How to create a natural pond in your garden?

How to create a natural pond in your garden? Building a pond is a great way to promote biodiversity in your organic or vegetable garden.

So the whole environment benefits, a natural balance being created in your garden, giving you a peaceful place to rest. By following these steps, you can create a natural pond in your garden that is easy to maintain.

Rules to know before building a pond in your garden

The construction of a pond in a garden is regulated by the State. Depending on the desired size of your garden pond, you may need to obtain planning permission. A pond less than 10 m² in area and less than 2 meters deep may be created without prior legal authorization.

In all cases, a distance of 50 meters must be respected between your pond and neighboring dwellings.

Tools needed to build a garden pond

Digging a pond is a rewarding activity to share with friends and family. Once you've made sure your pond building project is on track, you'll need the following tools:

• Non-essential PPE: gloves, goggles, boots.
• A shovel and/or a backhoe
• A pickaxe
• A wheelbarrow
• A rake
• A rope
• A spirit level
• A tarp
• A geotextile felt to protect the tarpaulin
• A cutter or scissors to cut the geotextile felt.
• Sand to make a buffer between the tarp and the ground
• Stones, wood to cover the tarp.
• Determine the location of your pond

If your land is uneven or sloping, install your garden pond at the lowest point. Having a pond next to the trees does not mix well. The dying foliage of the trees deprives the pond of oxygen.

The right balance of sun and shade is also important, as aquatic plants need a certain amount of light to thrive, and the water should not be so hot as to cause an unwanted proliferation of algae.

For safety reasons, it is recommended to place a pond away from human habitation and children. It is also advisable to add fences around the pond.

Dig the garden pond

After marking out the pond with a shovel, garden hose or tree tips, start digging around the edges. If you need help or want to save yourself the task of digging, you can hire a backhoe.

Soil removed during the digging phase could be reused as an embankment.

The digging of the garden pond requires the formation of water levels, essential for the growth of the different plants that make up its biodiversity. The excavation will be carried out in such a way as to form levels of 20 cm.

The pond area 10-20 cm deep borders the bank, followed by a shallow water area 40-50 cm deep and the bottom of the hole 80-150 cm deep.

Installation of the liner and filling of the pond

The soil is permeable. When building your garden pond, it is therefore important to make the bottom of the pond watertight. To do this, you can use PVC or EPDM liners, which are more environmentally friendly. However, if your soil is clayey, you can do without it.

To determine the length of your cover, you need: the length of the pond added to 2 and multiplied by the depth of the pond.

The same goes for the width of the tarp: you have to add the width to 2 and multiply this sum by the depth of the pond.

After laying the liner, spread a geotextile sheet and cover it with a 10 cm layer of stone or gravel. Filling the garden pond is a slow process. If possible, it is best to fill it with rainwater. Let the pond rest for 1 to 2 weeks before revegetating it.

Then, pad the banks with rock and plants until the liner is completely covered.

Choosing the species of plants to plant in your garden pond

The more diverse the planting, the more comfortable the animals will feel. Carefully selected native species will help your local wildlife.

Thanks to the different low zones, you can introduce: bank plants such as ligularia, semi-aquatic plants such as horsetail, submerged plants such as water lilies or water chestnut.

Too much vegetation in the pond can cause it to dry out. It is preferable to maintain a balance of about 2/3 of the surface covered with vegetation for 1/3 of the open pond. Ask a nurseryman for advice on which plants to put in your pond.

Maintenance of the garden pond

The right choice of plants will ensure a balanced biodiversity in the pond, as they are the main sources of nutrients.

However, some maintenance work will be necessary in the fall, such as mowing bank plants and removing troublesome plants in the pond. If you choose PVC, you will have to check the watertightness of your pond every 5 years, which is not necessary with an EPDM cover.