Pond clearing

[Dobby]

Hi all
Was listing to radio 2 (I know I'm sad I listion to it all the time in the van from 9am to 10pm) the uther friday about 2.45 is the alotment garder and he was on about empting his pond then letting it fill up natury with rain water.
we have a lot of weed in there how much do we leave in and how much do we take out?
We have never had a pond so dont know anything much Help

[roitelet]

You could take out some of the weed now but leave it on the side of the pond so that all the wild life can crawl out before you get rid of it. I wouldn't empty the pond as the water naturally finds it's own chemical balance and emptying it will upset this. It can also lead to algae problems. I find that just to keep the weed under control is usually enough if you want a wildlife pond. Have soggy fun

[yoanbob]

unless you have ducks, then it needs emptying, but then you wouldnt have much pond weed if you had ducks.

[Mrs Dobby]

No ducks in our pond, its too small and we arent allowed animals to keep on the plot, unfortunately!

The 'pond' is actually 2 small ponds, both about 2' deep, one about 18" wide by 3' long, and the other about 4' by 2' or so.

[burnie]

Personally I'd leave a wildlife pond alone in case there's anything hibernating in there,larvae of dragon flies etc. wouldn't like being chucked out this time of year.I always waited at least until the daffodils are out.A bare fish pond however would be a different story.

[Lesley Jay]

I agree with you Burnie.

[Mrs Dobby]

Cheers Burnie, LJ et al!

Looks like we'll leave it alone until the daffs are up, then remove some of the weeds and let it alone! Thanks all for the advice!