Hand Digging Ponds - In-Depth Discussion

www.edibleacres...
I take a more thorough look at the pond systems developing on our site. After 8 years of working on how water moves through the 6 acres of Edible Acres, we have over 20 small ponds and interconnecting water ways. They have been dug and developed entirely with hand tools and without pre-design / measurements / maps, etc. This style of water working is more in line with how the vast majority of humanity has and still works with water in productive landscapes. I'm hoping this video gets people feeling empowered to try to manage how water moves and relaxes in their land without machines and complexity.
Edible Acres is a full service permaculture nursery located in the Finger Lakes area of NY state. We grow all layers of perennial food forest systems and provide super hardy, edible, useful, medicinal, easy to propagate, perennial plants for sale locally or for shipping around the country...
www.edibleacres... - Your order supports the research and learning we share here on youtube.
We also offer consultation and support in our region or remotely.
www.edibleacres...
Happy growing!

[@edibleacres]

Mosquitoes... Thought I'd address it in one comment here. It's always coming up on videos I do about waterways and ponds, etc. When you have a pond, you invite frogs, and other water loving beings. They eat mosquito larvae. Ponds help reduce mosquito populations, I've found, rather than increase them. Just my personal experience, but after 8 years of working with these systems I find very little mosquito pressure happening...

[@shexdensmore]

EdibleAcres i was just about to ask that

[@TheWritingGirl]

Note this comment is left as expansion not as trying to educate you. Information for readers to consider when asking the mosquito questions. Bats, migratory birds, native birds, dragonfly are my biggest helpers. Plus I put up houses for purple martins , they consume their weight in mosquitoes every day, bats eat thousands of mosquitoes, "mosquito hawks" eat nothing but mosquitoes during their entire life cycle. We also have mosquitofish in all my rain barrels Also Damselflies help. If you have a complete ecosystem they balance themselves out. Not my video, but it shows how dragonfly larvae make lunch of mosquitoes. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5qpf2WlaNyiidk

[@gelflingfay]

Same here actually. We have a very wet property. And after the first year frogs moved in and the mosquito population went down. We will ve digging more in the next couple of years.

[@vidaripollen]

EdibleAcres dragonflies too.

[@linaj6301]

Just want to set the record straight... while I agree that all of these predators do a lot of good, it is worth mentioning that there is no "mosquito hawk" that eats nothing but mosquitoes. Crane flies, sometimes called mosquito hawks, don't eat mosquitoes at all, and damsel/dragon flies, which are sometimes called mosquito hawks, eat all sorts of smaller bugs, not just mosquitoes. And Purple martins consume their weight in flying insects of all sorts - not just mosquitoes. If you think about it, anything that eats NOTHING but mosquitoes would be a poor choice for control because they need a healthy mosquito population in order to thrive themselves. (note - response to the MischievousKittie comment)

[@blixten2928]

VERY useful!! 99% of the pond videos are about digging a hole. This shows how to work with the land, using the soil removed, integrating water into a great agricultural system. JUST what I needed!

[@edibleacres]

Very glad you found it useful. I made the video in part because I looked for so long on youtube for a video where someone talked about actually digging a pond with hand tools and how to be thoughtful with all the parts and couldn't really find i!

[@MrThatguy333]

@@edibleacres I know this is old and you can only tell your story, but what are your thoughts to do on a very flat area?

[@B30pt87]

I agree! I was delighted when I found this channel, for the same reason.

[@annasophia7977]

I'm so glad I found your channel!! I discovered a lake uphill on my land, next to an old well of my 1755 farmhouse. I'm so excited to make good compost and create a sustainable systems on the farm.

[@GranadillaFilms]

Probably the best video I've found on creating hand dug ponds. I've been observing the water on our property for a while and now I'm ready to start digging - small and slow like you suggest. I love the videos you create - keep on doing it, you are sharing some very important information.

[@edibleacres]

So glad this video resonates with you. All the best in your water workin!

[@JasonMichaelKotarski]

I am so glad you did this video to explain the reasons behind not moving water from point A to point B as if it were a nuisance. It is a banked (pardon the pun) resource, maintaining what you receive with future needs in a balanced account. I can only assume your spring and summer watering is reduced dramatically by the use of this retention of resources. I can only imagine how happy and prolific your elderberries will be. Cheers to you!

[@edibleacres]

Thanks, yeah, in a lot of ways I consider permaculture a system of working with currency. Current of energy, current of water flow, human energy, time, even money. It facilitates taking the current or currency and slowing it, spreading it, and sinking it deeper into the medium through which it flows. Water is the main example shown and worked with, but the concept can be applied in way wider ways, so it is a good description to consider it more of a savings account or investment account for water!

[@sleepermd2]

One of the things I look forward to most in the week is watching your videos. You channel is currently my favorite KZbin channel.

[@edibleacres]

Wow, thats a lovely sentiment. Thanks!

[@homesteadcourt7861]

You are an artist and your use of language is rare. New sub here. That's a ton more work than using equipment like I have, but I think your method is much better. Far less damage to the area around your digging and all that goes with it. Excellent!

[@gelflingfay]

You won me over completely when you said you didn't want to use a liner 💖

[@nickviney4912]

Thanks for sharing. Good to know that there are others out there alone with but shovels to lean upon and observe.

[@mascatrails661]

This is fantastic! Congratulations on slowly developing such a fantastic landscape and skill level at reading and modifying landscapes and waterflows. My chickens just uncovered a spring I couldn't locate, so I think it's time for me to get out there and start playing with that waterflow.

[@mikehitchcock707]

Fascinating.. I'm reclaiming a duck pond, hand dug outta my marsh on my property for also, a reflection pond area to sit & enjoy the shimmer of the pond

[@B30pt87]

Yes I very much enjoy playing around with these concepts! I love your respect for the land, and your approach to moving the water around - it is what I want to do with my own land.

[@edibleacres]

Wishing you great luck in that pursuit!

[@muldoon8018]

Not sure if your aware but most kitty litter is bentonite clay and I've found it to be a cheap way to seal small pond bottoms or dams, it works really well if you mix it with some clay soil and spread it after you take the loamy stuff out. Great channel.

[@edibleacres]

Thanks for the kind words, and nice idea there. I guess you'd want to find a kitty litter that doesn't have fragrance or other nasty crap in it. Do you have a brand that you use that you feel is safe / non-toxic / etc? Thanks!

[@muldoon8018]

I'd look for anything unscented, the box usually has the ingredients written on the side. Just as long as that tiger of yours didn't use it first. haha

[@lisakukla459]

How do you take the loamy stuff out? I live in Oklahoma, where clay soil is plentiful. I want more than anything to have ducks on my homestead, and cringe when I hear people say, "You can keep ducks without a pond." As hot and dry as our summers are, moreso every year, I know I'll likely end up with swales and I'd love to put a pond on the end of at least one of them.

[@HansQuistorff]

I am doing this on my flood plain. My high ground doesn't hold water so it percolates down to the flood plain clay. Previous residents on the farm tried to dig north south ditches to drain low spots which did not work. As I have been doing my permaculture observations and raking the muck to the edges of the ponds I discovered there was a natural zigzag to the south west and back to the southeast corner. So now I have only a few sections of ditches to connect culverts for my field paths where I can drive in the summer. The soil only freezes down about 3 inches here about three times a year but it is cool to see a mole hill setting on top of a 6 inch high column of ice. Instead of beavers I have moles for irrigation engineers, They work their way to the pond as the water level drops during our 3 month dry period theu the water flows back and deeply hydrates the field during the winter.

[@gelflingfay]

I also love how the ponds help to keep the land cool

[@forcesightknight]

A swale is a pond dug into a slope of a hill by digging out the high soil and placing it lower on the hill to format the swale pond. There are often trenches dug around the slope to dirrect water into the swale. Just some stuff I learnded in the skuells

[@przybyla420]

Except ponds normally are sealed in some way, whereas a swale trench is often made to be more absorbent with ripping the soil, forming or mulching.

[@WeezieV]

I have been researching ponds for a long time. I had an acre pond at my last house and since I have moved, I long for another but I don't like the look of the way pond builders make theirs. (Rocks everywhere.) I grew up in Syracuse, NY, went to college in Rochester and lived, played and worked in the finger lakes for over a decade! Horseheads, Corning, Elmira, Ithaca, Watkins Glen! So cool that I can find hope from this video and it's from a kindred NY soul.

[@WeezieV]

@Jon In SLO I have just now! Thanks for the info.

[@VagabondAnne]

this is very helpful, thank you! I appreciate the low-tech, high-attention approach.

[@edibleacres]

low-tech, high-attention... I really like that way of describing it.

[@davidschmidt270]

Right??? Applause

[@PermacultureHomestead]

thanks, nice to see it all, cant wait to have some property to develop for those decades you talk about

[@nichegames9590]

Cool results. I'm glad that worked for you back yard. I'd have a hard time in my back yard. Super rocky.

[@chantaltulliez8066]

I love your gentle approach to everything you are doing...such understanding and respect...I love your channel...thank you...greetings from Australia

[@SimonHaestoe]

Yeah, talk about living sustainability!

[@richardwilliams1334]

I have been in the process of draining a unused wet area for 8 years now using a tool called a mattock. A mattock is like a hoe shaped instrument on the front used for pulling towards you or for digging directly below to the depth of the 4 foot handle. On top of the hoe part in the opposite direction is a axe like bit of steel sharpened in such away that can be used to cut unwanted roots or wood found in your trench that you are digging or to help break or pull rocks, the total weight of the mattock depending on the user can be 8kg for the ladies version up to 15 kgs with a added metal handle as mine has. My trenches first started out like yours using gravity to help drain the area and to help shrink the soils the more water that was extracted. Today I now have a trench from the source running right along the highest point of the high ground angling down to the lowest point and exit out into the main creek. Leading away at right angles or which ever the lowest point runs but not attached to the main creek I have what I call intermediet trenches, these take care of the wet areas draining from the centre outwards. Some parts of the detch is deeper than others this allows me to dam that part of the drain up in summer which after 24 hours fresh water flows out onto my dryer areas where my melons or other produce are growing to self water the beds before releasing all back down that same drain, this is done every other week it saves time and let's me do other things while nature looks after my food crops. I like your ideas with the self dug ponds, but will still carry on using my detches which in a way still works about the same.

[@rdkitchengarden4359]

your property is truly a model on which we can all benefit. Have a marvellous day

[@my2cents0]

Love your videos, thank you for doing them! Will be cool to see you jump into your hand dug pond. 😎👍

[@AlmostHomestead]

New subscriber. My wife and I love your channel. This video is really great. Thank you for the information and inspiration.

[@ConscientiousOmnivore]

Awesome information here. Really great to see what you've done by hand. I will hopefully be making a small pond for our own garden next year so I'll be watching all your related videos when I can. Thanks!

[@winjoda]

I realize this is a 2yo video but it is currently very relevant (and super helpful) to us! Thanks for taking the time to share your property and wisdom. We are currently figuring how to best manage the very wet/soggy ground in our new property and digging small ponds and new water pathways seems to be a very sensible way to go. In your experience, how deep did you need to dig the pathways before you saw meaningful results on the surrounding surface? And do you have any general sense of quickly you saw the impacts of those new pathways? I’ve dug a bit already where I felt the land really needed it but I’m hesitant to do too much before I see the results of my current test. I’m just trying to figure out if it needs a week, a season or a year (or longer) to show how the new pathway will change the saturation of the surrounding area.

[@cardwellfarm2812]

Hey there, Cardwell farm here. I very much enjoyed this video. Thank you for sharing it with the world. This could help all kinds of people including people in desserts. They could use this method to improve their lands and possibly recreate their ecosystem. I in Texas would love to use this to improve our property for future generations.

[@rachelgucker4238]

This is great! I found clay at the bottom of a hole our dog dug and the customers at the local small-town market want bread... so I'm building a cob oven and I was beginning to wonder if I could combine that project with creating a pond on a low corner of our property. Looks like I can! You also challenged me to try again to think outside of my straight, tidy beds (4'x100+') and to think in terms of increasing the topographical diversity instead of decreasing it (i.e. making mounds and holes instead of leveling)... Although I need to keep some level-ish land bc. I'm not ready to give up my salatin-style broiler pens. I was thinking about moving the top soil and sand from the pond excavation 350' away, uphill to fill some depressions, but I should probably leave it close by, eh? and use the raised beds/huggels to plant stuff that would be good food for ducks and chickens? I'd like to hear more about how you envision the sunlight reflecting off of the water onto neighboring beds... Are these beds on the north side of the water, or does it work anywhere around the pond? Would this allow me to grow more in partial shade? what about tree roots when digging? I grew up in Ohio and now live in East Texas, so I feel like the sun is hunting me down to roast me alive on the unshaded parts of our property. I want to plant more shade trees on the east side of the house (west side is very nicely shaded), but I don't want to cut down on the space where I can grow useful stuff. Also... I'm a little concerned about the increased frog/toad population from a pond attracting snakes. I know they have a legitimate function in the eco system and all, but there are many poisonous ones here, and I have a daughter to protect...

[@edibleacres]

Wshew! Too many questions! I try to be helpful and answer and respond to anyone who asks questions, but maybe there are too many here! Ponds are amazing, I've really enjoyed developing them and thinking about how both sun and air move over them, and how to design gardens that relate directly to the ponds, etc., and would be happy to help you think it all through, but probably not in a comment on youtube! I do offer consultation if that feels helpful, you can reach out through edibleacres.org and let me know and I would be happy to spend an hour with you on the phone to talk through some of your ideas and support you in moving it all forward... I wish you the best with your project, sounds like lots of exciting things going on!

[@rachelgucker4238]

Haha! Fair enough. I got overly excited about this.

[@scottloar]

He knows and explains well.

[@d.w.stratton4078]

I'm inspired to try this.

[@taohuang359]

You can also throw some clay in the water and throw in a few bubblers to mix it and keep it suspended for a while. Then remove the bubblers and let the clay settle out.

[@edibleacres]

That is an interesting idea. Have you tried this and found it to be of use or is this a concept you have?

[@taohuang359]

Before we build a larger pond, we started with a small pond (which we later extended and extended again to create the larger pond). When we made the first pond it lost water so I added some clay that we dug from a high quality clay lens that we had on another part of the property. I “extrude” it through a grate then pelletize it and use it for seeds. Anyway, I thought that the pelletized clay would be ideal for sealing the leaks in our pond but since we didn’t know exactly where they were, we needed to first dissolve and then suspend the clay before we let it settle out in order to obtain 100% coverage of the pond. As luck would have it our neighbor was draining his fish pond and I asked him if we could use his bubbler to suspend the clay. He agreed. Bottom line is that it worked. No more leaks! When we dug the extensions to the pond I made sure that we didn’t breach the clay lens. So no additional leaks. Our initial pond was pretty small and roughly circular, only a few 1000 gallons, Also our soil is silty loam with clay lenses not sand. so I can’t guarantee that this strategy would work on a larger, more elongated pond or sand bottomed pond. Hope that helps.

[@picklefever4639]

this man is so wholesome

[@denislosieroutdoors]

I've some success with stopping leaks in my ponds by laying cardboard in the bottom and eadges of the ponds... Denis

[@ISayFinn]

How much Betonite Clay is needed to seal a pond? Let's say a 10 x 10 pond. Is it like 20 lbs or 100 lbs or a 1000 lbs. I am wondering if it is a thin or thick layer. Or do you mix it and spread like a thin layer of cement? Thanks! LOVE every video you and your wife put out. So wise and peaceful.

[@edibleacres]

I haven't had great success with it, not sure I understand why. That said, you could start with 1 or 2 bags of 50# sacks and see if it improves things...

[@jeffdustin]

This is a very interesting video about pond building. Could you address a flat acreage and how you might approach a flatish property?

[@edibleacres]

If I do another video on these I'd be happy to

[@Sheepdog1314]

Thank you for the video...how do you deal with the accumulating water while you're digging?

[@edibleacres]

Normally we do the deeper digging projects during the seasons when there is less/no water.

[@geomundi8333]

you should try japanese millet or wild rice, or water chestnuts; especially in anything that gets stagnant. Lotus are cool too. I like that you have realistic time frames on hugels. People don't get that they take lots of time to develop properly.

[@edibleacres]

We need to evolve the water systems for sure. Many more layers to go!

[@TheVigilantStewards]

This has been a favorite channel of mine for years, I love going back through old videos. What books did you read for working with water?

[@edibleacres]

So glad the old videos still feel valuable.. I didnt find any books that were particularly helpful for me, so I just explore as I go.

[@jerrysamuels8716]

Very interesting video. Thank you.

[@tomkochan8134]

THATS GREAT.i like to have a shovel blade ,very sharp on both ends of the handle…that way if i stumble or fall .the grand kids get to work for a change.it would do them good…god bless them!

[@davedaddy101]

Your channel is very interesting. Keep up the good work.

[@jmsmith38506]

I have this amazing bubbling spring, something about working a shovel instead of hiring a backhoe js

[@saintisidorehomestead]

You mention potentially using pigs for sealing your ponds, have you considered ducks, instead? I've heard Geoff Lawton talk about that and I'm actually considering it myself. Great videos. Thanks.

[@edibleacres]

Ducks could be a great fit. I haven't used either, but both seem possible and promising. I'd love to hear how they work for you if you go that route.

[@saintisidorehomestead]

I'll be in touch as I get to work on this within the next couple of months or so. Currently focusing on a perennial garden and a large production garden we are running a CSA out of. The ducks are ready to go, though. Blessings

[@NnJoGg]

If you ever want to follow up on the idea of pigs I hope you'll check out American Guinea Hogs. They are a small good tempered breed.

[@mascatrails661]

there is a Geoff Lawton video of using ducks to fix leaky ponds on youtube. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hH_ZYpV8et98r7M

[@JanColdwater]

Very smart approach.

[@edibleacres]

Thanks!

[@cory1641]

This video is great thank you for explaining how you do it. I am glad to hear you just used a shovel. When I watch the people with A-Frames and Levels and drawing contour maps it starts to get confusing. I can handle a shovel sharpened with a file and digging high on the landscape.

[@edibleacres]

You can always start there and refine later

[@cory1641]

@EdibleAcres agreed. Digging some small swale ponds this summer/fall.

[@npecom]

Liked and subscribed! One question for discussion pertains to my property. My one acre lot is in a creek bottom. A creek runs a couple of hundred feet from the lot but not through it. The soil is very good and drains surprisingly well unless heavily compacted. The property just north of mine has a pond on it (1/4 to1/3 acre) which is almost always dry. Enough background. My question is: What techniques can I use to slow the absorption of my soil? I would like to have ponds and "swales" but worry that with such good percolation to the soil the effort might be wasted.

[@edibleacres]

I think slowing it down is always helpful, regardless of percolation. There will always be some heavy heavy rainstorms that woudl run off the property unless you provide some switch backs and swales. If they absorb it quickly thats still fine, its getting down into the water table where you want it.

[@frasersgirl4383]

Are ponds only successful in clay soil? I’d love a pond but I’m not sure my soil structure would hold onto water this way??

[@brazy321]

Thanks for the great video.

[@charisseellsworth1310]

Could you please talk more about how the pond "seals"?

[@edibleacres]

I wish I could say I knew! Still having a hard time getting it to lock for a long time, but getting a compressed/smeared layer of clay and organic matter helps close the pores of the soil to hold in more water. Not sure fire, and prolonged drought will undo it quite easily.

[@crunchworks22]

First time viewing your videos, I loved it, thanks. Subscribed.

[@noah786]

I can’t remember where I heard this, but just by having ducks. it will seal your pond. I think their manure will form a film that waterproofs your pond.

[@edibleacres]

A good number of folks have mentioned this. Something for us to consider some day.

[@russelpasamontehabla]

Any updates with this ponds?

[@joankirby1944]

Really enjoyed this prog.

[@DJ-uk5mm]

Loved this thanks

[@bagermaster-club]

If your pond is silted up, you can clean it with help. motor pumps for dirty water and the suction nozzle Bagermaster. You can remove bottom sediments and excess vegetation without chemicals

[@TylerMWeather9102]

A LOT of labor. I’ve been digging and messing around with a spring in my yard for a few years and it’s fun but hard. The only problem I have is tons of silt accumulation on the bottom. I have a stream running into the pond, is there any way to prevent lots of silt? I also love the idea of growing a garden around it but there are so many animals around mine that would just eat it. Cool vid bro

[@edibleacres]

If silt is running in, you may want to watch our two part series... One is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYPco41je7Wtes0 Follow up is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6GkhIOrfbR-edk

[@freewillchoice8052]

I want to do this on my property as well. I don't want to use a liner either. I have sugar sand on my property, which really sucks.

[@edibleacres]

I would think that type of soil would be super hard to have hold water... The thing is, you can always dig and see, and if it truly doesn't work in a natural way, you can refine it and add a liner if and when it proves necessary.

[@freewillchoice8052]

@@edibleacres at the back of my property which is the lowest area on my land has a water hole/small pond that is shallow (8-10 feet deep) and holds water very well however I beleive its all muck holding it in and where I want the pond that I wish to install is at the highest point of my property as it gets the most sun for the food forest I wish to install. I'm in the state national forest so big oaks and pine trees cover the landscape and choke the sun out alomst completely in most areas of my property and its not feasable to put the food forest anywhere else. I was thinking about possibly using bentonite clay however that is not something readily available where I am at. I guess a pond liner may be in my future as much as I wish to not use one. I'll never know If I don't give it a shot, so ill take your advise and I appreciate you very much

[@dancingcedar]

Fantastic! I will utilise these ideas. This is of great value to learn from. Shared :) Blessings :)

[@joydavis4087]

Thanks for this vid. Very interesting.

[@edibleacres]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@hondolando142]

i have a small field that retains a lot of water and makes mowing hard throughout the year, any suggestions on how to go about it?

[@edibleacres]

Too vague a question for me here, but the video may offer ideas. focus the water in specific spots and that will help the overall picture.

[@pablocaicedo2093]

You truly have a gift my friend. Thank you for sharing it with the world. How did you acquired all of this knowledge if you dont mind me asking?

[@Suburbangeek]

And relayed so eloquently!

[@edibleacres]

Trying and working with things. Nothing fancy. Just lots of work and enjoying the process. To some extent, youtube has been helpful in seeing examples of things I want to learn which is in part why I make the videos I do, to share back from where I learned ideas. But no formal training or things like that, I'm just a regular guy figuring it out as I go along.

[@pablocaicedo2093]

EdibleAcres That is an extremely inspiring statement for me and I'm sure a lot of others who see that what you have got going on and have created is a beautiful thing. Thank you for making these videos and paying it forward. I'll make sure to do the same one day. In the meanwhile, I'm excited to see more! thank you

[@rachelgucker4238]

Inspiring for me too! I'd like to farm (i.e. have lots of excess to sell) and not just "homestead" but I don't have the opportunity to go train somewhere or the resources to get a second education... so I'm going to the school of trial and error and sometimes it's discouraging.

[@TheBeeperman]

Good stuff.

[@iamtmckendry]

Is there an X pounds of moving soil where you think it may be better to employ a mini excavator? It seems at a cost of ~$5k (purchase value-sale value+ maintenance costs) for ~5years and ~1million pounds.. it may be worth it? I really like the idea of harvesting the edges for garden beds as the pond expands. I wonder if this is possible in heavy compact clay environments(where I'm looking to develop) a 20ftx1ftx ~1ft deep small "pond" will drain in late summer? It seems like getting to max depth the first year would be best.

[@edibleacres]

100% worth it to use an excavator if that is the calculation... BUT, it's more complex here... to get in a machine we would have had to cut down a bunch of trees, then moving the soil to production garden areas would have been a complex and strange move. Chipping away little by little let us generate a huge number of garden beds and keep the forest... But in a basic way the question is super valid and worth posing to be sure.

[@iamtmckendry]

@@edibleacres I didn't realize there was an access issue to the trenches, that makes much more sense now. I suspected it was more of a anti-machine sentiment and a less peaceful working environment. In regards to moving to production areas, I wonder why it would be complex? I would think lifting at the site and dumping into a wheelbarrow would be easy enough(assuming there is a rough design element to accommodate). In my experience, its efficient with 1 person on the excavator and 1-3 people on wheelbarrows(distance dependent). Although, it would be overkill if it was a 1-person project. It's been very useful to stumble upon your channel. I really like your teaching style. I'm a new steward on 16 acres of very wet land on a less gentle north/west slope (7a, but functions like 5a-5b). So, you can see how your videos have been useful! Thanks for all the great info. I will continue to spend hours learning. I do wish that you had information on Muscovy ducks..

[@punkyroo]

LOL! "hand dug." I get the same things when I've searched for "clearing land by hand." Videos using heavier equipment.

[@taohuang359]

Have you thought about adding ducks? They trample their own poop at the waters edge, gleying it. The water comes up and they gley the edge some more. The water comes up even more... and so on. In that way, ducks actually seal and thereby create their own ponds!

[@edibleacres]

I've heard this idea before, as well as pigs on larger scale pond systems. I think that if/when we live on this property in a full time way I'd very much like to work with this idea. I love it!

[@taohuang359]

Here’s G. Lawton’s vid on the use of ducks to seal ponds. Sounds reasonable. Like I said, our pond only leaked at the beginning and we fixed it with the clay before we had many ducks on the pond. Can’t say if the ducks manure prevented the extensions to our pond from leaking as they have never leaked. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hH_ZYpV8et98r7M

[@aliceindotaland9026]

My soil is on a slope and it all seems to just drain right through. I have 4 neighbors, all who have their own wells within 500 feet of my property, and i don't think they understand what it's doing to our water table. I don't think they understand that we need to be putting in ponds and such to recharge our groundwater. At this rate, my aquifier may never have a chance to recover. My well is dry, and the only stream nearby dries up in the late summer. IDK what to do. Not having water sucks, lol. Any tips?

[@rcor0net304]

Found your video by searching hand dug. And yes, I wasn't searching for machine dug..lol

[@MistressOP]

If you could hold a tiny bit more water you can setup some aquaponics (pondponics)

[@B30pt87]

Lovely ideas!

[@elenacerasela]

Thank you.

[@jaybaca8880]

can we get an update on these ponds? Also, do you ever plant celery around them? Thanks

[@edibleacres]

Right now they are dry, that's the short answer! Pretty darn dry and hot start to summer, but it'll resolve over time I'm sure

[@jaybaca8880]

Are you still planning to release fish into some of these ponds? Not sure how they will make it through the winter when the ponds freeze over

[@edibleacres]

Luckily we didn't since we still need to get them more sealed.

[@farmyourbackyard2023]

I am physically unable to hand dig the ponds we need, but I am having one or two mechanically dug in the next few weeks. We are still working on locations for the ponds right now. At this late season, should I still plan to sow brassicas after the work is done?

[@edibleacres]

Depending on where you live it may be too late, although if you can get seed for $1 a pound or so for things like daikon, it may not hurt to have them in place.

[@farmyourbackyard2023]

@@edibleacres Northeast Oklahoma. I’ll look around. I already have bulk mustard greens seed and kale for sure.

[@leonsaquaponicsandhomegard6793]

Looks fantastic 😊😊😊

[@TorinMurphy-j9h]

Perhaps a silly question, but do you just let the rain fill them initially?

[@edibleacres]

Not silly at all... Rain but also winter helps immensely :)

[@ruxpin76]

Contemplating digging a pond by hand.... I'm in NC now, but born in Ithaca, NY. Where are you located?

[@edibleacres]

East Side of Ithaca is our smaller spot, this video takes place at our place of 6 acres jjust north of Trumansburg

[@WeezieV]

What is the term you are using when it sounds like you're saying "Hoogle" areas?

[@edibleacres]

Hugel or Hugle, as in hugelculture or hugelkulture. Raised beds with woody interiors basically.

[@przybyla420]

A decent quality old shovel is too hard of steel for a file to cut. My advice with hand tools is to buy old ones whenever possible. You have to buy very top of the line new tools to compete with old ones (which were nothing special in their day).

[@edibleacres]

Old tools are great! We have someone in our area who refurbishes them and I try to buy them when I can.

[@williamnusbaum7654]

Check out the ability of wine cap mushrooms to filter out excess nutrients/bacteria from water. Paul Stamets calls it mycofiltration

[@edibleacres]

Great reminder

[@brianmccune1085]

Look into sealing ponds with ducks

[@zachfox7771]

have you thought about trying a chinampa system in any of those ponds

[@edibleacres]

I think I'll be adding more edge complexity to them as time allows...

[@zachfox7771]

for sure, you could also build into the water, the aztecs started them as floating beds and then the gradually added more soil on top until they touched the bottom while they were growing mangroves or other rooty plants to hold the bed together around the sides

[@zachfox7771]

k, gotcha. I really love your videos by the way thank you for doing them

[@debralarosa353]

You people are amzing

[@erosinable]

Very cool

[@cindystrong9631]

I was also wandering about mosquitos in the summer?

[@macannathairghrian5257]

Cindy Strong frogs :)

[@samedmonds9354]

Thank you

[@gh0stii-qh4zw]

Is it okay if i put fish in a hand dug pond?

[@edibleacres]

I've never tried to do it but so long as it holds water in a good way it seems reasonable to explore that option

[@gh0stii-qh4zw]

@@edibleacres ah okay

[@markus_selloi]

I love you so much!

[@tommiemarsh9006]

Me and you do thing's exactly the same. WOW.

[@pmbayens1032]

Really cool! Nice job! Been looking for something like this but can only find excavator ones. Dont have cash for that. So thank you.

[@christinalynn8143]

Shovels?? No one has shovels? It seems a person has a home, they go through their neighborhood asking if anyone has a rake or a lawnmower if they need to tend their grass, such as that, it would seem from time to time, people, workers throw away shovels that could spare the hands some digging.

[@djprsone]

Elegant!

[@reddmanpower606]

Are you going to put some goldfish and minnows in there

[@edibleacres]

Thats the plan for next spring. Right now there are frogs, but not much else.

[@marxpower320]

Chinampa Style 😮

[@williampatrickfurey]

13:06 maybe you can cover it with dirt and let gravity water the piles for you instead of waiting 5 years

[@reivenne]

I mean.... to be fair, it's shovel-dug, not hand-dug :P

[@reddmanpower606]

Nice pond but we're are the fish so they can eat the mosquitoes

[@MetaView7]

Fab !

[@thebeautifulones5436]

That's a spade, not a shovel

[@halsteward1003]

I've heard cat fish will seal up a pond. Personally I wouldn't allowing one of those critters around. Lol. Next thing could be, how to get rid of cat fish.

[@Gongdeadman]

Fry it

[@bobinmissouri]

fry it bake it grill it eat it