 6 cm deep. That’s usually enough to anchor the roots.
I am wondering how this would work in the AZ desert of the USA. I have had the native frogs in my pool and they are dangerously poisonous. But I'd like to do something like this for the cooper hawks we get in the yard and the bunnies, as well as the many types of birds that need drinks. Also interested in attracting more dragon flies, bees, and butterflies. Thoughts?
Hello Lee. Many thanks for watching and getting in touch. For all the wildlife you've mentioned to enjoy a pond I would go for something a little larger and certainly deeper, but with ledges round the edges for easy access and escape. Some of my other pond videos might inspire you to create something a little more natural looking. Though we did our best with this little mini beast pond, as a demonstration, I'd recommend going as large as you can afford. Also if you can add in moving water using a pump and filter system this will give birds more bathing opportunities as they much prefer moving water if it's available. For attracting pollinators always always always plant native flowers, shrubs and trees as your entire surrounding ecosystem will benefit from insects right up to apex predators like hawks. Providing native plants ensures your adult butterflies have a nectar source as well as an egg laying plant for their caterpillars. A deeper pond will tolerate drying spells better than something shallow.
@@WildernessTamedhank you for the great advice. I so appreciate it and will do some research. I do have room for a bigger pond and so love having the wild life come by. ;-)
Love it. Do you worry about it freezing up in the winter?
No. Nature doesn't worry.
Great video. I have in the past kept a small round tub for water lily but I like this idea a lot as its a perfect size for my backyard. Couple of questions: How would you keep mosquitoes out of a pond like this one? Would gold fish work? Also, how do you clean it?
Hello Lajwanti. Sorry for the late reply. There are plenty of naturally occurring aquatic insects which will eat gnat and mosquito lava. the trick with all ponds is getting the balance right. With enough plants and invertebrates will come other wildlife like amphibians such as newts, salamanders, frogs & toads. These in turn will eat insects. Also cleaning hasn't been an issue yet except for an early bloom of blanket weed. This is quite normal in ponds until, once again, balance is maintained. I would never introduce fish especially into a pond where you want native wildlife to thrive. Fish will create more mess and related problems than they cure. You would need to incorporate a pump and filter to cope with fish waste. I hope this helps.
Where in Scotland are you?
Haha, County Durham.
What happens with rain, does it not overflow? Great vid 👍🏻
Darren B hello thank you for watching and commenting. Yes is the simple answer but the volume of water that would drip over the edge is so insignificant it wouldn't make much difference to the water from the rain. Same goes for any natural pond.
What are the dimensions of that tray? Would love to see a follow up to this pond to see how it’s doing
Hello, many thanks for watching. If I remember the tray is 95cm x 55cm x 10cm deep. I could be horribly wrong but you can get plenty of different sizes. I'm hopefully going t see it this week so I'll try to get some film.
Cool stuff, love the channel keep up the good work👍🏼
@@prisonmike1798 Thank you Harry.
How deep was your layer of gravel on the bottom and how have the plants got on in the last year? Thanks
we had an intense winter so some survived one didn't. Easily replaced though.
Lovely video! Does the water not get stagnant and smelly, without a filter of some kind? And since making this little pond, have you had many animal visitors to it?
Hello TheLilinator1 thanks for watching and your message. There are a couple of frogs who appear in it now and again. It has a good snail population and as the water warms plenty of daphnia and small inverts. With the right amount of plants and invertebrates the water will remain clear as it does in natural ponds.
How has this
little natural pond developed?
Just what I was thinking.Hope to see a follow-up video to show us the development.
Because the pond is out in the open-those surface plants will play a major role in keeping too much light off the surface.
this video really did make me laugh!!!
In a good way I trust and not in a UA-cam troll who has nothing to offer but makes a point of finding videos to slag off sort of way. Because those guys are complete tossers. You have an interesting selection of videos. Good to see a keen herp person sharing the love for all things scale covered.
@@WildernessTamed thanks I totally agree. I keep various temperate herp species outdoors. Including European green lizards, European tree frogs and tortoises. I made a video on how to care for European tree frogs
Is it true that tap water is not safe for backyard ponds, that it will kill or be dangerous in some way to frogs and other wildlife? (I'm in California if that makes a difference about water quality.)
Hello, thank you for watching and commenting. Tap water can vary in what it contains from region to region and country to country. Some of the purifying chemical additives can be harmful, though seldom deadly to amphibians. Best bet is rain water, or if you cant wait for rain, collect tap water in a separate container, leave it for a couple of days and then add it in. With an existing pond, only add small amounts of tap water at a time.
Use a border spade, it’s easier....
It was what my friend had handy at the time. Plus I let her do most of the work. I'm not daft! ;-)
How do you prevent worms from forming? Also do all water attract frogs
Hello Infinity, thanks for watching. not sure what you mean by preventing worms from forming. Most bodies of water will attract frogs and other small amphibians. some like our toads and great crested newts are a little fussy and prefer a larger deeper body of water.
Cant.get.any of those plants where i live...how should one go about finding what to use like.search terms.
Hello Sislertx thank you for watching. I have an eBay store where I sell all these plants. Are you in the UK?
"then get a professional in to finish it off " 😂😂😂😂😂😂
id love a pond save me r running out with water for the hedgehogs all the time
Where do you live that has hedge hogs. I live in central Oregon and I have never heard of them here. I also miss squirrels. ❤
shropshire england
I can't locate a tray deeper than 5 cm, do you have a supplier for the deeper trays - anyone?
Are you in the UK?
@@WildernessTamed Yes I am - in Norfolk.
@@guitarmike1125 Hi. I got mine from a garden supplies place up here in Northumberland. Try Garland Products www.garlandproducts.com/titan-garden-tray-black.html
@@WildernessTamed Many thanks, I'll do that.
How did you learn how to do that
could you give me names of water plants and how deep they should be plz as i am about to do a new one in new garden thanks so much kay
o000omusico000o hello. Many thanks for your enquiry. A lot depends on the size of pond and depth of the water. For ponds approx 5m long x3m wide x1m Deep I would recommend something like our Garden Pond Edge Seed Mixture. 100 grams for £14.99 from our eBay store. Smaller ponds would only need individual plants buying. Again we have a range from our eBay store. We only supply UK native species. No exotic or invasive plants. I hope this helps.
I also live in the UK (Birmingham) west Midlands county--I was wondering if this would also attracts slow worms and grass snakes maybe? Or is there a different way to attract reptiles? Thanks in advance:)
Ponds will attract reptiles as well but only to drink or in the case of grass snakes to hunt. Providing artificial cover in the form of log or stone piles, tin sheets or other materials that warm up quickly will work. Be aware that cats can be a problem in suburban areas so you might not want to attract reptiles to an area where there are lots of cats.
What do you do about mosquitoes?
Wilderness Tamed do you recommend i get a frog just to eat the mosquitoes if they come ? I live in Cali it gets really hot and the mosquitoes always come when there’s a small pool of water
If you have a decent wildlife pond then frogs should turn up anyway. They do in the UK.
Nam Phan I don’t know what wildlife you have in Cali but my little U.K. pond attracts bats, birdsand dragonflies/damselflies who all eat mosquitoes. The first yr I did see mozzie larvae so I had a little electric fountain for some movement initially as it was very hot in 2018. I was concerned for me and neighbours and it was all new. I now rarely switch it on The second yr no problems, lots of little creatures moved in and no bites. Pond snails also keep it v clean, so clean I can see the pond liner underwater at times. It takes a little time but everything levels out nicely.
I live in the US and mosquitos will lay their eggs in still water---a huge problem. I love your pond, but....
I get what you're saying. We have mosquito and midge that lay their eggs in still water. But in the ponds I create I make sure the balance between plants, invertebrates and amphibians is as close to correct as possible. I have a pond right next to my decking and I have never had a bitey insect problem. Thanks to a healthy population of insect predators, like diving beetles, boatmen, pond skaters, damsel and dragonfly larva and newts and frogs.
or ebay and i just buy from you hehe
A bit shallow.
Hello thank you for watching and commenting. Some naturally occurring ponds are similar in depth. This one is doing just fine.
Too shallow,,, frost will reach invertebrates
We've had one of the longest coldest Winters for some years and the pond snails and Daphne have come through it without problems. I've seen newt efts swim around after being frozen in an aquarium for several weeks. If our native inverts and amphibians were affected by frosts and ice there wouldn't be any left. They're tougher than you think.
Native creatures have ponds of varying depths..... Have a look and see what the experts recommend for depth
wheelnutt Mother will make you regret your comment 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I'm well aware of that having worked in conservation and horticulture and creating ponds all over the North East of England for over 30 years. Those that need deeper water will go off in search of it those that aren't fussy like smooth, palmate newts and frogs and plenty of inverts will stay. This customer reports back with plenty of sightings. At home I have 3 ponds which vary from the shallowest at 20cm to the biggest with a deep spot of more that 1m. Palmates breed in all three as do frogs. Cresties prefer the big one. Inverts in all.
Errrrrrr,,, no regrets as of yet,, but will keep you informed 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂