Pond Maintenance Hints, Tips and Services

Here are tips on pond maintenance. Whether you have a small garden pond or a full sized lake, the Keep it Green Garden Maintenance crew are here to help you get the most from your water feature.

Is your pond or lake letting you down? Silted up? prone to algae attacks? A bit whiffy in summer? Devoid of life? Trust me, you’re not alone. We expect our ponds to manage themselves in terms of oxygen levels, nutrient levels, plants and wildlife and indeed, some of them do. However, from time to time, a little human intervention is required.

Think of your pond as a somewhat wetter version of your garden. It’s an ecosystem. Plants and creatures live in it they use oxygen and nutrients and when they die, they fall to the ground. In the garden it’s easy to tidy away debris. If we don’t it will usually blow away in the wind and congregate in a corner to slowly decay. Either that, or worms and minibeasts will recycle the rubbish to make plant food.

The same systems occur in waterways. If there is a current, it will move debris to slower moving or still water where it falls to the bottom and decays. No current? No movement, all of those bits and pieces, dead leaves, fish poo, duck poo etc will rot where it falls. Only in a pond, adding to the “soil” layer simply silts up the bottom.

And then there’s the problem of invasive plants. In the garden we simply hoe out seedlings, dig up the plants or, as a last resort, apply a herbicide. The practicalities of weeding a large pond, a lake or a waterway are a little more challenging. Not least because you cannot see what’s germinating beneath the surface until it has become an infestation.

How to restore a pond

The first thing to do is to assess the situation. What is the problem? Is it a case of the pond becoming too shallow because of debris in the bottom? Is the water muddied by constantly shifting silt or has it been taken over by plants? (and I’m including blanket weed and algae in that category)

It’s all too easy to just remove everything and start again, but the ecosystem in a pond is incredibly delicate. In your garden, if you disturb creatures they can wander off and re-establish themselves somewhere else. Pond creatures need to be in water and for the most part, they need that water to be at a certain temperature and with suitable nutrients dissolved in it. It’s not easy!

The secret of pond restoration is stealth. Tackle one problem at a time and allow things to adjust. You might start by taking out excess vegetation and leaving it at the waterside to allow creatures to migrate back into the pond.

Once the water has settled you can assess how much mud needs to be taken out. Remove mud from one area at a time – again so that living things can redistribute themselves.

Of course, if your pond has become full of fallen leaves that are decaying underwater to create a toxic soup, there will be no wildlife to disturb so feel free to remove everything – just be careful not to damage the liner in the process.

In an ideal world, your nice clean pond will fill up with rainwater or spring water. Only use tap water as a last resort. If you are planning a pond refurbishment, I highly recommend collecting as much rainwater as possible beforehand. Water butts and/or temporary reservoirs are incredibly useful for this.

Damaged pond liner?

Sadly, the only way to repair a damaged pond liner is to empty the pond and dry out the affected area. If you can pump some or all of the water into a reservoir while the work is done, your pond will be all the better for it in the long term.

Wildlife Pond Maintenance

The word “wild” is all too often associated with unmanaged. But in order to maximise a pond’s value to wildlife, it does need to be maintained. The smaller the pond, the more help it needs.

An annual maintenance regime will include assessing the balance of plant species. Biodiversity is important so is one species struggling while another is getting too strong?

What about marginal planting? Those plants that grow in the shallow edges of the pond. Are they getting out of control? Is there enough variety? Are they the right plants for attracting wildlife?

The RHS recommends that in summer 60-75% of the pond surface is covered by floating aquatic plants – does your pond fit that criteria or do you need to intervene a little?

Is there a danger that autumn leaves could choke your pond? If so, can you temporarily cover it or do you need to remove the leaves before winter sets in?

Taking the time for annual maintenance will ensure that you – and the local wildlife – will get the best possible benefit from your wildlife pond.

Ditches, drains and waterways

In some ways ditches and waterways are similar to ponds. I tend to think of them as upside down hedges because they make great boundaries and the wildlife benefits are incredible.

If ditches are going to do their job properly, they need regular maintenance. Vegetation must be kept under control and silt removed so that water can run freely.

Keep it Green Garden Maintenance are always happy to jump up and down in muddy puddles. Ditch maintenance is one of our favourite jobs.

SUDS, Drainage and Rain Gardens

One of the things we’re being told to expect from climate change is a shift in our weather patterns. Winters will be milder and much wetter, summers will be hotter and drier. Keeping your pond topped up with water could become more challenging.

One solution could be to embrace the change and create a rain garden. A rain garden is a bit like a natural drainage pond or a ditch. It will likely fill up in winter but in summer it’s OK to let them dry out. Careful plant choices mean that a rain garden looks amazing and benefits wildlife for 12 months of the year. They’re worthy of a whole article but until I have time to write one, here’s a helpful blog from a fellow landscaper who is based in East Anglia. https://www.hollandscapes.co.uk/making-rain-gardens/

Pond maintenance and management services

Whatever the function of your pond, no matter how large or small it is or its current condition, the Keep It Green Garden Maintenance Team are here to help you to care for it. Our services include clearance, waste removal refurbishment, plant management, repairs to pond liners and of course creating new ponds and water features to your specifications. Works are carried out with the utmost consideration to wildlife, and we won’t leave you with a horribly smelly mess to clear up either.

If we can help at all, contact the Keep It Green Maintenance Team