Our flat, side yard stays good and wet thanks to the neighbor's slightly sloped yard and sprinkler system. I'd like to create a bog in this area. I don't like recommedations that I've read on the internet so far, so I'd thought I'd ask the organic crowd for some ideas. How does one construct an organic bog?
Thanks in advance,
Peggy

what information did you not like so people trying to help don't give you the same?

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Sandi
Texas Certified Nursery Professional
Texas Master Naturalist
Organic gardener
Tree-Hugger
Native Texan

Sure! Basically, the issue of making it organic is not even addressed. And several recommendations say to use peat moss. I didn't think using peat moss was the best recommendation in any application.

I'm not sure what to tell you. I found the following link:

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backya ... etland.pdf

I just have to say "Good for you!" wanting to make a bog, especially if your neighbor uses high nitrogen fertilizers or other chemicals. Bogs help to filter the excess nutrients, keeping them out of the water table and eventually, out of the ocean. Many people do not realize the chemicals they put on their lawns is killing all kinds of aquatic life. It may seem like the ocean is large enough to handle it, but the cumulative effects are becoming more evident.
Best of luck to you!

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Nadine Bielling
Moderator
Gardener Exchange Forum

The Laws of Ecology:
"All things are interconnected. Everything goes somewhere. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Nature bats last." --Ernest Callenbach

Peat comes from bogs so the use of it to create a bog might be appropriate. The link Nadine posted is interesting.

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The "soap" you use is normally chemicals, etc. Use real SOAP !!

From Wikipedia.org, my favorite online resource:

A bog is a wetland type that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material. The term peat bog in common usage is not entirely redundant, although it would be proper to call these sphagnum bogs if the peat is composed mostly of acidophilic moss (peat moss or Sphagnum spp.).

A marsh is a type of wetland, featuring grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants (possibly with low-growing woody plants) in a context of shallow water. A marsh is different from a swamp, which is dominated by trees rather than grasses and low herbs. The water of a marsh can be fresh, brackish, or saline. Coastal marshes may be associated with estuaries and along waterways between coastal barrier islands and the inner coast.

This learned, how about a marsh? Plant the area with plants that love to have their feet wet, like elephant ears, cattails, reeds, various grasses, etc. There are lots of plants one can use in areas that stay wet to help dry it out and to put the extra water to good use. As Nadine said, bogs (actually, marshes as we all now know) are good for filtering out high niteogen fertilizers and other contaminants that would otherwise leak into the water table or local water resources.

Peat moss comes from bogs, yes, but also makes a great preservative - hence the well preserved murder victim in Gret Britain we all heard about a few years ago, and a variety of creatures unearthed from time to time. Peat moss is used as a preservative wrap for fish and other things. Anti-microbial isn't what we'd recommend for a contaminant filtering area.

Oh, and just to round out our terminology lesson , a swamp is defined as a wetland that features permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water, generally with a substantial number of hummocks, or dry-land protrusions. Swamps usually are regarded as including a large amount of woody vegetation. When a wetland area does not, it is usually termed a marsh. A mire (or quagmire) is a low-lying wetland of deep, soft soil or mud that sinks underfoot.

That takes care of my "learn something new every day" personal challenge...how 'bout ya'll?
Hope that helps!
Kathe