My Pond Project

[ETD66SS]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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/Whitedwarf/Pond-7-12-08/Pond_0599-01.JPG

http://usera.imagecave.com/Whitedwarf/Pond-7-12-08/Pond_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.

 

[EddieWalker]

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

A least you've given yourself plenty of time and won't be under any preasure. hahahahahahaha

OK, so three months is almost nothing in time, but with all that you've accomplished, I'm looking forward to seeing your progress. The bridge sounds like the most fun to me, but it's all the type of stuff that I enjoy doing and will enjoy seeing pictures of. The best thing about your thread is all the great pictures your take!!! Thanks.

I like the layout and how it all ties together. Everything fits and has a natural look to it, even though it looks like you've changed just about everything, you are doing such a great job that it's going to look like it's always been there when you are done. I was at a guys place a few weeks ago and everything he's done jumps out at you as man-made. His dame is almost perfectly strait and flat with very steep slopes. He's having trouble mowing it because it's so steep. I didn't tell him it's also ugly because it looks so man made, but it's all you see when you look at his pond site.

Eddie

 

[ETD66SS]

Yeah, I was a bit disappointed when my brother wanted an oval pond, and not some type of natural looking shape, but it did not turn out a perfect oval, so looks decent...

 

[ETD66SS]

What kind of grass seed should I get for my island & banks?

I want to get that planted soon. As a reminder, I'm in New York.

 

[EddieWalker]

What kind of grass seed should I get for my island & banks?

I want to get that planted soon. As a reminder, I'm in New York.

Don't know a thing about your area for plants or grass, but I've spent some time at Seedland.com: Seeds - Lawns comparing different types and what they do in my area. Might be worth looking into, or at least to get an idea of what's available.

And my local extension has a website that's been great of local plants and what works in our soils. They do tests too!!!! Have you looked them up to see if they have a website?

Good luck, but if you do nothing, the local grass's will take over anyway. It's just a matter of time.

Eddie

 

[ETD66SS]

The county conservationist gave me 2 options:

1. Creeping red fescue (20 lbs/acre)
Tall fescue or smooth bromegrass (20 lbs/acre)
Birdsfoot trefoil (8 lbs/acre)

2. Creeping red fescue (20 lbs/acre)
Redtop (2 lbs/acre)
perennial rye grass (5 lbs/acre)

 

[ETD66SS]

I took last week off from work.

I was able to get the banks of both ponds lined with clay, and also get a bit of landscaping done.

I only have the land bridge to the island left to hog out.

I need to get the pilings for the deck & bridge put in before I remove that last bit of dirt.

Here are a bunch of pictures:

etd66ss's photos. Get free image hosting at ImageCave.com - free image hosting at ImageCave.com

 

[Illinois Boy]

I was just reading through ... nice project ... handy to have all that equipment.

Does the county conservationist offer engineering advice, or what? I'm looking more at rolling hills, so would concentrate more on enough soil for a dam, and the ground holding the water where my creek runs through. I suppose with a big dam and proper soil conditions, I could have 15 acres of lake ... way beyond my abilities though, but that is the dream.

You sure moved a lot of earth ... nice place ...

 

[ETD66SS]

Does the county conservationist offer engineering advice, or what?

That probably depends on where you are. The conservationist I talked to gave me minimal advice on actual construction.

You would just have to talk to your county conservationist. They could either provide you the info, or provide you with the name of a civil engineering firm who you would then have to pay to design your pond.

Luckily, where my lot is, there are very few restrictions. It really all depends on your local conservation laws...

 

[EddieWalker]

The shoreline looks great. Once int fills up and the grass fills in, it will look amazing.

That bridge will be the fun project that I'm looking forward to seeing. Especially what you use for supports and how you tie it into the ground on either side.

Eddie

 

[ETD66SS]

It's going to be very simple, in the end it will just look like a 50 ft long dock.

Two 8" sonotube pilings on either shore, and 6" diameter steel pipe supports sticking out of the water, the base of them embedded in 55 gallon drum forms filled with concrete, sitting on the glacial till layer and backfilled with clay.

I don't want any railings on it, as my land is flat and that takes away the scenery behind the bridge.

I hope to get the concrete work done soon so I can dig the land bridge out before the pond starts filling up.

There will be no elaborate truss work. Just 4 large timber beams spanning 24 ft each, with boards on top. Just like a dock really...

I know it does not sound fancy, but that's what I plan to do.