What to plant around renovated pond?

[Dukslayr]

I enrolled in our NRCS pond program drawing late this fall and had the fortune of being drawn 129th, which puts me about 4 years out from funding to build the pond that we intend to put in. I have an old home on my property that we recently knocked down and now I’m planning to have the debris hauled away. I’ve decided that while I have some heavy equipment out there getting rid of the old house and root cellar that I’m going to rennovate one of the old ponds that’s near the house. This pond is about 1/2 acre and grown in with trees, multiflora rose and, in general, needs an overhaul. The plan is drain the thing, repair the dam, clean it out and enlarge the pond to about an acre (which the watershed will support). There will be a lot of bare dirt all around the pond when they get done with this project and I’m trying to decide what to plant. I would like to fish in the pond so not sure I want something that would make it terribly difficult to get in and out of. I also plan to plant about 3-4 acres of sunflowers near the pond and would love to make it attractive to doves hitting my sunflowers. I’m open to anything, but assuming that I’ll need something that germinates and establishes fairly quickly this spring as this work will all be done over the next couple of weeks. Any suggestions on what to plant or things I should consider before planting? Thanks!

 

[Telemark]

Check out Alsike clover if you don't have horses. It tolerates being submerged, so if your water level fluctuates, it shouldn't suffer too much.

And I would plant clumps of millet around the edge. Birds love it, so it should draw doves and ducks. And it will give you something to hide behind if you are trying to sneak up on a wary fish.

 

[Dukslayr]

Check out Alsike clover if you don't have horses. It tolerates being submerged, so if your water level fluctuates, it shouldn't suffer too much.

And I would plant clumps of millet around the edge. Birds love it, so it should draw doves and ducks. And it will give you something to hide behind if you are trying to sneak up on a wary fish.

I don’t have any live stock. Are you recommending recommending the clover down on the inside of the pond banks as well as the 30-45 yards of exposed graded dirt outside the banks? You plant the millet right in with the clover?

 

[Telemark]

I'm recommending the Alsike clover for any portion of land that risks temporary flooding, so definitely the inside of the pond banks.

And I'm recommending clumps of millet around the edge of the pond. This will give doves and other birds a bit of food and cover when they drink from the pond, and it will give you things to hide behind when you fish. If you plant it all the way around the pond, the ducks will love it, but it could make it difficult for doves to utilize the pond water.

Can you control the level of the pond? Will it fluctuate seasonally?

 

[Dukslayr]

I'm recommending the Alsike clover for any portion of land that risks temporary flooding, so definitely the inside of the pond banks.

And I'm recommending clumps of millet around the edge of the pond. This will give doves and other birds a bit of food and cover when they drink from the pond, and it will give you things to hide behind when you fish. If you plant it all the way around the pond, the ducks will love it, but it could make it difficult for doves to utilize the pond water.

Can you control the level of the pond? Will it fluctuate seasonally?

There won’t be any water control structure so the only think controlling the water level will be Mother Nature. Once it fills back up I presume it’ll stay at a similar water level unless there’s a significant dry spell like we had last summer.

 

[ksgobbler]

Doves like bare dirt banks on ponds.
I tried the millet thing around the waters edge. Didnt work out well and I dont recommend it. Ive got clover planted around mine. I keep it mowed down so the kids csn easily fish. For my area I stocked it with hybrid bluegill and channel cat due to the pond's small size and the pond you are talking about isnt much bigger than mine at all.

 

[Dukslayr]

Doves like bare dirt banks on ponds.
I tried the millet thing around the waters edge. Didnt work out well and I dont recommend it. Ive got clover planted around mine. I keep it mowed down so the kids csn easily fish. For my area I stocked it with hybrid bluegill and channel cat due to the pond's small size and the pond you are talking about isnt much bigger than mine at all.

Yeah I’ll be able to stock it with whatever I want since we are starting over from scratch. I am thinking about stocking it pretty much the same as you. Also was planning clover but didn’t know if there might be some sort of cool season grass I should consider.

 

[ksgobbler]

First year I planted winter rye just to stablize the soil. Ive got some tetraploid rye planted and it hasnt done great.

 

[Dukslayr]

First year I planted winter rye just to stablize the soil. Ive got some tetraploid rye planted and it hasnt done great.

Yeah I’ll need to get something done early this spring to hold things in place for sure. I’ve never planted rye in the during but I assume it would do fine spring planted as opposed to fall planted.

 

[Telemark]

I tried the millet thing around the waters edge. Didnt work out well and I dont recommend it

What didn't work out? Did you try to submerge it or just grow it near the pond?

 

[ksgobbler]

What didn't work out? Did you try to submerge it or just grow it near the pond?

Both. Unless you can manipulate water levels I think you are wasting seed. It grew well around the pond. Only usage I have seen is turkeys hammer it. I have planted japanese millet 2 years straight. Water level was never really right for the submerged either 2 high and killed it or too low and no water up to the millet. The little that was in what I call the money zone was gone in no time. Elsewhere it grew and grew thick so not condusive to doves.
I have started experimenting with browtop millet. Ive got it planted on the back side of my pond dam as well as a small upland patch near the pond. I also sowed some on the face of the dam. It grew fabulous. Zero duck usage for the stuff water side. I mowed the upland patch and got some usage from doves there.

A nearby waterfowl area grows it in the marshes and it is like mallard crack.

 

[Dukslayr]

Both. Unless you can manipulate water levels I think you are wasting seed. It grew well around the pond. Only usage I have seen is turkeys hammer it. I have planted japanese millet 2 years straight. Water level was never really right for the submerged either 2 high and killed it or too low and no water up to the millet. The little that was in what I call the money zone was gone in no time. Elsewhere it grew and grew thick so not condusive to doves.
I have started experimenting with browtop millet. Ive got it planted on the back side of my pond dam as well as a small upland patch near the pond. I also sowed some on the face of the dam. It grew fabulous. Zero duck usage for the stuff water side. I mowed the upland patch and got some usage from doves there.

A nearby waterfowl area grows it in the marshes and it is like mallard crack.

I won’t be getting much waterfowl activity in my location except probably some early woodies and some occasional geese. Anything I plant will be for erosion control, doves, deer, and/or ease of maintenance. The way the land lays I think I can make a very gradual slope into the pond on the south side that should allow me to manipulate the cover. With a typical late summer weather pattern I can probably mow the south edge of pond down to close to bare dirt for doves since the pond will probably be drawn down a little. They were planning to get started this week but the snow we just got dumped on us might slow things down.

 

[Telemark]

A nearby waterfowl area grows it in the marshes and it is like mallard crack.

That could be part of the reason you didn't have much activity on yours.

Waterfowl are that way with ice in winter too. They fly around looking for the best places, and they don't congregate where I want them to til all their favorite ponds and marshes freeze over.