It’s interesting how so many people say that. Somehow we all think about the mosquitoes that come into a pond like this, but we dont think about the frogs, newts and other predators that come too.

I can assure you that I’ve not seen an increase in mosquitos since I’ve made this pond a few years go. Rather a decline, since there are at least a hundred frogs in there, plus newts and fish. All love to eat mosquito(larvae).

Yeah, EPDM liner so I only have to compensate for evaporation during hot summer days

Netherlands!

There is no aeration or pump. The amount of plants keep it filtered. Once a year, usually halfway or near the end of summer, I jump in the pond and remove about 3/4th of all the plant material. That way you remove a lot of nitrates from the water and prevent algae(blooming) or other problems.

Yeah I dug it myself with just a pickaxe and shovel. Never again hahaha. Next time ill hire a small digger lol.

I used an EPDM liner.

Too much plants to cover tbh and I dont know all the English names for them. Just use a lot of plants, you cannot use too much.

If I had to do it again Id hire a digger machine and make it bigger. Perhaps use a stronger edge to prevent the edges from sagging inside? Although they have since overgrown and you cant see it anyway:)

This is why it’s important to know your local soil. I tried - against better judgement - to use the techniques people use on YouTube and whatever. It just does not work here, my soil is so moist and fertile, there are so many weeds blowing in from the dykes and river floodplain nearby that it’s impossible to stop that unless I start weeding every single day. I accepted that now and just mow it every now and then. Only veggies I grow is in the raised beds, with fruit trees planted between them. It is super fertile tho, old floodplain from the Rhine river, loose clay with a little sand and tons of humus.

Edit:

I should have foreseen this lol. There was this guy about 500m away from me who started an organic vegetable garden (for profit) but he quit since he just couldn’t win the fight against all the weeds.

This is their goal! People forget and underestimate such small amounts

Thanks! Im not gonna lie, at first I was kinda bummed that it didnt work as I wanted but now I’m fine with it :)

I never get it either! I have a part of my garden as lawn because it makes a nice place to sit in. But I never mow shorter than ~10cm. The lawns that are mowed so super short always look unhealthy to me…

Netherlands: our tap water is better than bottled spring water