My Pond Project

[ETD66SS]

Originally Posted by KentT

You may want to try finding a sickle bar mower for your tractor. They have the advantage that they're fully offset from tractor so you can mow 6 or 7 feet (typical smaller sizes) downhill from where you're driving. They also don't chop up things and sling them everywhere -- like into your pond.

Actually, I was just brainstorming on a machine to cut the weeds under the waterline, some type of offset underwater sickle mower.

But then I guess that could leave a trail of fish & frog parts floating in the water after I get done cutting down the cattails & stuff...

I will have a 4:1 slope all the way around, I guess 4 ft deep is the magic number where weeds stop growing generally. That means I could potentially have a 16 ft wide swath of weeds around the entire perimeter of the pond to deal with.

[patrick_g]

Originally Posted by ETD66SS

Actually, I was just brainstorming on a machine to cut the weeds under the waterline, some type of offset underwater sickle mower.

But then I guess that could leave a trail of fish & frog parts floating in the water after I get done cutting down the cattails & stuff...

Survival of the fittest! You want to elliminate the fish and frogs who are either to retarded or too decrepit to get out of the way of a sickle mower.

There are two basic types of sickle mowers. The "drive" for the oscillating cutter is different. The one style has to be pretty level with respect to the tractor and can cut on a slope but only if the tractor is on the slope.

The other style can cut while raised up at a 90 degree angle or lowered down below horizontal with respect to the tractor. The later type will let you drive on top of the dam and cut the sloping sides (at least one swath width.) I have and recommend the later type for its versatility/adaptability.

Cat tail infestations don't just take over a pond overnight. Roundup or other chemical applied with some care and not just dumped in the pond may have merit for you to consider.

I find that I can back my brush hog down to the waters edge and a little farther and cut all the cat tails off at water level. I have hydraulic TNT so I can easily adjust the angle of the mower to be parallel to the surface of the pond.

Something I thought of but haven't tried is a bolt on toothed bar out in front of the FEL bucket. The angle between adjacent teeth would be small and the teeth long. In use you stick the bar into the water and move forward a bit. This jams the stalks of the cat tails between the teeth. You then curl the bucket and raise it pulling out the cat tails.

Pat

[Tororider]

Originally Posted by patrick_g

Survival of the fittest! You want to elliminate the fish and frogs who are either to retarded or too decrepit to get out of the way of a sickle mower.

My thoughts exactly. You will be left with a really smart frogs and fish.

[patrick_g]

Originally Posted by Tororider

My thoughts exactly. You will be left with a really smart frogs and fish.

Well, at least smart or fast enough to not get run down by a mower.

Pat

[Egon]

There is equipment for cutting weeds in water.

Jenson Lake Mower™ - Aquatic weed control made easy!

[ETD66SS]

Originally Posted by Egon

There is equipment for cutting weeds in water.

Jenson Lake Mower - Aquatic weed control made easy!

Egon, that's pretty much perfect.

I have a 12 ft aluminum boat with trolling motor that I will be making a boathouse for. That first mower will work perfectly!

[ETD66SS]

I'm almost done digging, and I want to get some seed on the island and perimeter after a bit of landscaping to help with erosion next spring.

What should I plant?

It won't be mowed for a few years probably, especially the island...

Here are some progress pic's, the first one shows how little digging I have left.

bhaal's photos. Get free image hosting at ImageCave.com - free image hosting at ImageCave.com

[ETD66SS]

More pictures: Whitedwarf's photos. Get free image hosting at ImageCave.com - free image hosting at ImageCave.com

[EddieWalker]

Originally Posted by ETD66SS

I'm almost done digging, ...

If I remember correctly, one of the reasons you were digging was to have enough drit to build up a place for a few houses. I take it that you have enough dirt? Now what? Are you going to start building? What happens to the equipement?

Great pictures, I'm looking forward to seeing some updates when it's full and green along the shoreline!!!!

Eddie

[ETD66SS]

Eddie, here is the overall plan for my layout:



These pic's show where I dumped many loads of loam to build up the area where my future house, front & back yards will be, I'm not currently dumping or spreading any where my barn/appt. will go, as I plan to start building that on virgin soil next year, will just backfill to the height of the rest of the area:

http://usera.imagecave.com/Whitedwar...nd_0599-01.JPG

http://usera.imagecave.com/Whitedwar...nd_0600-01.JPG

The very next step is to line the rest of the banks of the large pond, and then the small one with clay. Dump some topsoil around the ponds and box blade the banks and the island, and get some seed down. Still don't know what kind of seed to use.

Then I need to get some sonotube and put in 2 or 3 concrete pilings for one end of the bridge on the island. I will probably leave the land bridge in until I get the steel/wooden bridge designed & built. The bridge will have about a 60 ft. span.

Then landscape the area until I get the slopes I want. I'd like the high point to be where my future house will go, sloping back towards the pond, and the front yard sloping towards the swale. Then get some seed on that.

Then I need to finish grade my driveway area, as well as my younger brother's driveway area, buy geotextile and get stone down.

My younger brother's house will be to the right of my lot, in front of the drainage swale. My older brother's house will be where the spoils piles are. My younger brother plans to build with me next year, my older brother probably not for 5-10 years. So I only need to concentrate on 2 areas for building right now. The spoils piles can be dealt with over time as we require fill.

Then after all that, I need to get back to cutting & splitting firewood to sell. I try to make up for diesel costs by selling firewood. I designed & built this log splitter 2 years ago:

Whitedwarf2's photos. Get free image hosting at ImageCave.com - free image hosting at ImageCave.com

I need to get all that done in the next 3 months.