Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

EHD POND WENT BYE-BYE!!!!

Very similar in color to my above ground pools over the years before I realized you actually have to maintain them. That was a satisfying video to watch.
 
Excellent! I have something similar on farm I just bought. Will be getting similar treatment. Just clearing some junk trees for now.

Screenshot_20250502_073003_Gallery.jpg
 
So, do you now let it dry out for a couple years then dredge?
How do you keep the mud from being a midge breeding ground until it's redone?

I have 3 ponds like this. I use 2 for minnow ponds now but they are 5-6' deep.
 
deerdown said:
So, do you now let it dry out for a couple years then dredge?
How do you keep the mud from being a midge breeding ground until it's redone?
Click to expand...
I bet the dozers will be in there within a couple of weeks. With the dam cut, any rain will run out and the mud will not be wet enough for midge reproduction. Get the sludge out, have a clay base and the cycle should be broken.
 
You should sample that silt in the bottom, I did this in a cattle pasture pond a couple years ago and there was quite a bit of fertility in it. It would also be interesting to know what may have been in the soil there to make that pond the EHD pond. Obviously the layout of the pond has a lot to do with it but Maybe there’s another variable nobody’s seeing.
 
JNRBRONC said:
I bet the dozers will be in there within a couple of weeks. With the dam cut, any rain will run out and the mud will not be wet enough for midge reproduction. Get the sludge out, have a clay base and the cycle should be broken.
Click to expand...
Where does someone put the sludge taken out? Just make a pile somewhere?
 
Iowa said:
Haul it back up the hill where it came from.
Click to expand...
For real, good answer. ^^ FWIW, I intend to deepen and reshape a puny pond that I have now sometime this summer. I will use whatever "overdig" or "spoil" that I can get to refill the heads of nearby ditches, especially where such ditches are creeping out into a field, out of the timber. I will then compact the spoil with the tracks of my skidsteer and overtop the transplanted spoil with "erosion stone", aka, "3x9" riprap, so it doesn't wash again. I will also drop a couple of culverts in strategic, "downstream" spots in said ditches and then pile up the overdig on them to form mini-land bridges, or berms. The deer, and really all wildlife, will walk across those spots like they were trained to do it.

I will take care to locate these berms where I have a suitable tree nearby for preferred wind direction(s) and stand locations. In particular, I will focus on areas that can/will be downwind from doe bedding areas. I like to make it very easy for Mr. Big to shuffle through the timber on about November 5th or so and try to find does with his nose. :) And there is not a better way of assisting his search efforts than "leveling" his path through the timber IMO. I can't hardly get enough spoil for activities like this.
 
I’ll probably let it dry out. I could do it now but no rush. 2 days & it’ll be all pushed out & dig the pond probably 5’++ deeper than it was before. All clay.

So- silt will go below dam in pile. Can spread it back on fields AFTER: 1) it sits for pry couple years and 2) all the drainage into new pond is fixed.
Yes- I’m certain it’s super high in fertility. All top soil + fertilizer for years. Tons of organic matter. Will be “free fertilizer”.

Here’s what I don’t get…. SOME Farmers could care less about ponds filling with their eroded top soil. Wash outs & erosion all over. COMMON. Most won’t fix a pond & get their soil out. They will keep tilling & not fix drainage. Many. Now…. What do MOST farmers also do???? Pay TONS of $ for GROUND!!!! Like $10-20k an acre. What is the most valuable part of the GROUND??? The TOP SOIL!!!! It boggles my mind how many folks let their biggest asset wash away. In iowa alone, we LITERALLY lose $1B+ in top soil. Not including pollution & water clean up costs & stuff like GULF OF AMERICA filling with our soil & fertilizer. We can spend $10-20k on good ground but MOST won’t spend even $100-400 an acre to fix the BASICS on drainage…. Bit more tile with terraces for example. Not complex stuff or crazy expensive. Costs more NOT to do it than to fix it right.
Anyways…. My gripe with farm bureau & lazy farmers…. Attack the deer & trees doing their piddly little damage vs billions lost to lazy ignorance.
 
If I may ask did you rent a excavator or hire it out? And if so since I'm in the area, who? I need to do a few ponds as my neighbor is an idiot and liked to farm 45 degree slopes. I'm thankful for the free top soil. But pissed that I can't charge him to clean out my ponds.

And in our area skip...guy is paying $200 dump truck load. Help pay for clean out as well.

As for tiling...I wish it cost only 100-400 per acre. I just did 47 acres and it was little over 1000 an acre. And that was 9750 per acre ground.
 
Steve-O said:
If I may ask did you rent a excavator or hire it out? And if so since I'm in the area, who? I need to do a few ponds as my neighbor is an idiot and liked to farm 45 degree slopes. I'm thankful for the free top soil. But pissed that I can't charge him to clean out my ponds.

And in our area skip...guy is paying $200 dump truck load. Help pay for clean out as well.

As for tiling...I wish it cost only 100-400 per acre. I just did 47 acres and it was little over 1000 an acre. And that was 9750 per acre ground.
Click to expand...
That’s pattern tiling. I’ve spent up to $1500/acre on pattern tile…. Zook soils …. Need very tight spaced tile in those soils. Expensive but worth every drop. I got a farm where about 80 acres needs tile …. Think that is gonna be $60k. So much variance depending on what u dealing with.

What I’m referring to, $100-400 .. is finding the areas that are Washing/eroding & fixing them. Easy & quick …. Spend more on time & fuel than tile itself. 2 different things.

So- my buddy has the excavator & we do some projects together. This year I ran the forestry mulcher on his stuff & he did excavator. I could do excavator but he’s like “top gun” behind those controls- he’s insanely good, best I’ve seen for quality & technique & fastest.
Busting down dams- that stuff is easy. Let’s say it’s a big well built dam…. Maybe 3-4 hours worse case to do it. We did this one in 60 mins. I’m sure exceptions on a few that may be more complex. Then- say, hmmm pry 2 days of dozing & coring it deeper.
I’ll use all that stuff that comes out too on my own farm. Spread it myself with giant manure/lime spreader. The costs I’ll have in this pond rehab… will pay for itself in fertilizer later. NO BRAINER!!!!

I’ve got contacts on several who can do this. Fire me a message.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom