Just put plants into baskets and sink them. There is absolutely no need to put a layer of soil into the pond. Leaves etc will blow in over time, rot down, and do the job anyway.
I think when starting off a new pond now, in autumn, a layer of soil or a few bucketfuls is beneficial. There will be a few insects finding their way to your new pond now, not many but some. They will need somewhere to hide and perhaps something to eat so the soil will help provide those things.
It is not too late to add some oxygenators, particularly if you can get a good sized clump of Hornwort or one of the native milfoils from a friend. It won't do much growing, if any until the spring but it will be a place for diving beetles and dragonfly larvae, which could still appear, to hide.
Devon Pond plants is another good supplier but wait til spring.
Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
I bought an RSPB frog pond kit, which doesn’t indicate that I need another underlay and subsoil on top of it. I’ve read some of the discussions about this, and I’ve looked at three books, as well. I’m totally vexed as to what to do and am at the point where I need to make a decision. People who used an extra underlay and subsoil: did this work out for you? Thanks so much.
I have built several ponds in my time and have never put soil in the pond. I have always used butyl liners, no knowledge of preformed liners. I remove as many stones as possible, and put several layers of newspaper down before putting down a felt liner, followed by the butyl. It is possible to treat a pond with organic treatments to control blanket weed, algae, etc. I also use an organic mud muncher which helps to control the amount of silt that can build up. When putting plants in the water I use a hessian square to line the mesh pots and backfill with aquatic soil. My ponds have never been very large so I have never wanted to plant large plants like bulrush or the big water lilies and iris so have not needed soil in the bottom of the pond for them to root into. My plants live in pots, on a shelf built around the side of the original hole. It takes a new pond 2 or 3 years to establish but a lot of critters do not care about the aesthetics of a pond, they live quite happily in puddles and containers without any help from us.
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It is not too late to add some oxygenators, particularly if you can get a good sized clump of Hornwort or one of the native milfoils from a friend. It won't do much growing, if any until the spring but it will be a place for diving beetles and dragonfly larvae, which could still appear, to hide.
Devon Pond plants is another good supplier but wait til spring.
It is possible to treat a pond with organic treatments to control blanket weed, algae, etc. I also use an organic mud muncher which helps to control the amount of silt that can build up.
When putting plants in the water I use a hessian square to line the mesh pots and backfill with aquatic soil. My ponds have never been very large so I have never wanted to plant large plants like bulrush or the big water lilies and iris so have not needed soil in the bottom of the pond for them to root into. My plants live in pots, on a shelf built around the side of the original hole.
It takes a new pond 2 or 3 years to establish but a lot of critters do not care about the aesthetics of a pond, they live quite happily in puddles and containers without any help from us.