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soil

Pond Sludge

Posts: 81

posted 10 years ago

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Anyone know how to apply pond sludge to a garden without risking burning the plants? Do you age it? Put it on as is? Mix it in? We have a small pond for one goose who is generous with her waste, and it needs cleaning. The surface water is fine because we use the water for our fruit trees and refill the pond on a regular basis, but the sludge at the bottom smells really bad, like a water treatment facility, but I know it's good s--.

Matu Collins

Posts: 1947

Location: Southern New England, seaside, avg yearly rainfall 41.91 in, zone 6b

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posted 10 years ago

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If I had a bunch of funky pond sludge I would mix/layer it with brown leaves and pine needles and let it compost before applying it to the garden. If I didn't have the brown materials I would apply it in the fall so it would have the winter to mellow.

“Enough is as good as a feast"
-Mary Poppins

Jeff R Hodgins

Posts: 21

posted 10 years ago

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Well in anaerobic decomposition you can get some phytotoxin build up like iron sulfide and stuff. So I would want to get the stuff aired out on a regular basis. Heavy metals also build up in low spots probably not an issue in a small pond but I wouldn't go dredging the Mississippi for nutrients if you know what I mean.

Tina Paxton

Posts: 283

Location: coastal southeast North Carolina

posted 10 years ago

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I'm thinking the suggestion to compost it with some brown materials is a good idea. I know that my ducks' poo can serve as a really good soil sealer--great if you want to seal a pond, not so great if you want to fertilize a garden bed. Not to mention the smell...not sure how long it would take for the smell to go away...I'd want it to mellow in a far corner first.

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Bryant RedHawk

gardener

Posts: 6814

Location: Arkansas - Zone 7B/8A stoney, sandy loam soil pH 6.5

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posted 10 years ago

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I would first mix it with brown matter, then layer it with more brown materials and inoculate it with mycelia. Let it compost for 3 months, I would then use that compost (I like to get the biggest bang for my buck) as starter for more compost piles and then use the resulting compost as normal, reserving some as starter for the next round of compost.

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arbab mehmood

Posts: 1

posted 2 years ago

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When most people think about their garden, the last thing on their mind is pond sludge. However, this dark and sometimes foul-smelling material can actually be great for your plants
https://gardenprofy.com/is-a-pond-sludge-good-for-the-garden/

Joe Hallmark

pollinator

Posts: 335

Location: Central Texas

posted 2 years ago

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I posted in an update to my pasture about digging out the back portion of my pond. This was a very large area somewhere between 1.5-2acres that was previously pretty shallow. The muck was not really smelly tho. We pulled it up for several months mostly to dry out. Then made some new banks / grassy knoll type areas. There was a lot of silt and sand that got mixed in as we piled it up.

My property is pretty terrible dirt in general and always alot of problems getting grass established. Not with this mucky silty mixture. The grass did unbelievably good.

For a smaller scale it seems like a great idea to mix it with browns to eliminate smell and speed the drying. Even after 4 months this stuff was still very wet in my case but was spreadable just took extra time.

I think you will find this a very good resource.

Good luck!

Cristo Balete

Posts: 1010

Location: In the woods, West Coast USA

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posted 2 years ago

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Arbab! *LOL*

-----
Celia, what is your pond "sludge" made of? That's pretty important to know.

Is it Duckweed? Algae? Azola?

I've had all three of those and the plants in the garden loved every one of them, put on top like mulch. I like to put some kind of carbon over the top, like leaves or hay or alfalfa, to keep them damp and "activated."

Worms and soil critters will come up and take care of it.

An important distinction: Permaculture is not the same kind of gardening as organic gardening.
Mediterranean climate hugel trenches, fabuluous clay soil high in nutrients, self-watering containers with hugel layers, keyhole composting with low hugel raised beds, thick Back to Eden Wood chips mulch (distinguished from Bark chips), using as many native plants as possible....all drought tolerant.

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