I have finished digging the new pong and started on the edging. The
pond is a little over 4' deep. In one of Helen Nash's books she talks
of firming up the sides by mixing a 1 to 1 ratio of Portland cement
and dirt then applying to the sides before setting in the underlayment
and liner.

Soil here is very clay like, so I think they are structurally quite
sound but it has been raining and I'm worried about the sides eroding
while I do the edging and plumbing work.

Any suggestions on how to get the cement/dirt onto the sides? Any
other ideas?

One other thought I had was mixed up a big batch of mortar then
dipping burlap in it and applying it to the sides.

Any help is appreciated,
Kevin

I would go with notching out the top 12" and setting concrete block held with rebar
driven into the dirt and then filled with sand or something that drains well. we did
all block cause we were digging in sand. Ingrid

(Cleveland Ponder) wrote:

I can only tell you what I did based on my research. My pond is
18'x25'x5.5'. I made a cement shoulder approximately 12" wide and
about 2 1/2" thick with two 3/8" rebar for reinforcement. I have a
lot of weight around the edge of the pond and have had no settling or
edge breakdown in 3 years. What I did may be a bit of overkill, but I
have no concerns about a side or edge collapse.