Environmental Benefits
The day after filling my first pond with water, frogs had already moved in. The vegetation was not yet planted, and I am sure there was nothing for them to eat, but they were there ready to enjoy a new life. Creating a pond adds a new ecosystem that will attract all kinds of life that you normally do not see in a garden. It is a wonderful way to bring nature to your yard.
All kinds of animals and insects will find your new pond. Some of this life is microscopic. Bacteria, fungi, and algae quickly float in on the air currents. The water gives these organisms a place to live and grow. Once they are present, larger animals such as rotifers and Hydra will move in and eat the bacteria, fungi, and algae. These animals are very small; you won’t notice them unless without your magnifying glass. Rotifers and Hydra are eaten in turn by larger animals like arthropods. All of these small animals are vital to the development of your pond.
Some insects, like mosquitoes and dragonflies, lay their eggs in the water, and after hatching, they eat the smaller pond life. Frogs and toads also lay their eggs in the water, and the tadpoles consume the small animals and insect larvae. If you put fish in the pond, they will enjoy a meal of small tadpoles and mosquito larvae.
As the tadpoles mature, they attract even larger animals like snakes and some birds. Maybe a mink will come by for a snack, and you are almost certainly going to see some herons if they live in your neck of the woods.
You probably knew that all of these animals feed on each other. What is surprising is that they all find your pond and start living in it or beside it with no effort on your part. All you need to do is to provide a hole in the ground and some water. Then wait for the magic to happen.
Plants also play a big role in this pond ecosystem. In the following chapters, I’ll suggest that you add plants to the pond, but even this may not be necessary. Two different species of cattails arrived in my pond without being planted. One arrived the first summer, and it does not grow naturally near my home. Other native plants have also settled in on their own.
Plants provide food for certain microbes and animals and shelter from predators. The dragonfly nymph will climb up cattail stems to emerge as a flying insect. Frogs love to sit on lily pads and catch flying insects.
Frogs, toads, and salamanders are common in many locations. Like most amphibians, they need to lay their eggs in water. Once the eggs hatch, the tadpoles live in water until they become adults. Some amphibians spend most of their life on land; others spend much of it in water. Water is vital to their survival.
Many amphibians are threatened in the wild because their natural wetlands and ponds are disappearing. They are also very sensitive to chemical pollutants and are easily killed. Building a pond will help them survive.
I have a natural pond close to my property, and the last two winters were exceptionally cold. The native amphibians can handle cold, but they can’t handle winter thaws that are followed by very cold temperatures, which is exactly what has happened the last two years. As a result, I have seen a dramatic decline in frog populations. I used to be able to count over 30 sitting around the pond, and now I am lucky to find 12. They breed in my pond, and I know it is helping them to increase their local populations.
Why should you care? Amphibians are very beneficial to your garden. They eat all kinds of insects and slugs. The frogs and toads are part of my garden’s natural pest control system. Besides, they sing for me in the spring and provide entertainment all summer long. All I have to do is provide the water.
Mosquitoes lay their eggs in shallow water that is not moving too much. The hatching larvae will live in the water until they emerge as adult insects. Mosquitoes are a potential problem. They not only bite, but they can carry diseases. Everyone is advised not to allow any standing water because mosquitoes will breed in it. How can a pond, without moving water, be a good idea?
Mosquito larvae are a delicacy for many animals living in the pond. Fish love them. If you have any concern about breeding mosquitoes, add a few goldfish, and they will take care of them. Frogs also eat mosquito larvae, and if some live in your pond, you really don’t need the fish.
Ponds also attract dragonflies that lay their eggs in the water. As the eggs hatch, they produce a very large nymph that is an expert hunter. One of their favorite foods is the mosquito larvae. The nymph will grow and hatch into the adult dragonfly that hunts insects, including the adult mosquito. Once I see dragonflies, I know that the mosquito season is almost at an end.
The mosquito is a food source for many life-forms, including amphibians, insects, and even small birds. Contrary to popular belief, most bats don’t eat many mosquitoes—they are just too small to be worth the effort. Some very tiny bats do eat mosquitoes.
Your pond will also attract birds and large animals that will come for a drink. A shallow beach area allows small animals like birds to get close to the water and makes it easier for rodents and other small mammals to get a drink. I routinely have skunks, raccoons, possums, wild turkeys, heron, mink, fox, coyotes, and deer visit the pond—but not usually at the same time.
Not all of these visitors are entirely welcome since some will eat fish and frogs, but they all play a critical part of the pond ecosystem. The fox eats the skunks, racoons, and wild turkeys. The coyotes eat deer. I don’t have a lot of rodent problems in the garden because I keep the local coyotes and foxes well hydrated with my pond.
Birds are a very good defense against insect pests in the garden. The pond provides them with water, and it attracts insects that in turn attract the birds.
The pond design presented in this book will encourage such visitors and make it easy for them to get out of the pond should they fall in. It also limits the damage done to pond liners by animals like minks and makes it difficult for herons to catch fish.
With water becoming a precious commodity, many communities implement water bans. The pond that is built for pleasure can act as an emergency water source. During a ban, you can use the water to keep your gardens growing well. On larger properties, a pond can be used as a regular water source for your garden. These large ponds are more fully described in chapter 9.
In an area that has regular water bans, it is likely that you don’t get enough rain in summer to keep your pond full. There are steps you can take to improve this situation. House gutters can direct rain into your pond, which then acts like a very large rain barrel, collecting water to be used during a drought. For more information on this, see the section on rain gardens.
The location of your pond can significantly affect the amount of water it collects. A slope on your property can be used to direct runoff straight into the pond. In such a location, even a small amount of rain can fill the pond, and it is a good way to reduce the amount of water running into the street and city storm water systems.
A natural pond is an ideal tool for teaching yourself and your children about nature. Instead of just reading about it, you can observe it in real time. You will find all kinds of interesting things happen in the pond. By watching, listening, and enjoying the pond, your whole family will learn about the wonders of the natural world. Seeing a tadpole grow into a frog can positively impact children for a lifetime. They might even become the world’s next great naturalist.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States has 40 million acres of lawn, which uses 7 billion gallons of water daily and 3 million tons of fertilizer. Mowing them takes 800 million gallons of gasoline—the oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez was only 11 million gallons, and it was considered an environmental catastrophe. Lawns are a major environmental problem.
Gas-powered lawn mowers also emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides. Adding a pond to your garden reduces the amount of lawn, which in turn reduces the use of gasoline and fertilizer. Ponds are good for the environment, especially if you remove the lawn around the pond and turn that into a garden as well.
Permaculture is both a philosophy of life and a method of gardening that focuses on reducing our effect on the environment. Natural ponds fit with this philosophy. Many pond plants can be food sources. Arrowhead (wapato), wild rice, lotus, and water lilies will provide food for people and livestock. Larger ponds can be used to raise fish and waterfowl.
Cattails can be used in many ways. The roots, shoots, stems, and pollen are all edible. New spring shoots can be peeled and eaten raw as a delicacy. The roots can be made into sweet syrup to pour over pancakes made from cattail root flour. As a poultice, the pounded roots are reported to help fight infections, heal broken blisters, and soothe insect stings. Cattails are a grocery store and pharmacy all in one plant.
Here is a list of some water plants that are used for food:
• Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia)—edible tubers
• Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)—edible tubers, young leaves and seeds
• Taro (Colocasia esculento)—corms are edible once cooked (poisonous when raw)
• Water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis)—edible corms
• Watercress (Nasturtium officinale)—edible leaves
• Water lily (Nymphaea spp.)—edible roots
• Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica)—edible leaves
• Wild rice (Zizania sp.)—edible seeds
The design for an edible water garden is really no different than the natural design presented in this book. You might want to have larger planting shelves to maximize space for food plants. Give some thought about harvesting the plants. Consider adding several high stones on the planting shelves that will allow you to walk out to your plants and keep your feet dry.