pond - Alo Land

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pond

A collection of 16 posts

Starting to build a hugel-dam in the east swale

Starting to build a hugel-dam in the east swale

Starting to build a hugel-dam in the east swale. At roughly this point, the floor starts to slope down. The dam will separate the swale part from what is de facto an unintended pond. #swale #pond #hugelmound

Fish enjoying the west pond

Fish enjoying the west pond. This are only some of them - hard to imagine they were only 6 just over a year ago. #pond #fish Your browser does not support the video tag.

South #pond and east #swale at record high levels after yesterday's rain

South #pond and east #swale at record high levels after yesterday's rain

South #pond and east #swale at record high levels after yesterday's rain. #permacultureportugal

The south #pond with more water than ever

The south #pond with more water than ever

The south #pond with more water than ever. It'll be interesting to watch how long it'll hold, since the bottom is still all unsealed sand.

This spot between the west #pond and west #swale seems to be a seasonal pond

This spot between the west #pond and west #swale seems to be a seasonal pond

This spot between the west #pond and west #swale seems to be a seasonal pond. Added a couple rocks to make it cozy for any local fauna that decides to stop by.

It rained so much that there's a bit of water at the bottom of the south #pond

It rained so much that there's a bit of water at the bottom of the south #pond

It rained so much that there's a bit of water at the bottom of the south #pond. This is unexpected because it's just sand - not sure if it got saturated or there's a grey seal forming.

Planting some aquatic plants and duckweed in the west #pond

Planting some aquatic plants and duckweed in the west #pond

Planting some aquatic plants and duckweed in the west #pond

Added #bentonite to one end of the west #pond hoping it'll allow the water level to go higher

Added #bentonite to one end of the west #pond hoping it'll allow the water level to go higher

Added #bentonite to one end of the west #pond hoping it'll allow the water level to go higher.

Adding a bunch of #bentonite to seal the north #pond

Adding a bunch of #bentonite to seal the north #pond

Adding a bunch of #bentonite to seal the north #pond. The cheapest source we found is this unscented cat litter, which seems to work. We'll need more of it though, the pond is still leaking...

Added some #mulch to cover bare soil around the south #pond and started trying to seal it with #bentonite again

Added some #mulch to cover bare soil around the south #pond and started trying to seal it with #bentonite again

Added some #mulch to cover bare soil around the south #pond and started trying to seal it with #bentonite again. This time we're trying to add more clay on top of the bentonite, but digging up and transporting that clay is proving very tedious...

Continuing to #mulch bare soil around the west #pond

Continuing to #mulch bare soil around the west #pond

Continuing to #mulch bare soil around the west #pond

Added water to the west #pond

Added water to the west #pond

Added water to the west #pond

Filled up the west #pond again

Filled up the west #pond again

Filled up the west #pond again. Unfortunately this uncovered an issue with the water pumping system, hopefully we can get it fixed soon...

Despite all the #bentonite and hope, the east #pond is completely dry as of this morning

Despite all the #bentonite and hope, the east #pond is completely dry as of this morning

Despite all the #bentonite and hope, the east #pond is completely dry as of this morning. It slowly but steadily drained over the past few days. There's a lot of water on the bottom of the east swale, in the area close to the pond, so it's probably seeping somehow.

East #pond water level, evening vs morning

East #pond water level, evening vs morning

East #pond water level, evening vs morning. It's too soon to claim success, but the #bentonite seems to be holding up well so far.

First attempt of sealing the east #pond with #bentonite

First attempt of sealing the east #pond with #bentonite

First attempt of sealing the east #pond with #bentonite. It's already in a clayish area and the excavator did a nice job compacting it. However, there's also a lot of rocks and it wasn't holding water. We liberally sprinkled a 25kg bag of bentonite into the holes we could identify