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Bog Gardens and Bog Filters

Bog Gardens

Bog Filters

BOG GARDENS

A bog garden is an inexpensive and beautiful way to expand your watergarden or koi pond. Many koi keepers do not want to have 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 ½ 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 mattress works well ). Fill it ½ with soil and fill 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.

BOG (VEGETABLE) FILTERS

If you want to use the bog garden as an addition to your water filter a few simple changes in construction are required.

First the bog must be built above the pond water level and located so the bog water can free flow back into the pond. Also, instead of using soil the planting medium should be clean pea gravel. The bog plants should have the roots washed clean of soil and be planted directly into the gravel.

Pump some dirty water ( 500 to 800 gph ) from the pond bottom to the back side of the bog. As the water spreads out and slowly passes thru and over the pea gravel and plant roots all the debris is trapped, providing filtration for the pond and food for the plants. The bog garden acts as both a mechanical and biological filter that enhances the overall appearance of the pond and helps keep it clean.

Keep in mind that the bog filter does not need to be very deep as all filtration takes place in the top 1” to 2”. The pea gravel below this stays clean and does not add to the effectiveness of the filter. I have tried running the pond water under the pea gravel thru a perforated plastic pipe. The pipe became clogged and ineffective in a short time..

The bog should not be over planted because due to the rich muck and fish waste caught by the gravel and plants it will soon become overgrown and need to be thinned.

Feel free to e-mail further questions. Remember advice is always free!

Glenn