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We have two ponds in our garden each had barley straw in it to help keep the water clear - have never really known whether this idea is proven or not however, we had to clear out the smaller pond due to the dog pushing a load of rocks into it and I never replaced the straw - all this summer the one pond has been crystal clear (with barly straw) and the other has remained murky. I kept leaving it just to see what would happen - so have I proved it works or was it just luck?
Hi Kristle, Thanks for the tights tip. The newt was definitely dead. It had become caught in the netting somehow and drowned, or maybe struggled and the net cut into it.
Hi there,
I see, At least that won't happen using tights, its not something I would have thought of my self, I read to use tights. It does seem a great tip, glad to be of help. How's your pond going this time of year, well I hope.
Kind regards Kristle.
The pond is looking good. We have pond skaters and water boatmen moving in now, and the donated lilies(neighbour) are growing strongly. The marsh marigolds really needed repotting but I decided to leave them until they had flowered and the inevitable mildew set in.
When we redid the pond, we put more of a slope on the sides. This has meant we have far more birds using it for baths. Couldn't believe the photos Hubby took today. We had wood pigeons SWIMMING across the pond! It is nearly three foot deep in the middle, and the bird was definitely not standing on the bottom. Apparently, the pair kept going back in for more.
Has anyone ever heard of this happening before?
Hello Linda,
We have a large surface swimming pool which is covered over with black plastic to protect it over winter. This has filled with water & sagged a bit to the depth of about 18" in the centre & the wood pigeons which frequent our garden love a daily swim, spending 10 to 15 minutes playing about in it, way out of their depth. A local crow has started to do the same over the last few weeks & this week he has brought his partner with him to do the same! It's great to watch!
Zebedee
Hi Zebedee, I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing swimming pigeons! I thought I was going a bit nuts and it was a trick of the light but you have restored my sanity!
Crows don't like my garden for some reason. They fly over regularly, and once or twice have landed in the tree, but have always changed their mind about coming further.
Hi again everyone - I did as suggested and changed my straw this Spring and once again my pond is still clear. I read RedRobin's remarks on lavendar which made me smile - I scolded my 5 year old granddaughter for sprinkling fresh lavender in the pond the other week - mayb she knows more than me about wildlife! I was tidying up the pond - some tops of plants had died off through the bad winter and would just remind everyone if you pull any plants out of the pond go through them carefully looking for insects etc. I always swish the plants back in the water to make sure I don't leave anyone out! I started off with just two or three snails which bred last year and are again laying eggs now and by accident I removed a lot of these but spotted them just in time. My second little pond which didn't have the straw is waiting for a good spring clean and I have been waiting for slightly warmer weather to do it! Like the idea of tights in the water - also it would be easier to put a stone in them to hold the straw down.
First picture shows the ponds doing quite well despite the harsh winter which took a lot of the edging plants so more work to do there - my resident frog went next door to breed so he obviously is still not happy with it although spends most of the time here! The second picture shows the snails eggs - I had accidentally thrown out a lot but all safely back in now.