Digging an Amazing Pond in the Woods (at the off grid cabin!)

We use an excavator to dig out a pond near the off grid cabin in the woods in order to make a natural watering hole for animals like frogs and deer. Big thanks to Bobcat of Tri Cities: https://bobcatoftc.com/ phone 519-579-9100.

"Self-Reliance" is an 1841 essay written by American transcendentalist philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes: the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow his own instincts and ideas. This channel will approach self reliance from a modern perspective and will focus on various build projects using modern amenities, and tools to build a completely self reliant lifestyle.

We begin by clearing the land where the pond will be located. We picked the pond spot as it will have a great sight line from the off grid cabin and is the lowest spot on the property so we know water should be held there. We dug a test hole earlier in the year to see if it would hold water.

We know our area holds mostly clay, sand and gravel and the water will come from the ground through underground springs. This means it will be cool and potentially be the right temperature for cold water trout.

The fastest way to dig a big pond is to use the help of a qualified excavator. This excavator normally digs out house foundations and the operator has years of experience digging giant holes in the ground and removing mountains of material.

In order to be sustainable for trout the pond must be cool enough year round but deep enough so that it doesn't freeze right to the bottom. Rainbow trout need good to excellent water quality and plenty of oxygen. Water flow is an asset to help fish spawn. We discovered that the water in our pond is filled continuously with the help of ground water and is very cold, even in the summer. Trout will die if water gets above 25 degrees Celsius. Shade also helps keep water cool and our pond is sheltered for a good part of the day with trees.

You will need to find out what kind of soil you are working with. Is it clay, clay-loam and sandy loam are best for holding water. You will want to avoid limestone, shale, sand and gravel—they leak. Except in our case since the gravel is actually part of the ground water, which is ideal. You can ask around to find out if your pond will leak or will hold water year round. You don't want your pond to dry up in the middle of the summer.

Our plan to excavate the remainder of the pond, pushing the size out to about a half acre in size and a water depth of around 8 feet. 15 feet is more ideal, but our base is shale and therefore can not be dug any deeper.

A trout pond is very difficult to establish, but it is very possible to do correctly if you know what the fish need.

Aeration of the pond is something we will be exploring as we see how the season develops. We are hopeful that water remains cool so dissolved oxygen in the water remains high.

After we dig the pond, we will let is sit for a few weeks before putting our fish in the pond. Ideally you will let the pond sit for a full year, but we are not patient enough for this.

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