Making A Pond
As I have a huge slug problem on my allotment I decided that it was about time I took my own advice and put in a pond. A pond will attract a slugs natural predators such as frogs, toads and birds.
Where to put your pond
It is best not to put a pond too close to trees as it will rapidly fill with dead leaves. The most ideal place is in some shade with something growing over it, such as long grass, as frogs enjoy some shade. Also, if the pond is in direct sunlight then the water is likely to get stagnant very quickly.
Materials used
The allotment handbook by Caroline Foley recommends digging a hole, lining it with sand or and old carpet and then laying it with a butyl liner (the same plastic that is used in inner tubes, ask your garden centre for some). Also you must ensure that the hole is 60cm (24 inches) deep at some point to stop frost. It should also be shallow at the other end to allow birds to wade in the water.
I chose to take the easier route and bought a small baby bath from a charity shop, Which I got for the bargain price of £2. I then dug a hole and sunk it into the ground. I was only given the advice about the shade after I had put it in, but luckily it is close to my sunflowers and so for now is offered some shade. I have planted some long grass seed, so that it shall grow its own shade.
Starting the Eco System
This is actually a lot easier than it sounds. I just threw in two bundles of pond weed that I bought from the local garden centre. However, if you can get some pond water from an established pond then try putting some of that in. If you want frogs to come back year after year then find some frog spawn and put that in. Frogs will always come back to the spot that that they were born in order to spawn again.
After reading this article selfsufficientish bloke Ron Crisp e-mailed me this useful bit of knowledge that I had not thought of "you will need a means of escape for creatures like frogs which try to spend much of their time in the long grass you say will be grown, but frogs CAN'T scale smooth plastic bath sides.
SO, you MUST put in something that will 'bridge that gap' - and not rot while in the water - stones are generally good, or a sloping 'ramp' of something with a textured surface." - fair point Ron, he also added an important safety tip -see below.
SAFETY TIP
Use a piece of VERY STRONG MESH, e.g. the plastic-coated thick 'wire' four-inch squares stuff you see around park flowerbeds, flat on the surface and weighed down all around, perhaps by flat stones, so that a very small child/toddler falling face down can't drown in it. - thanks for that Ron.
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