DIGGING OUR POND

[xtruckerbob]

Started working on this last fall just before it started raining. Now that the irrigation is turned off and it has started to dry up it is time to get started again. My wife on her Kubota BX 2670 and me on my Kubota L 2600 both with box blades. The boxes are set so we get a full load on each trip across the pond. The old pond in the picture was fill up with some of the dirt. We are going down to five feet or so. Wife used her loader to square up the bank. When we get though the new pond will be 100 x 250. The soil was a loam for the first 2 feet now down to clay. We have moved some of the dirt around the farm with the BX and the RTV 900. So far we worked on it about 10 hours each. The first Picture is the old pond then, The second picture is the old pond now, The third picture is the spillway, The fourth picture is what it looks like now. We are now down 30 inches.

 

[Xfaxman]

:thumbsup: Looks like fun!

 

[OHVarmntr]

I rented a box blade this week. It was the first time I'd run one. When it comes time to dig a pond, I think I may try some of it myself, these box blades are so dang handy! Looks like fun, nice work!

 

[jeff9366]

When the pond is completed I think you should throw a giant GUMBO PARTY for T-B-N contributors.

Great ambition in retirement.

 

[xtruckerbob]

The weather caught us on the pond plus I have had a rough 2 weeks. It is only 1/2 the size we wanted it. We got 6 inches of rain in 18 hours plus about 60 acres drains into the pond so she is full. I guess next fall we will start again. So here are the pictures.

 

[xtruckerbob]

The Bear Habitat picture does not go with our pond . I tried to edit it yesterday and couldn't and now can't reedit it. GRRRRR

 

[HarryN]

Did you pump it out? We'll be starting to re-do our pond next week. Been 30 years since its been touched. But have to drain it first....
I like your pond, too.

 

[xtruckerbob]

Well it is gonna take a while to dry up now that it is getting cool and short days. No we did not pump it out, guess we will wait till year. Right now the pond is somewhere around 85 ft by 175 x near 5 foot deep. We have almost 30 hours each. To speed up up digging I put my disc on the 3000 so we could dig twice the dirt as before. Our pond has come a long way from what we had. This is our third pond. The first is about 1 1/4 acres and 10 feet to 14 feet deep and we paid to have it dug out $5000 ouch!!!. The second we re-dug out in the heat of summer when it was dry 4-5 foot deep about 1/4 acre and it took about 2 weeks just my wife and me. Hoping I can trade for a older TLB next spring. Good luck on your pond I know you will enjoy it. I find tractor work weather mowing, digging a pond or gardening is relaxing.

 

[xtruckerbob]

Jeff9366 We should have some bugs in the spill way next spring.

 

[Texasmark]

You'll be thankful for the clay. On the rest of it you may have to wait a few years before it seals adequately. Even with 100%i clay it took about 3 years for my seeping to stop when at spillway level.

Watch your spillway. Falling water can eventually erode the dirt back to the main pool. Get her grassed over as soon as you can. Rye is perfect for the job and this time of year. Get some 12 24 12 and broadcast that and the rye. Run a harrow or section of chain link fence over it to get it in the ground with a little soil cover. Should sprout in a few days. If that fails rocks (12" dia or so). If that fails a horn.

My spillway had eroded to the depth of 6' and was within 20 feet of the pool. I could stand with my stomach touching dirt (straight vertical drop off) and my eyes were even with the dam spillway. I installed a 3' x20' drop horn I cut and bent into an ell (5 x 15) and concreted around it to make a bowl. Been maintenance free for about 20 years. On a heavy rain with lots of runoff (back when we had rain) the water would roar going into the horn and would come out just a gentle as a baby.

Mark

 

[xtruckerbob]

Texasmark, I am lucky we live in Louisiana so we still have some rain, like you it does not seem like it rains as much as did 40 years ago. The pond is on the edge of our fields so the ground is rich . I already have a good crop of Bermuda grass and a little Bahia grass
on the banks and in the spill way. I will still have a little maintenance to do before the grass gets seated for a good ground cover.

 

[ishiboo]

Did you price out renting a track hoe for the digging part, and just use the box blades for final shaping/grading/etc? I thought about extending my pond, and with the number of hours it'd take on the tractor it seems like it'd be a worthwhile investment to rent a hoe.

 

[xtruckerbob]

I checked with Sunbelt Rentals in Jackson, Ms. The rate seems to be cheap enough, but they are the only site I checked. Sunbelt Rentals price is $500 per week or $1060 for 4 weeks. I am Medically retired from the Army so I have a lot of time plus my wife enjoys helping me play in the dirt. If I had rented the Hoe I could have finished the pond in 2 days maybe 3 days easily even considering I would have to use my tractor to move the dug out dirt. And I would have to go get it and then return it. It is only 130 mile each way or 520 miles total. Still if I had rented it for a week I have other projects I could have done. This price was for a 2,000lb Mini Excavator.

 

[Manofthehouse]

I realize this is old post, but I just have to comment that this is great! A while back I created a post where I was getting advice on redoing my pond and most of the folks were giving me advice to get someone else to do it for me, or to buy much larger and expensive equipment that I would have no long term use for. So glad I found this thread! Its even given me an idea of the time frame it should take me to get it done! I am getting ready to pull the trigger on a kubota L35 TLB, and this was extreemly helpful!