Hi there

We have just moved to a house with a large shallow pond. Well, large for me! About 10 feet by 4 feet, about 18 inches deep.

The pond has been full of tadpoles. They have now turned into millions of tiny tiny frogs!

The pond has a thick layer of sludge at the bottom, caused by all the leaves falling in from the trees around (which we will be cutting!). The pond is also pretty well shaded by all these trees.

My questions are:

Is it ok to dredge out (with a rake) sludge at this time of year, or better in the winter?

Should we just empty the pond and scrape it out and start again?

Tons of duckweed too . . . . gradually sieving it out!

Any comments or advice would be welcomed

thanks is advance!

Claire