By Pammi_t
Kent,
United Kingdom 
I have a disused garden pond in my small garden which, after much indecision, I have decided I'd like to fill in. The lining leaks and I can't be bothered to replace. I would like to use it as a small vegetable bed and to spend as little as possible, no surprise there.
If i were to fillll most of the vacant space with empty bottles/cans as ballast and then put all my compost in followed by as much soil as needed, which hopefully won't be too much. One possible drawback (or perhaps advantage?) is that there is some water in the bottom that won't drain out. I could puncture the bottom and let the water out but do I really need to? Might it be useful to have that reservoir of moisture during periods of dry weather?
Is this a viable solution?
21 Oct, 2011
Answers
I'm not too struck by your idea of filling the hole with rubbish and adding soil and compost on top. I don't think that's a good idea.
21 Oct, 2011
You could plant it up as a bog garden and make a real feature of it?
21 Oct, 2011
I agree with Bamboo the liner needs removing completely. Then the ground needs digging over and sub soil, then top soil and compost added. To be able to grow veg. successfully the getting a goodly amount of sunshine. Putting plastic bottles and cans in to part fill the hole is not a good idea and I suspect your local council would have something to say if they discovered you doing this.
22 Oct, 2011
Thanks all.
Bamboo/Moon, As I said in my original question I am not going to remove the lining, it just isn't going to happen. Why is another matter, not for this forum.
Bilbo, I've never seen any there and I've been here 10 years.
Beattie, why not? Why is that any worse than filling it with rock ballast? I certainly can't afford the quantity of soil required to fill the whole thing, which I have calculated as aprox 2200 ltrs (2.2 cubic metres).
DRC, yes, that's kind of what I'm looking at. Not a bog garden as such, but a bog vegetable garden, just whether or not it will work.
Cheers,
Pam
22 Oct, 2011
Hi Pam,
Use a garden fork and puncture holes all over the liner. Standing water is not going to help grow any vegetable.
Empty bottles and cans will burst and rot/rust eventually, poisoning your veg as they do. They will also collapse as they do.
Can you take soil from other parts of the garden or fill the pond area with grass cuttings, dead foliage etc - basically making it a compost heap over winter? If your neighbours donate their composting things then it will fill up quickly.
22 Oct, 2011
Vegetables will not grow in a bog... They need a well drained soil. Some, require lots of compost or other organic matter others, especially root veg., need a lean sandy fine tilth to grow well. As Kildermorie has pointed out putting your plastic bottles and cans in the ground rather than recycling them will cause you more problems...
22 Oct, 2011
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My feeling is you need to remove the liner altogether - it can be done, I've done it myself before, not easy, bit of an effort, but possible. Then the area dug over, topsoil and manure added ready for planting next year.
21 Oct, 2011