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A bog garden is an inexpensive and beautiful way to
expand your watergarden or koi pond. Many koi keeper do not want plants
in the koi pond and can use bog gardens or container planters.
To add a bog garden to your existing pond you can use any container that
holds water. Fill the container 1/2 with soil that does not contain
floating additives like perlite or vermiculite. Plant any moisture
loving plants into the soil and keep filled with water. A few small
goldfish or minnows will keep the mosquito population down.
A bigger bog garden can be built by digging a shallow pond or raised bed
6" to 12" deep and lining it with a waterproof material or pond liner.
(An old split-open waterbed or air mattress works well.) Fill it 1/2
with soil and half with water.
Most bog plants like acidic growing conditions. This can be achieved by
adding peat moss, (up to 50%) to the soil. The peat moss should be well
saturated with water before mixing to prevent it from floating. I DO NOT
recommend adding fertilizer as bog plants normally grow in very poor
soil and fertilizer will tend to cause algae growth.
To turn your bog garden into a bog filter just place it so water can be
pumped to the back side of the bog and free flow back into the pond. The
plant roots in the bog will filter out all the organic material. This
will cause the bog plants to grow very fast Plants will need to be
thinned out to prevent overgrowth.
Feel free to e-mail further questions. Remember advice is always free!
Glenn
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Phone: (918) 691-2162