6. Good Organic Gardening - November-December 2016 AvxHome.in

and mammals such as antechinus by creating
habitat for them in our gardens. In doing so,
we re-create the habitat we’ve taken away
from these creatures.
We also create wildlife corridors, which
animals can use to travel from habitat to
habitat, maintaining genetically diverse
populations and thus aiding the survival of
some threatened species.
Frog ponds, when constructed with other
animals in mind, can be a fantastic way to
provide habitat in our gardens, as they offer
water, food and shelter for various species.
The following steps describe the creative
process of building such a pond. The
photos and the process were taken at Sean
Morrow’s workshop at the Planting Festival,
which has a strong focus on environmental
sustainability and happens each year at
Woodfordia, the home of the Woodford Folk
Festival in Queensland.
Sean is a passionate wildlife habitat creator
and gardener. His own garden is featured
in our Gardening Folk story on page 32.
1
Constructing
the pond
Choose a suitable site where there is some
sunlight but also some shade — aim for
a balance between shade and sun. If the
pond is fully exposed to the sun, algae will
proliferate or the water will get too hot for
frogs to breed in and their tadpoles will die.
The water will also evaporate quickly and
need constant refilling. Too much shade, on
the other hand, will reduce plant growth, while
fallen leaves may introduce too much organic
matter at the bottom of the pond. If you have
no shade, you can create a simple structure
over the pond using shade cloth.
1. Dig a hole about 50cm deep and 1.5×1.5m
wide. The size of the pond is up to you,
depending on your budget.
2. Line the hole with carpet liner to protect
the pond liner from any potential damage.
3. Carefully line the hole with pond liner.
4. Place rocks in the pond, being careful not to
cause any damage to the liner. Add differentsized
rocks on the bottom to provide a range
Build a frog pond | THE SHED
What you need
1. Mattock and shovel to dig a hole.
2. Pond liner — enough to cover the
entirety of the hole and comfortably
spill over the edges. For example,
for a 1.5×1.5× 0.5m pond, you’ll need
at least 3×3m liner. The quality of
the liner you buy depends on your
budget; the thicker it is, the more
expensive it becomes. However,
once the liner is completely covered
with rocks and logs, it will last for
many years.
3. Carpet liner the size of the pond
liner (potentially available for free
from carpet shops).
4. Scissors.
5. Rocks — enough to cover the
entirety of the liner — 1m 3 of rocks
should be enough for a 1.5m pond.
These should range from fist size up
to 30cm.
6. Logs — enough to decorate and
stack up the outside of the pond.
7. Mulch to fill the gaps between the
logs and around the pond.
8. Plants to grow around and in the
pond (optional).
9. Hose connected to a water supply.
4
Sean explaining how to measure
the length of the pond liner
down and across the bottom
2 3
Covering the hole with carpet liner
Adding the pond liner
Snuggly fitting the liner into the hole
Good Organic Gardening | 69