|
Puddled clay pond Puddled clay pond, what is it, how is it done, is it a good idea?
The idea Puddled clay ponds are the oldest type of pond there is. The idea is you "puddle" clay and fill with water and there, you have a pond all done, finished.
The materials As you may have guessed its not that easy, lets start from the beginning. You get some clay, lots of clay, no tonnes of clay is what you need, why? well the clay has to end up being around 20cm thick ALL OVER. minimum. You should "refine" the clay first. That is to say remove anything that is not clay, such as stones, seeds (or any thing that will grow) If anything grows in it it will cause cracks / splits, which are not wanted.
The build You should lay the clay down in "segments" the size of which depend on how much you can carry. Once you have a few segments down you can then add more segments on top of the first lot, overlapping the joints as you go. Each layer should be hit (or puddled) to force any air pockets out. If you don't, the air pockets will dry out, and collapse. While you are doing this you must keep all the clay wet. They say that years ago they would let animals walk all over it to puddle it, since they did not have a "whacker plate" I suppose it was a good idea. I have also heard of the back of a "back hoe" digger bucket being used to good effect, since it can easily shift the weight and volume of clay, and then puddle it.
The end? As already mentioned, the clay must always be kept wet, this is done by having a small natural stream running into the pond, This way it replaces any water that leaks or evaporates. Hang on a minute, any water that leaks? if you have done it right it really never will leak, but you will loose some through evaporation. This will have to be topped up. Some will say that in order to give the clay strength you should add straw to the mix, I will leave that one up to you. Clay itself is cheap, however transporting it to your location isn't. Overall, a puddled clay pond really is a lot of work, not only the construction but the maintenance, and you must keep it wet all the time. A pond liner can be installed in hours not days, does not crack, does not need to be kept wet (But should be under water all the time) easier to maintain, and costs much less. You can have, and indeed there are still puddled clay ponds to this day, but I know which I prefer.
|