Digging soon: flat shovel? How many tiers of shelves?

[TallGrassBigSky]

Ok, I scavenged up a large role of carpet today that I think should cover my pond. I'm hoping to spend all of next weekend digging, lining and filling my pond.

I have a regular shovel (see picture). Should I buy a flat one?

I've also attached a picture of my pond layout. It's about 10.5 feet wide by 16 feet long with a small 3 feet bump out that I'll use as a shallow entry point. I plan to go 4 feet deep.

I know the pond perimeter abuts the plants, but I'm ok with digging them out/burying them.

How many tiers of shelves do you recommend? I plan to keep lilies, lotus and a lot of marginals (marsh marigold, cattails, arum, iris, etc).


Thanks!

 

[Big Lou]

That's the proper shovel for digging. A flat shovel will be good when you level the bottom and sides so it will be good to have.

 

[TallGrassBigSky]

That's the proper shovel for digging. A flat shovel will be good when you level the bottom and sides so it will be good to have.

Thank you for the input! I've been trying to pinch pennies, but I think I'll go buy one.

 

[addy1]

I used a hand garden tool to level my edges. Sort if like a tile trowel. With our shale a flat shovel didn't work

 

[sissy]

hopefully it is easy digging .You better put in a prayer for that .I used a snow shovel to level some of mine it was wider

 

[TallGrassBigSky]

I hope so, too. I know my neighborhood used to be an old junk yard, so I'm worried about what I'll find!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

That's the proper shovel for digging. A flat shovel will be good when you level the bottom and sides so it will be good to have.

Yes, Like this.
http://www.acehardware.com/product/..._clickid=69fccf60-1567-46d6-8260-6178eea46c75

And you will only need two (2) shelves..one for marginals and one for water lilies.

 

[mgmine]

You need a steam shovel!. Think about how large that pond is, you are setting yourself for an impossible task. Do yourself a favor and hire it out. Try digging one hole 4 foot deep by 4 foot square and see how far you get. The other issue is where are you going to put all the dirt and clay? If you have a place close by that you can dump it in the yard fine. If not then you're into a lot more work loading about 25 yards it into a truck to dispense with it. If you cant back the truck right up to the spot then you need to haul it out of the yard. If you wait until the job is done then the pile will get hard and be even harder to re-dig. I'm tired just thinking about it.

 

[addy1]

I plan to keep lilies

My lilies are at a depth of 1-4 feet. They grow at 4 but not as well and don't bloom as well. I have some that end up in the 4 foot area. Most are from 1-3 feet deep

 

[TallGrassBigSky]

You need a steam shovel!. Think about how large that pond is, you are setting yourself for an impossible task. Do yourself a favor and hire it out. Try digging one hole 4 foot deep by 4 foot square and see how far you get. The other issue is where are you going to put all the dirt and clay? If you have a place close by that you can dump it in the yard fine. If not then you're into a lot more work loading about 25 yards it into a truck to dispense with it. If you cant back the truck right up to the spot then you need to haul it out of the yard. If you wait until the job is done then the pile will get hard and be even harder to re-dig. I'm tired just thinking about it.

Yeah, I fear the same things. Maybe I'll get excavation estimates from a local pond company. Thanks for the advice.

Did anyone here hand dig their own pond of a similar size? Seems like some did?

 

[TallGrassBigSky]

My lilies are at a depth of 1-4 feet. They grow at 4 but not as well and don't bloom as well. I have some that end up in the 4 foot area. Most are from 1-3 feet deep

That's great to know! Thank you! I might include a third deep shelf for tall submerged plants like Val, which I've keep in aquariums before. I know it can get five feet long.

 

[addy1]

Did anyone here hand dig their own pond of a similar size? Seems like some did?

Some have, it all depends on your dirt and if the digger can handle the work.
We have nothing but shale, rocks, clay etc, I can barely dig a hole to put in a big plant without my tractor.

 

[sissy]

I dug mine and I am 63 and almost 64 now and was almost 52 the first time I dug it out by hand and that was 1500 gallons and now a around 5000gallons and dug it out by myself .Shale red clay and all .Liner got heavier each time

 

[TallGrassBigSky]

I dug mine and I am 63 and almost 64 now and was almost 52 the first time I dug it out by hand and that was 1500 gallons and now a around 5000gallons and dug it out by myself .Shale red clay and all .Liner got heavier each time

How long did it take you?

 

[qclabrat]

Yeah, I fear the same things. Maybe I'll get excavation estimates from a local pond company. Thanks for the advice.

Did anyone here hand dig their own pond of a similar size? Seems like some did?

I'm digging my own now, but mine is half the size of yours.
Have probably put in about 4 days of shoveling and have only gotten down 12 inches.
planning to have raised sides of 2 ft so will only be digging down 2.5 ft

In addition to what others have mentioned, I'm also using a digging pick (Mattock) and a heavy iron pry bar for the large rocks. The pry bar is 6 ft and weighs about 30 lbs, I love that thing for right job.

My suggestion is to try to dig a small pit in the middle of the pond for an hour and see how deep you can get. Your progress in an hour will tell you whether you're up to the task or need help.